Authentic Viking Apron Gown by Caverna Obscura

I was doing a research for my real life viking dress and i thought i would try to make a virtual version of it first! 🙂 After all, it’s much cheaper and easier to make (well for me, that is) 😉

There are a few known styles of female attire of the Viking period, depending on the century and the area. Having examined them all, i went for Tenth-century Eastern Scandinavian attire: a T-tunic style pleated linen smock with keyhole neckline (use a 1″ brooch to close the keyhole); over that a T-tunic style wool gown without a keyhole neckline (an oval or round one), possibly with gores, definitely with lots of trimming; over that a wool or linen apron-dress, possibly pieced.

Authentic Viking Apron Gown by Caverna Obscura

The set includes: loose top with all 3 layers in one (Shirt layer), glitchpants, flexi 3-layered skirt with decorated sculpted belt with a drinking horn in a horn holder, leather bag, linnen pouch, sheathed knife, keyring with 3 keys; prim fibula decorated with authentic Viking motives & tortoise oval brooches linked together with metal and glass beads + sculpted Thor’s Hammer (worn on Chest altogether); sculpted hooded cloak; sculpted hoodless cloak supposed to be worn together with the hood-up on the head.

Please click on the thumbnails below for more details!

Here are some historical facts about female clothing of the Viking period:

Accessories and Other Commonalities

The following items were more or less common to all the areas and periods of the Viking Age. Of course, regional variations in patterning and execution existed, but the presence of these items helps make up the overall Viking look. They are:

* a pair of large dished (tortoise) brooches, either oval or round;
* necklaces and festoons of glass, semi-precious stone, and/or metal beads;
* a fabric belt (if you want to wear one), preferably tablet-woven, without metal findings such a buckles or strap-ends; (i went for a leather belt for a more lavish look)
* instead of a pouch, straps hanging from the various brooches to hold small implements such as scissors or knives; (i used both)
* cloaks, mittens, and possibly hoods for warmth outdoors;
* knitted-look stockings and short boots or slippers.

Colours

The chemical evidence of textiles from several different sites seems to point to a preponderance of particular colors appearing in particular areas: reds in the Danelaw, purples in Ireland, and blues and greens in Scandinavia proper (Walton 1988, 18). This seeming preference could of course be explained by any number of variables–availability of dyestuffs, the differing site climates, or the sheer vagaries of archaeological discovery. However, although it is carefully hedged, there is a hypothesis in the scientific world that this might possibly reflect regional color preferences rather than archaeochemical factors. It is pleasant to think that this sort of “Viking heraldry” might have been practiced.

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~ by cavernaobscura on Thursday, November 5, 2009.