Regularly, certain products that we offer are presented as Viking, Medieval or Pirate. In some cases this is based on the actual history of the items, while in other products it can come from association with a specific character. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean these items aren't suitable for diverse looks or characters.
In this blog we show you three different ways to style the red early medieval dress Aelswith.
Look 1 - Archer
The first look we've put together with this dress is a female archer. Think of Princess Merida for example, or if Lady Marian from Robin Hood picked up a bow herself.
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. Because of its shape, this tunic has a higher fantasy content, making it very suitable for elven costumes and Robin Hood inspired characters.
In our Fantasy tunics category you can find more options.
The shoes we've given our archer are leather ankle boots. These boots enhance the feeling that this lady belongs in a Medieval setting.
When shooting a bow, there's a chance the string will hit your forearm. This can be very painful. To protect themselves, archers therefore also wear vambraces. These leather protectors absorb the impact of the bowstring.
For more vambraces, check out our Leather arm and leg protection category.
To also protect the fingers from being cut by the string, many archers wear a special glove on the hand they use to draw the bow. Our archer also wears such a glove.
Other options can be found 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 flattering silhouette. The belt can also be used to hang other accessories from. In this outfit we've given our archer a knife for the belt.
We can't call this character an archer without giving her a bow and quiver. The bow she uses is a recurve bow, which is suitable for both standing use and riding on horseback. The quiver is a leather case with a lacing 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 decided to create a Valkyrie outfit. The Valkyries are mythological, female warriors from Norse mythology. Valkyries are often depicted in dresses, combined with beautiful armor and riding on winged horses.
The basis for this look is again the red Aelswith dress. There isn't a specific color associated with the Valkyrie. This means you're free to use any color you find beautiful. We used red because red is a color that means "danger".
Because the Valkyries originally come from Norse mythology, we decided to give our Valkyrie Viking shoes.
To make our Valkyrie look like the warrior goddess she is, she wears a feminine, fantasy inspired armor. This armor consists of a breastplate, a gorget and shoulder armor. The breastplate and gorget are elegant, but the accompanying shoulder armor is larger for an impressive silhouette.
More options can be found in our LARP & fantasy plate armor category.
We've combined the steel armor with a wide, leather belt. The belt has engraved details, giving it a more luxurious look, but still very fierce.
We have more wide belts in our Fantasy belts category.
An element often used in depictions of Valkyries is impressive, winged helmets. Some of these helmets also partially cover the face. Unfortunately we don't have winged helmets, but we do have a dramatically looking, face-covering helmet.
Our Valkyrie has an ornately decorated sword in the style of Viking swords. With the engraving on the blade and the extremely detailed grip, this is a sword made for a goddess.
To complete this look we've given our Valkyrie a war horn. Try to imagine it. A group of warrior goddesses, arriving in battle on their flying horses from the sky and announcing their arrival with the sound of a signal horn…
That must be impressive.
Look 3 - Tavern Maid
The third look we've used the red Aelswith dress for is a tavern maid outfit. The tavern maid often appears in fantasy stories, sometimes as a background character and sometimes with a bigger role. It's a playful look where a lot can be done with accessories.
The red Aelswith dress is also the basis for this look. It's a versatile dress that with the embroidery is just a bit more interesting than a real basic dress.
To give the dress a completely different appearance, we've combined it in this outfit with a Medieval surcot. This surcot has lacing on the sides to create a flattering fit. This lacing also immediately provides a nice detail that suits a tavern look.
Other options can be found in our Medieval overdresses & surcoats category.
The shoes we've given our tavern maid are low shoes with a strap over the instep. These shoes look more feminine than the ankle boots we used in the other looks.
Our tavern maid wears an apron over her clothes. She's busy with food and drink all day, so it's nice to have an apron that protects her clothing and where she can wipe her hands. A fun way to style an apron is by pulling one point up and tucking it under the apron band. This shows a bit more of the clothing underneath and it looks playful.
More options can be found in our Medieval skirts category.
Our tavern maid also wears a cloth over her hair. This way the hair stays out of the way when she's working hard in the tavern.
The next part of this outfit is a belt. Our tavern maid wears a narrow, simple belt. She's not rich or of high status, so a richly decorated belt wouldn't suit the character.
To dress up this tavern maid a bit further, we've given her a bunch of keys. These give her access to, for example, the ale cellar and other spaces where guests are not allowed.
Beer and mead will flow freely 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 walking around with a tankard all the time, you can hang it from your belt with a special holder.
