The Miles White Costume Designs consist chiefly of finished designs and sketches, some of which are accompanied by fabric samples, notes, measurement cards, photographs, and other documents related to productions for which White served as principal designer. These include original Broadway and Broadway-bound musicals, New York City dance company performances, regional musical theater and light opera productions, circus performances, films, and an animatronic show. With the exception of Toller Cranston's "The Ice Show" (1977), for which there is a large quantity of material, the majority of titles in the collection are represented by only a handful of designs. Among the more notable productions included are Carousel (1945), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949), Fall River Legend (1948), and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960).

White's versatility and flair for extravagance are on full display throughout the collection. As a close friend of John Ringling, White became a visionary for circus design and costumed traveling shows, specialty parades, and even the 1952 film, The Greatest Show on Earth, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. He also designed the flashy 1977 production of Toller Cranston's "The Ice Show" at the Palace Theater, the first ice skating event to grace Broadway. Throughout his six decade career as a designer, White collaborated with many of the biggest names in theater and dance, including Martha Graham, Tennessee Williams, Agnes de Mille, and Richard Rodgers. The collection features costumes for many notable performers as well, such as Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Betty Hutton, and John Raitt. Designs are arranged alphabetically by title of production.