Why Were The Vikings So Stylish? How Their Style Influenced Modern Trends

Timestamps:
00:00 - Why Were Vikings So Stylish?
00:33 - The history of Vikings
02:26 - Myths of Vikings
05:44 - Classes of Vikings
07:45 - Jarls (Clothing and Hair)
08:45 - Thralls (Clothing and Hair)
09:01 - Clothing for Vikings
11:43 - Waterproof Clothing For Vikings
12:45 - Viking Clothing Colors
14:05 - Viking Jewelry & Accessories
14:58 - Viking Makeup
15:51 - Viking Hairstyles
19:01 - Viking Hairstyles - Real or Fake?
21:13 - Vikings and Hair Color
_

_

FOLLOW

–

WANT TO WORK WITH ME?

📫 Shipping Address

Antonio Centeno
A Tailored Suit
PO Box 415
Wittenberg, WI 54499
USA

–

PRODUCTS

–
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS

_

GET MY MEN'S STYLE BOOKS

_

[RealMenRealStyle]

Do you like the Vikings' hairstyle?

[clanksshekels]

As an amateur historian on the early medeival period (aka the dark age) I can tell you that despite your humility, this video is very well researched particularly as far as a piece made for the general public, i.e. a layman, is concerned. Well done 👏

[danishbape]

You should really make "terror by style" a series

[quintinjansevanvuuren]

Can't go to Valhalla without impeccable drip.

[guidodraheim]

While it is easy to agree on the hair style, the beard style can be highly disputed.

The guys from medival reenactment do show indeed that beards are impractical with a full helmet and breast plates coming up the neck - but most Vikings did not wear one of those at the time. So aside from the cheek pieces of the helmet they did certainly have the option to wear a longer beard from the chin. Many sagas identify their hero by a special beard color, so they certainly colored or dyed the beard which implies some length. Same goes for braiding where there are inspirations from middle east upper class and we do have some depictions showing Viking warriors that could be interpreted as having a braided beard. Some commentators point out that in the Saga of Burnt Njal the hero is mocked for having no beard. So we can hypothesize that it was fasnionalbe to have a beard of medium lenght or a bit longer.

[hewcarroll]

Thrall is is pronounced like all.
Karl is pronounced just like the name Carl.
Jarl is pronounced with a Y not a J. So it's Yarl. And is pronounced like Karl for the rest of it.

Edit: loved the video

[dwaynewindham]

I think you missed a major aspect affecting their style and that of the pirates of the Caribbean - the goal of getting an enemy to surrender because of your presence. Battle is costly. It is much better if you can be an overwhelming, terrifying, intimidating presence that makes your target surrender or bribe you to leave them unharmed. Anyone raiding or engaging in piracy is using smart strategy if they are winning without a shot fired and avoiding casualties.

[coyotestalker]

You should totally do an episode on kilts, i wear one on occasion and i can say it take a lot of confidence but defiantly gets compliments that don't seem condescending. It's become one of my favorite things to wear.

[MarcRitzMD]

Scandinavians in Roman times braided their hair. Some Viking-era Scandinavians braided their beards

[georgelush]

Yes, I do like the mix of history and style.

[guidodraheim]

As for the blonde dye, I do very much believe it was fashionable.

We know that blonde dye was known at the time, not only attested in Roman sources, and we have atleast one grave from the Viking age with surving hair that was bleached. This finding has changed the scientific view as the earlier results of ancient DNA shows that the natural hair color of most of the Germanic tribes including the Scandinavians was brown - possibly a natural blond was around in the same amount that we see it in modern Germans along the Rhine. Roman and Greek sources however do often say that Suebian and Goths were blond - with the only constraint that the word meant probably a light reddish tone and not white/yellow as it is usually interpreted today. Looking at depictions of rulers in the later centuries we see that they are often represented with blond and curly hair. So we can very much guess that the highest ranks of society used that hair style to differentiate themselves from lower classes. This would also explain why Scandivian DNA makeup has shifted towards blond over the centuries as it was very much preferred for both men and women. It is very plausible that both freemen and women would bleached their hair regularly - to the extent that we see it with modern German women. Most people in the Western world will think of them as having mostly blond hair but the Genetic makeup does not provide for that. In the same style we can assume that Viking men represented themselves with a blond style when trading with other people.

[Gjallarhorn]

I'm Icelandic and I can confirm that the Vikings series is such an insult to our heritage, and this video is such an honorable effort to depict the Hollywood senseless crap, thank you sir.

[coyotestalker]

I've done a lot of study into Celtic heritage and clothing, this episode definitely helped me understand where their "fashion" comes from. ( celts were very close to Norse as both were Germanic)

[wynonasbigbrowndragon]

Hey Antonio, I know there's general rules for how men should dress as they age. Could we get a video on better fragrances to lean toward for men in their 30s and 40s? Sometimes I feel like fragrances that I try are meant for college kids. Which I am unfortunately not 😅

I'm not quite old enough to fall back on Old Spice just yet, but Paco Rabane's One Million feels like I'm having a midlife crisis. I need something in the middle

[dylanasena]

Talking history here, you mention slave trading with the Vikings. We get the word “Slave” from “Slav” as in a Slavic person. They were historically the most common people to be traded at the time.

Love the video!

[bobhill]

Thank you Antonio! Very well done and it is obvious that you put a ton of work into research and the video. Very interesting!

[avanskow]

Its always enlightening to watch your videos, thank you for your hard work.

[damien]

Thanks for giving Ireland a shout out...there is a LOT of historical evidence linking Ireland with the vikings.👍

[Joey]

I read that animal fat wasn't used for styling of hair but for hair health. It was supposed to help hair grow faster, strengthen the hair, and make it look healthy looking. I think egg yolk is supposed to do the same thing.
I can see the long hair with half bun being done because it not only takes the hair out of your face, it also allows the hair to protect your neck from the sun.

[hollywoodn]

Hey Antonio, while I typically agree with every one of your videos and their contents, I did find some discrepancy about this one. In the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda (Viking stories), there is mention of the long hair being worn by the Jarls and there is reference to the Norse gods… I study anthropology and humanities and have had to read a lot (maybe too much) of Viking and Norse history and mythos. Hair was a symbol of wealth, status, nobility and power. Thor, for instance, had “long flowing hair”and while most villagers and warriors didn’t have the luxury or time, the Jarls did and had the time to maintain their hair. There was also the fact that long hair was not only a means of protection to the head (not so much sword blows but cuts and scrapes from the vegetation and even some wildlife) but also had significance to their religion and cultural identity. What you also should have included was the fact that Vikings were seafarers, as you mentioned, living most of their lives near to some source of water for food and transportation but the vast majority of Norse people were farmers and the hair also helped wick sweat from their face, eyes and neck. Otherwise, bravo and good research done for just one video.