I understand that modern outer layers are more functional. A leather jacket, for example, can be dressed up or down so as to be worn in a variety of situations. It is also better at keeping you warm.
However, I think capes/cloaks are more aesthetically pleasing garments. It also feels good to have the fabric flowing around you as you walk. But what do you think?
The actual reason that we don't is pretty much because of the invention of sewing machines. Once sewing machines were widespread, making coats became sooo much cheaper than they had been. Coats need a lot of tightly made seams which took time and so made coats very expensive. With sewing machines, making these seams was vastly quicker and more reliable.
Coats win over cloaks in so many ways because you can do things with your arms without exposing them or your torso to the rain and cold: impossible with a cloak.
Capes were the short versions - and intended to cover the shoulder and back without seams that might let the rain in, but with the new machine made seams, they were not needed either.
The really big change was when it became affordable to outfit armies with coats instead of cloaks or capes. At that point all the caché and prestige that was associated with military rank disappeared from cloaks and capes and they were suddenly neither useful not fashionable.
Nowadays, of course, they are no longer what your unfashionable dad would have worn: they are quite old enough to have regained a certain style.
The other big reason is that the world is cleaner. Capes and cloaks also protect the whole body from mud/dust and can be easily removed. Riding a horse or walking on dirt roads is a lot dirtier than riding in cars or walking on a sidewalk
The original type of coat that would have been worn when riding was the Great Coat - which did cover the whole body, down to the ankles (and included the front of the body much better than a cloak). Those would have been worn by military officers, particularly.
Those were fine for riding, but then if you were off your horse and end up in the newly developed trench warfare - starting from around the US civil war onwards - you ended up wading through mud which got caked to the coat. So then they started cutting the coats shorter and they became Trench Coats.
Or just living in New York where it's cold in the winter. It's a blanket you wear over your coat. You're not supposed to wear it as your only piece of outer clothing.
100% of the cloaks and capes I've seen IRL have been as part of either someone's weird cosplay or some neckbeard/weeb shit. I think that, a bit like the fedora, they're just sorta ruined now due to the people who wear them.
I wear a Fedora sometimes - AC can get cold and my hair isn't as thick as it used to be... it just seems easier than converting to Judaism to be able to wear a Yamaka:-P.
AC can get cold and my hair isn't as thick as it used to be... it just seems easier than converting to Judaism to be able to wear a Yamaka:-P.
I pity Americans who don't just wear a touque (or as you might call it, a beanie). Honestly it's the perfect hat for cold weather. Here in Canada, basically everyone wears one for the half of the year where it's cold enough to warrant a hat. Some people are fancy and wear an Ushanka hat or a Nordic hat in the winter, but 99% just wear a touque.
Can't really pull off a fedora (or similar) without a suit that matches, otherwise, yeah, you just look like a neckbeard or maybe a Michael Jackson cosplayer. If you aren't dressing in formal attire, consider a baseball cap, beanie, hood, cabbie hat, or even a stetson if it's up your alley.
The issue is it has to fit the overall outfit. A fedora can still look really good if you have a well tailored suit to match it, while most of the things that look good with a cloak are, frankly, uncomfortable to wear everyday compared to modern clothing. This is why it's essentially only done for cosplay and larping nowadays, looking like that is fun every now and then but not so fun that you'd want to go about daily life dressed that way.
Horses and to a lesser extent bikes let you just throw the cape out behind you as you ride, but if you're riding in a chair, you have to bunch it up as you're getting in so you don't accidentally auto-asphyxiate yourself with the titanic cheeks you inherited from yo mama
I feel like capes went out of style around the industrial revolution for the very reasons outlined in The Incredibles by Edna as to why she doesn't design costumes with capes.
Definitely wouldn't want my cape to get caught in a car or train door.
Women can get away with it. My coworker has a beautiful full-length, wool winter cape she wears just for every-day. I bet men could, too, with a suit on a formal occasion.
Yep, I have shorter ones for more casual outfits and full length for dressy events. They never seem “costumey” when they go with the overall look. I’m a woman in a metro area though.
I bet men could, too, with a suit on a formal occasion.
I disagree. I think some men could pull this off, but it would mostly come across as cartoony in most circumstances. Even 3-piece suits are seen as too formal/old-fashioned by people.
Where I could see cloaks looking fashionable and natural is in milsurp/gorpcore inspired outfits. Something like This cloak is pretty damn interesting and would look just fine On this outfitOr this one
I'm in an urban center where you still see a fair amount of suits downtown during business hours. Honestly, capes or cloaks with the outfits you linked I would just assume were blankets and I'd expect to be asked for change...I mean, I see that already, every day. It's an "interesting" look alright.
