Women wore simple woolen dresses with shell-shaped broaches but also at times favoured pleated dresses while men wore pointed hats and caps

Their image contrasts sharply with the violent reputation of the Vikings

Vikings changed the colour and design of their clothing to fit fashion trends

They are better known for invading, raping and pillaging; but it seems the Vikings were also fashion victims.

Researchers at the National Museum in Copenhagen have compiled compelling evidence that suggests the Vikings were subject to clothing trends just as we are today.

Rather than the horned helmets and studded shields they have become famous for, most Vikings appear to have favoured fur collars, shell-shaped brooches and capes.

They were also partial to bright colours, with patterns and bands of fabric stitched onto clothing as trends changed.

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The Vikings have typically been portrayed as rather drab dressers, like in the television programme Vikings shown above, but in fact they were keen followers of fashion, favouring colourful clothes and intricate jewellery

Dr Ulla Mannering, a senior archaeology researcher at the Centre for Textile Research at the National Museum in Copenhagen, told Science Nordic: 'The Vikings had trends and tendencies that we today might call fashion.

'Viking fashion changes slowly through time. It does not mean that they threw out all their old clothes, but we do see new colours, decorations or costume shapes materialise over time.'

'The Vikings wore colourful clothing with patterns and stitched bands. Red and blue were especially popular throughout the Viking Age.'

PURPLE RING SHOWS HOW FAR THE VIKING'S REACH EXTENDED A ring crafted more than 1,000 years ago confirms has revealed details about the contact between the Vikings and the Islamic world. Discovered inside a ninth century woman’s grave in Sweden, the stone inset into the ring bears an inscription that says ‘for Allah’ or ‘to Allah’. While it is already known that the Vikings acquired glass in far flung lands, the artefact bolsters the theory that the seafaring civilisation traded with the Islamic world. The ring was discovered during excavations of a Viking trading centre in Birka, Sweden, in the late 1800s. Since then, it has been thought that stone in the ring is violet amethyst, but now experts have revealed it is coloured glass – an exotic material at the time. Researchers at Stockholm University used a scanning electron microscope to determine the material and to clearly reveal ancient Arabic writing called Kufic writing, that reads ‘for Allah or ‘to Allah.’ A ring (pictured) made over 1,000 years ago has confirmed contact between the Vikings and the Islamic world because it was unearthed in Sweden but bears an ancient Arabic inscription Advertisement

Most evidence for Viking clothing comes from the tombs of wealthy Vikings, who were adorned with furs, silver, gold and silk.

However, Dr Mannering and her colleagues have also been able to piece together what ordinary Vikings would also have worn.

She said that women would typically have worn a linen undergarment covered by a long woolen dress or skirt that came down to the feet.

Shell-shaped broaches often held the straps of the chest in place around the chest.

Researchers have discovered that some dresses features fitted sleeves that appear to have been added as fashions changed.

In some cases skirts were pleated while threads of silk, silver and gold were used to embroider and decorate dresses.

The women would also have worn a cloak, closed around the front of the chest, with a hat or headscarf.

Women's jewellery changes through the Viking ages with the design of chains and different types of buckles altering with time.

Men would have worn a linen tunic worn under another tunic made of wool. They would have worn trousers or knee length pantaloons along with a rectangular cloak or cape fixed at the shoulder.

In some cases men are also found to have worn pointed hats or caps.

Analysis of dyes in textiles worn by Vikings in Denmark, Norway, London, York and Dublin have shown that while people in Dublin preferred purple fabrics, the majority worn in England were red.

In Scandinavia the Vikings preferred blue.

Dr Mannering said: 'From time to time archaeologists find pieces of old textiles and leather patches from the Viking era.

'It can give us an idea of the type of fabrics and techniques once used.'

However, much of what is known about Viking fashion has been pieced together from drawings, etchings and pieces of text.

Gold necklaces like the one shown above tended to be worn by wealthy leaders but similar items found in tombs have given scientists a clearer picture of how Viking fashions changed as they spread around the world

Viking clothing was surprisingly colourful and they also liked to wear a wide array of jewellery including broaches, bracelets and necklaces, as this exhibit from the National Musuem of Denmark reveals

It is likely that as Vikings travelled further around the world and traded with other cultures, their tastes will have changed.

Their access to exotic materials like silk, gold threads and silver jewellery will also have increased, perhaps driving trends back at home.

Dr Mannering added: 'What we call fashion are their symbols of high status.

'Overall, it appears that the ordinary Vikings would have been dressed in something similar, though less luxurious and without the gold, silver, fur, and silk.

'But the elements would have been roughly the same. Styles of high-status outfits probably greatly influenced styles of garments made further down the social hierarchy.'