Smokker
A ladies outer garment worn by upper and middle class vikings from approximately the 8th to 10th centuries. Today, it is considered the signature garment of Viking-age Norsewomen. It was worn with two brooches on the chest, which fastened a pair of straps, with stands of beads or semi precious stones strung between them. An underdress of light wool or linen was worn beneath the smokkr, although a second overdress of wool may be also worn underneath it. All of these layers could have Tablet-weaving details or Embroidery.
The smokkr appears to have evolved from an earlier, Vendel period, fashion when the brooches may have fastened the solid linen straps to the body of the dress. As the Viking Age began, however, this element changed from solid straps to thin loops of fabric (usually linen) so the brooches were used more akin to a buckle, fastening the loops together, than a brooch.
Links
- 'That's how it looks in the book!'
- Making an Under dress for a Smokker
- How to make a historically accurate Smokker
- How to make an apron dress
- Spännande djur i vendeltida Uppåkra : En komparativ kontextuell analys av ovala och djurformade skålfibulor från Uppåkra
- Reconstructing a Viking Hanging Dress from Haithabu