I have a wool plaid cape I got from a woman's estate sale but it isn't necessarily gendered, though as a man I haven't been brave enough to wear it outside of the house yet except to a Burns supper where I got a lot of compliments. My coworkers are used to seeing me wear it on video throughout winter
Edit: after some googling it may be a cloak and not a cape since it is full length. I wear it as a sweater replacement
This is the real answer. For many more questions too. One day in the distant future people will ask why don't we ---- anymore and the answer will be because we don't drive cars anymore.
You need to stay warm, but you can't have your legs blocked by something like a trench coat (unbuttoned cowboy duster excluded), since you need them free to mount and sit on a horse. A cape keeps you warm, but keeps your front lower body free to ride, and lays flat against the horses back when mounted. Since we ride in cars instead of on horses now, the design isn't very useful anymore. A long cape will get in the way when getting into a car, and when sitting down in a car seat. Jackets and coats are more practical now.
As an avid cloak lover, I can attest that the reasons others state about practicality are pretty much spot on. That said, my 3/4 round wool cloak with a cotton liner is the warmest and coziest winter garment I have ever owned. I have three of them, and a lighter blue velvet one for dressy occasions in spring/fall.
Getting into a car with a big cloak though is tougher than with a normal coat. Once you get the hang of it, it's not a problem, but it does take some practice! I do love my cloaks and I would love to see them make a comeback though!
Yeah, the function for sure; along with overcoats and any outermost layer. Chivalry maintained men walked on the curb side bc horse shit and piss flowed freely in the gutters and the coat prevented splash. Same for commuter trains and subways. Nasty shit all over before electric.
A lot of superstition like bad luck putting your hat on the bed came from this. It was dirty, bring it home and you got sick from it. Logical superstition.
I'll catch myself feeling superstitious, check myself with science, then realize it's gross and get my nasty ass outside hat off my bed.
I use enough of my income on functional clothing that the idea of spending anything on something which does wat a coat does but worse and without pockets makes me physically ill. I'm just not the right type of autistic to want to walk around dressed like a highwayman and I don't own a brace of flintlock pistols.
While they were already in decline, the trend of Capes an Cloaks really dropped sharply in the 1950's. With improving technology in the transportation sector and the rising prevalence of jet engines, the risk of getting sucked into an air intake or caught in some piece of machinery was just too great. Punctuated by a series of gruesome incidents , the new rule in fashion was set. No Capes.
I had a fairly nice cape for halloween this year (I was the devil from The Undead) and by the end of the evening I was convinced I was a cape guy now. They hold in so much heat but that's easily controlled by flapping the front a bit (by just swinging your arms more or less as you walk). With the right fabric, water just sheets off and generally misses your shoes in the process. And a broad collar makes for a great windbreak when turned up. It was great!
Not very practical anymore. Would get caught in all sorts of things in cars/trains/bikes/planes or whatever mode of transportation you use. The common person in general tends to mean towards practicality > aesthetics in the long term.
Not even remotely accurate. I actually used to have a full size woollen cloak, and it is unbelievable how good they are at keeping out the elements. I have literally slept in the middle of a forest, in only jeans, a t-shirt, and that cloak, and I was toasty warm. I've sheltered through torrential downpours and snow storms in it. There is basically nothing as warm as a proper wool cloak.
Heck, if he doesn't do it, I will! We need capes back in fashion. Either subtle renaissance style fashionable shoulder capes or full blown cloaks that can double as blankets in a pinch.
Shawls are pretty popular in South Asia during winter and can vary wildly in size allowing a wide variety of fashion options, including Wizarding World cosplays. 🤷
I'm getting into sewing right now. A cape will be my first project. Imma wear the shit out of my cape. Luckily I live in a place where people don't really care about what you wear. I've seen capes in the wild before.
My wife sewed herself a very nice hooded cape/cloak years ago that she used to wear over her coat in winter to keep herself warmer. I'm not sure what happened to it, but it was a very long time ago.
I really enjoy capes or cloaks as an aesthetic element. Whilst I wish they were more commonplace, I also enjoy being able to have aspects of my fashion that are just a bit "weird"
Invention of more complex and effective materials I would presume. Getting a light and thin jacket which will protect you against harshest of winters is easy these days and more to the point it's far more practical as you can do things in it.
I have a nice collection of them ranging from cheap Amazon capes to a custom Cloak and Dagger wool and velvet cloak that has lasted me almost a decade. I mostly use them for performing but have worn smaller cloaks and ruanas out before. They're particularly wonderful on those crisp, slightly chilly autumn nights in October.
When I read this, I can't help but think of the "no capes" scene from The Incredibles.
