Viking clothing for beginners: what the reenactors actually wear
A man's kit is a linen undertunic, a wool overtunic, wool trousers, a belt and turnshoes. A woman's is a linen underdress, a wool apron dress with two brooches, a belt and shoes. Wool and linen only. No horns, no leather armour, no fur bikinis.
Where the evidence comes from
Almost everything known about Viking Age dress comes from graves: scraps of cloth preserved against metal brooches at Birka, Hedeby, Oseberg and a few dozen other sites, plus picture stones, small figurines and a handful of written descriptions. Reenactors have spent decades turning those scraps into working clothes. What you see at Ribe or Foteviken is the current best guess, and it changes as new finds are published.
The basic men’s kit
Undertunic. Linen, knee length, long sleeves, simple cut with gores for width. Undyed or lightly coloured.
Overtunic. Wool, slightly shorter, often in a stronger colour, with the neck and cuffs sometimes trimmed with a woven band.
Trousers. Wool, either straight or wide in the leg, held with a drawstring. Leg wraps of wool strip, wound from ankle to knee, are common and practical.
Belt. Narrow leather with a small buckle, carrying a knife and a pouch. Wide belts with big buckles are a fantasy element.
Shoes. Turnshoes: soft leather, sewn inside out and turned, based on finds. Low ankle boots are the usual shape.
Cloak. Rectangular wool, pinned at the shoulder with a brooch or pin.
The basic women’s kit
Underdress. Linen, ankle length, long sleeves.
Apron dress. Wool, a tube or wrap worn over the underdress and held at the shoulders by straps fastened with two oval brooches. The brooches are the single most recognisable Viking Age object, and a pair is often a woman’s first serious purchase.
Beads and chains. Strung between the brooches.
Belt, pouch, knife. As for men, or a fabric belt.
Head covering. A simple cap or a scarf; evidence is thin and interpretations vary.
Shoes and cloak. As for men.
Fabrics
Wool and linen. Nothing else is defensible for ordinary clothing. Silk was a rare import for the wealthy; if you wear it, wear a little as trim. Cotton, polyester and fleece are not period and will get you quiet comments at a strict market. Plant-dyed colours, madder red, woad blue, weld yellow, and undyed browns and greys look right; fluorescent purple does not.
What to avoid
Horned helmets. Leather armour of any kind. Studded anything. Fur bikinis or fur draped as decoration. Big-buckled belts. Tall boots with buckles. Anything sold as a Halloween costume. Reenactors will not say anything to a visitor in these, but if you are trying to join in, they are the giveaways.
What a first kit costs
Buying ready-made from traders at a market or from a shop like Grimfrost in Sweden: a linen tunic 60 to 120 euros, a wool tunic 120 to 250, trousers 80 to 150, turnshoes 100 to 200, a belt with buckle 40 to 80, a pair of oval brooches from 100 for bronze castings to several hundred for silver. A complete simple kit runs 400 to 800 euros ready-made, or a fraction of that sewn yourself. See our guide to sewing your own.
Where to start
Buy the underlayer first and wear it to a market. Talk to the traders. Most groups will tell you exactly what to buy next, and will tell you not to buy the sword yet.
Related events
Sources
Last updated 2026-09-06. Prices and opening hours change; check the venue before you go. Back to Gear and reenacting or the festival calendar.