The Caped Crusader Returns!

You thought this was Batman? Well, think again! (It ain’t Superman either) 😛 It’s Batman’s faithful sidekick… MISS DEE! In a cape!

Hello everybody, we’re back again! Sorry for the delay (blame it on the baby 😉 ), but let’s get to our fashion odyssey. This photo shoot was taken in December, as winter was just rolling on. Now it’s almost spring, but the combo can easily work in December as in March, making it a perennial early year favorite. So, before we kiss the cold months goodbye and say our greetings to Spring, let’s soak up the last of the mild winter sun.

Feeling great in a purple/blue/green palette. The choice of seating is also blue (and what a lovely aqua blue it is!), believe it or not (was it just a coincidence? Well, we don’t think so!).

Cape by Choies

Let the cape have it’s own moment of glory, in the midst of some early winter Mediterranean flora (doesn’t this make a interesting still life?).

And then, the moment of truth comes out and the capes comes of!

Final7

Dress by Desigual

Final9

Stockings by Jadran Hosiery

The Iron Throne? More like the Concrete throne, but if you close your eyes and imagine…

Let’s take a closer look at this gorgeous dress!

Typical Desigual pattern – rich embroidery, tons of colors and wonderful buttons! What’s not to like about it?

Just a small detail – so fabulous, it’s like having a Picasso on your clothes 🙂

Peacock. Swoon!

Let’s round up the assemble with green Desigual ankle boots.

What can we say about capes?

Full length cloaks have been in fashion since time began. When you look at it realistically, cape is one of the simplest garments to make. In a nutshell, it’s an enveloping blanket to either keep heat in or keep dust out.
The cape was used by the Romans and later slid easily into Medieval Europe. It was adopted early by the clergy, and used extensively for the crunch rites (Cardinals wear almost identical cloaks/capes today as they did during the Medieval times).
In the 18th century, a popular garment was the Scarlet Cloak, also known as the Cardinal Cloak, like the one in the picture (taken from the charming and very useful https://www.janeausten.co.uk site):

However, the cape found it’s true glory during the Victorian era. Capes, once such a simple garment, became heavy, elaborate pieces of clothing, often embroidered.

The cape lost it’s popularity in about 1915, when coats, due to them being slightly less obtrusive and more practical to wear, took over. However, cape never went completely out of fashion, and could be still seen as a wardrobe staple (especially worn by older women).

The next time cloaks really became a fashion force with the young chic woman about town was in the 1930s. 1930s capes and cloaks, when wore with bias cut skirts and dresses became very stylish. Small capes also made the perfect cover up for a backless dress. Especially popular were fur stoles, which also fall flatly into the cape category.

Example of a simple fur stole and a long cape, almost a cloak, worn in the 1930s.

The cape had another big moment in the 1950s, especially in France, as a part of the New Look. It was designed with simplified lines in minds and thus became a great showcase for tweedy, check and mohair fabrics – easy lines of a cloak were perfect to show the fabric to perfection.

Incredibly beautiful 1950s capes. needless to say, all of them could be worn today.

Capes went on to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s with varying degrees of success, but they were always there, in the background, never a major garment but present nonetheless. They became more and more avant-garde and developed an edge as the decades went on.

Futuristic, metallic cape worn by Jane Fonda in the cult classic Barbarella, from the 1960s. Also, note Veruschka, the famous model of the decade, wearing a light and breezy summer cape.

Doris Day, perhaps the ultimate queen of the early 1960 next to Audrey Hepburn, wore this satin cape when sparring with Rock Hudson (which was her favorite past time, it seems)

1970s capes became longer and looser, in tune with the free wheeling times!

Bianca Jagger and Ali McGraw sure know how to wear their long capes and not look like they steped from a fantasy novel.

Key person to keep the glory of the cape alive was French designer Pauline Trigere, who wore them all of her life and always had at least one cape per collection. You can see some of her capes in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s (no, she didn’t dress Audrey Hepburn, that was Givenchy of course), worn by Patricia Neal.
Patricia Neal and George Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Note the super stylish red turban, contrasting perfectly with the black cape.

A Pauline Trigere cape from the early 1960s.

What about capes today? We have them in all shapes and sizes, and they can be easily bought from online shops if you needs them. Since they are not mainstream clothes, and owning to their extensive usage in history, today’s capes are a symbol of elegance and very feminine wear. If you want to look mature and elegant, just ware a cape! Instant chic, as they say!

For this reason, capes are often used in movies and TV series, usually worn by characters who are a prime time example of magnificent feminine style, true wearers of haute couture. Let’s see some of them.

THE QUEEN OF CAPES – BLAIR WALDORF of Gossip girl (we sure like Blair, don’t we?)

Wait, there is more…

What I love about Blair is how she manages to be a supreme epitome of elegance, and yet wears primary, strong colors not usually associated with ladylike clothing. For instance, her green cape is pure genius, at the same time sophisticated and lively. In our book, she is the way to go if you want to wear a cape with style and flair!

Another prime TV queen of style – Olivia Pope from Scandal! Unlike Blair, Olivia is a mature woman who dresses in neutral colors, and her capes are the height of unassuming, luxurious fashion.

What about some movie capes?