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Certain products we offer are regularly presented as Viking, Medieval, or Pirate. In some cases, this is based on the actual history of the items, while for other products it may stem from the association with a specific character. Nonetheless, this does not mean that these articles are not suitable for various looks or characters.
In this blog, we show three different ways to style the red early medieval dress Aelswith.
Look 1 - Archer
The first look we have composed with this dress is a female archer. Think, for example, of princess Merida or if lady Marianne from Robin Hood would also pick up a bow.
The basis of this outfit is, of course, the red Aelswith dress, which is central to this blog. This dress is a good basic dress with a subtle detail in the form of embroidery along the neckline, sleeves, and hem.
Over the red dress, our archer wears a brown, sleeveless tunic. Due to its shape, this tunic has a higher fantasy content, making it very suitable for elf costumes and Robin Hood inspired characters.
In our category Fantasy tunics you can find more options.
The shoes we have given our archer are leather ankle boots. These boots enhance the sense that this lady belongs in a Medieval setting.
When shooting a bow, there is a chance that the string will hit your forearm. This can be very painful. To protect themselves, archers also wear vambraces. These leather protectors absorb the impact of the bowstring.
For more vambraces, check out our category Leather arm and leg protection.
To also protect the fingers from the string cutting, many archers wear a special glove on the hand with which they draw the bow. Our archer also wears such a glove.
You can find other options in our Bracers, nocks, gloves & accessories category.
Over the dress and tunic, our archer wears a leather belt. This belt emphasizes the waist for a nice silhouette. The belt can also be used to attach other accessories. In this composition, we have given our archer a knife for the belt.
We obviously cannot call this character an archer without also giving her a bow and quiver. The bow she uses is a recurve bow, which is suitable for use both standing and on horseback. The quiver is a leather quiver with a lace-up detail.
You can find more bows in our Traditional & modern recurve bows category.
Look 2 - Valkyrie
For the second look with the Aelswith dress, we have chosen to create a Valkyrie outfit. The Valkyrie are mythological, female warriors from Norse mythology. The Valkyrie are often depicted in dresses, combined with beautiful armor, and seated on winged horses.
The basic for this look is again the red Aelswith dress. There is not a specific colour associated with the Valkyrie. This means you are free to use any colour you find appealing. We have used red, because red is a colour that means "danger."
Because the Valkyrie originally come from Norse mythology, we have chosen to give our Valkyrie Viking shoes.
To make our Valkyrie look like the war goddess she is, she wears a feminine, fantasy inspired armor. This armor consists of a breastplate, a gorget, and pauldrons. The breastplate and gorget are elegant, but the accompanying shoulder armors are larger for an impressive silhouette.
More options can be found in our category LARP & fantasy plate armor.
We combined the steel armor with a wide leather belt. The belt has engraved details, giving it a more luxurious appearance while still being very sturdy.
We have more wide belts in our Fantasy belts category.
An element often used in images of Valkyries are impressive, winged helmets. Some of these helmets also partially cover the face. Unfortunately, we do not have winged helmets, but we do have a dramatically looking, face-covering helmet.
Our Valkyrie has a richly decorated sword in the style of Viking swords. Due to the engraving on the blade and the extremely detailed grip, this is a sword made for a goddess.
To complete this look, we have given our Valkyrie a signal horn. Try to imagine. A group of war goddesses, coming down from the sky on their flying horses towards the battle, announcing their arrival with the sound of a signal horn…
That must be impressive.
Look 3 - Tavern Maid
The third look for which we used the red Aelswith dress is a tavern maid outfit. The tavern maid often appears in fantasy stories, sometimes as a background character and sometimes with a larger role. It is a playful look where much can be done with accessories.
The red Aelswith dress is also the basic for this look. It is a versatile dress that, due to the embroidery, is just a bit more interesting than a real basic dress.
To give the dress a completely different look, we have combined it in this composition with a Medieval surcoat. This surcoat has lacing on the sides that can create a flattering fit. These laces also immediately provide a nice detail that matches a tavern look.
Other options can be found in our category Medieval overgarments & surcoats.
The shoes we have given our tavern maid are low shoes with a strap over the instep. These shoes appear more feminine than the ankle boots we used in the other looks.
Our tavern maid wears a apron over her clothing. She is busy all day with food and drink, so it is nice to have a apron that protects her clothing and where she can wipe her hands. A fun way to style a apron is by pulling up one point and tucking it under the band of the apron. This way you show a bit more of the clothing underneath and it looks playful.
In our category Medieval skirts more options can be found.
Our tavern maid also wears a cloth over her hair. This way, her hair does not get in the way when she is working hard in the tavern.
The next component in this outfit is a belt. Our tavern maid wears a narrow, simple belt. She is not wealthy or of high status, so a richly decorated belt would not suit the character.
To further attire this tavern maid, we have given her a bunch of keys. These give her access, for example, to the wine cellar and other areas where guests are not allowed to enter.
Beer and mead will flow abundantly in a tavern, so our tavern maid regularly walks around with a tankard in her hands. By adding a tankard to the outfit, it becomes even clearer what her function or background is. To avoid carrying a tankard all the time, you can hang it on your belt with a special holder.
