Viking costume inspiration: Historical details

I’m back on topic for the “Garb from the Land of a Thousand Lakes“, and I thought I’d also collect some descriptions  with some historical accuracy (or the hope of such!) just to use when looking at the inspiration ideas I’ve already looked at, to try to interpret fantasy, personal preference, and historical accuracy.

From the BBC website:

“Female dress was very conservative and the equivalent of a folk-costume was worn
for 200 years, not just in the homelands but everywhere that the Vikings settled
– from Ireland in the west to Russia in the east. It consisted of a pinafore of
wool or linen, which was worn over a long and sometimes pleated linen shift.”

(I’ve been refering the pinafore as an apron.)

“The pinafore had shoulder straps that were fastened by a pair of oval brooches,
one below each shoulder. Wealthy women might have a string of brightly coloured
beads linking the two brooches across the chest.”

Additionally from a different part of the BBC website: (I couldn’t get the video to play).

“They were handmade out of materials available at the time – wool, linen, leather and silk.”

Results

I didn’t end up finding a lot while I was pulling this together, so I’m considering this more of an aside, or at least a work-in-progress page…