In all seriousness, they were a uniquely Roman-area thing (moreso before its fall and people like the Gauls wanted less association with their Roman roots). You just don't associate them with the Chinese, Indians, Incans, etc. I'd wear a cape if they weren't more associated with men, would be cooler than sitting here in a quarter zip sweater over a blue plaid shirt and jeans, some normie I am.
I mean Roman-area as in their part of the world, not as in the time period (Roman-era). Capes began with the Greeks and crossed over to the Romans and Byzantines but it would seem never picked up in non-European cultures, and became a lot less common when the two Romes dissolved into a sum of their member states. Joan of Arc didn't even wear a cape, a missed opportunity.
Practicality of stuff like jackets aside, I feel like they'd be dangerous to wear because they'd get caught up in all sorts of stuff. They'd also get dirty pretty quickly.
Depends on the fabric and color. Look at arab countries, people there use tunics and loose clothing that cover most of their bodies and are mostly fine in +40°C
First we'd need to ask what could a cloak or cape provide for the modern man that jackets and coats don't already do while giving the wearer free movement of their arms?
The cape's association with wealth and nobility is also hurt by the fact that the upperclasses these days are more interested in appropriating the style of lower class people (I.e. pre-distressed jeans) to try and appear as more down to earth.
The pre-distressed jeans are such an irritating trend to me. I'd rather see apparel get more durable, rather than making it so that it's nearly worn out already. For a while there was a trend of making selvedge-edge jeans with 14oz raw denim that you had to spend a month or more breaking in; I'd like to see that trend come back, since those jeans lasted for years of daily use (just, don't machine wash them!), and you got wear patterns specific to the individual that owns them.
As others said, it's not as practical as modern clothing and so regular people don't really think about it. They just buy what is available. With cloaks, you probably have to sew it yourself, or order it custom.
That said, I do agrer it would be cool if they made a comeback. Cloaks are cool - but not easy to pull off. You can't just put on jeans and t-shirt and have a cloak over it and look good.
But I say be the change you want in the world and inspire others! I myself probably couldn't pull cloaks off, but would love to at least see more around!
As a dude with limited fashion sense suits look funny to me, like pajamas with a night cap or short pants with stockings or powdered wigs just feels very archaic and out dated. I could see cloaks coming back at some point just as knee length hooded sweaters or hooded overcoats without fasteners. Capes look too much like wearing a blanket around depending on the material I think to catch on anytime soon.
Capes look too much like wearing a blanket around depending on the material I think to catch on anytime soon.
This is the exact reason I think they will catch on. I see people out in public in pajamas from time to time, "athleisure" is really popular right now. Fashion is trending towards more casual overall and I could definitely see capes (and especially cloaks) coming back around.
Mostly because my cape is improvised and I need something to hold it in place, which usually means my pauldron, but I only wear that on special occasions. It also sheds a lot of lint.
I scrolled through every comment and not one has questioned the sanity of the OP and other commenters.
I don't wear a cloak/cape because it's 2024 and I value my job and the relationships I have.
I also don't because the utility just isn't there. A coat with sleeves that stops mid thigh is good for 90% of situations, and a longer version for rain or heavy snow. I cannot imagine a situation where a cloak would somehow trump a jacket, and I mean both in form and function. And form does have some import, not saying you need to go out and wear the latest styles, I'm pretty standard as they come, T-shirt and jeans, but at first glance, if I see someone in a cloak, it's just an odd first impression.
To answer the question, it'll come back in fashion when some rich/famous people decide it's back in fashion, I guess.
I don't understand the weird remarks about sanity and commenters in your first part and it entirely sets the tone of the rest of the comment.
If you're in a relationship where you can't wear a cloak then it's a bad one, it's a clothing piece and you should be able to express yourself and your job should not be able to fire you either.
It's entirely on you if a cloak is an odd impression, there's tons of people that think they're cool and such. Cloaks can have practical use cases.
You frankly come off as an asshole and it's unnecessary and sad.
But think about who cool and mysterious you'd look with a cape!
"That guy surely fucks" they'll say as you walk by. "What a handsome and mysterious fellow" they'll happily exclaim. If only you had the will, the enormous cajones to pull it off. Oh your life would change my friend, your life would change
I'm nice to all of them, because they're dressed normally.
I don't get it. OP asked a question and I gave my thoughts. I don't think my thoughts are far off base. Folks may not like them and that's fine.
If I saw someone show up dressed as in the picture OP shared, I would immediately think this person lacked maturity. If anyone thinks that somehow looks suave or debonair, they are mistaken. If my friend showed up dressed like that, I would ask what he was doing. I would still be friends with him though, because it's just an article of clothing. But I think if you're trying to make good first impressions and you show up dressed similar to the picture in the OP, you may not get the reactions you're looking for.
But by all means, go for it. It really doesn't matter.