Fashion Timeline 6 (Nomads and Barbarians)

I’m starting to realize that this timeline is quite Western and Eurocentric. Perhaps a study of other cultures and their fashions will be in order afterward to fully round out this topic.

Barbarians and nomads refers to those northern Europeans who invaded and pillaged the residents of northern Britain and northern France. The Scandinavian barbarians came to be known as Vikings.

Vikings and barbarians are the first culture that I have seen so far in this timeline to dye their hair colorfully, have a complete and utter disregard for their hair, and have an adventurous and nomadic lifestyle.

Now the first thing I think of when I think of Vikings is Lars’ music video in the movie, Serendipity.

Viking clothing was much like that of other Europeans from the same time period. Men wore trousers, a tunic, and perhaps a coat or a large cloak. Women dressed similarly, though their tunic was long, reaching all the way to the feet. Viking clothing was made primarily of wool, and sometimes of linen, and was often brightly colored, with purples, blues, and greens. Like other clothing from this period, however, few actual garments have survived, leaving much of what is known to secondhand accounts from other societies. (“Vikings: The Last Barbarians.” Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 2: Early Cultures Across the Globe. Detroit: UXL, 2004. 278. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 July 2010.)

"Footwear of Nomads and Barbarians." Fashion, Costume, and Culture, 289-290. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 July 2010.

Viking men especially wore bracelets as a symbol of their victories in battle. Viking men also wore belt buckles that were made out of bronze or bone. (“Body Decorations of Nomads and Barbarians.” Fashion, Costume, and Culture, 287-288. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 July 2010.)

This does not provide us with much information about the ladies. Although they did wear thick braids down their backs. “Nearly every account emphasizes that barbarians wore their hair long. Women wore their hair very long and often braided it and let it hang down their back. Barbarian men often pushed their long hair straight back over the crown of their head and let it hang down their back. They also had long beards and mustaches… Warriors from Gaul were sometimes known to dye their hair bright red, and Anglo-Saxons sometimes dyed their hair shades of green, orange, and deep blue.” (“Headwear of Nomads and Barbarians.” Fashion, Costume, and Culture, 285-286. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 July 2010.)

Though we often think of barbarians and Vikings as wearing bison horn headdresses, which accounts state some Franks did wear, they also wore thick felt caps.

And they were not subdued by flute music, especially that flute music played by Lars.

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