Finding Fabric and Patterns to Copy RTW

Here's the scenario: you see a dress, top, pair of pants, skirt, that you absolutely love in a shop. You know that if you could find the right fabric and pattern, you could easily make it yourself. It would be custom made to fit you, likely cheaper (if you don't count your time), and you get the joy of making it yourself.

Now how do you find the right fabric or pattern? Especially if a plain 'ole Google search with words fails you.

I find myself thinking this quite often, and here are the tools I have found to help me recreate a RTW (ready to wear) look.

For Fabric: Google Reverse Image Search

A close cousin to a regular Google search, this one is nice because you don't have to guess at how a designer or store might have described their fabric. 

1. Go to Google Image search.
2. Click on the little camera at the right of the search box that says "search by image." 
3. Enter the URL of the image you're wanting to match, or upload an image.
4. Once the new page loads, type in additional descriptors like "fabric" in the search box. 

This sometimes works, and sometimes produces a lot of noise.

For Fabric: The Find

The Find is a search engine that's specific to shopping, and I've noticed I'm more likely to find fabric here than Google using words. I actually discovered it because I went onto the Google Developer forums to see if there was a better way to use the reverse image search for this task, and someone pointed me to The Find. It's how I found the crane fabric for Sarah of Rhinestones and Telephones when she had a dress she wanted to recreate.

For Fabric and Patterns: Blogger Series

Several bloggers have done series around this same idea, including me. The trouble with this is it's going to be one-off, so you're more likely to serendipitously find something you'd like to recreate rather than seeking out a perfect match for what you have in mind. 

The best of these that I've found is "Make This Look" from Sew Weekly. Sadly, Mena is no longer blogging, but there's still some great stuff in there.

Some Other Sleuthing Tips 

• If you're looking for patterns, familiarize yourself with the different names of bodices and skirts and such (I think that's useful anyway). That way you can search for features like, "gored skirt pattern." You'll find this in pattern making textbooks, and I've started to compile different line drawings of garment types on a Pinterest board.
• If you're looking for vintage patterns, the Vintage Pattern Wiki is a great source. If you don't want to spend hours scrolling through pages of patterns, try narrowing the search down on Google by doing "site:http://vintagepatterns.wikia.com/wiki/" with a space, followed by your keyword. It will search only on the Vintage Pattern Wiki for that term.
• Look for the designers name, and try to trace it back from there. I've emailed shops before to ask for that info if it wasn't on their sites, too. 

Do you do this, too? Do you have any tips or tricks that you've figured out along the way?