Yes we can understand the historic, folk or magic background style of the cape. But did you know that the cape says more than that? It can be worn all winter long, in a very avant-garde, revival or basic tone. Loose decoding below and sleeves’ effects foremost, adopt codes of the cape and sword, or not…
Carved into the material, which twists and untwists around a personality in a minimalist or baroque style, the volume of the cape gives panache or mystery to the silhouette, by highlighting the deep sensuality of the body and soul of those who wear it.
Puffed, loose or twirling, the aesthetics of the cape gives gaming and bewitching attributes to this spectacular corolla that opens elegantly along somebody’s lines, unveiling suggestively one’s forms. Indeed, outer garment par excellence, the cape reveals the underside of a felted body, a face wrapped in a cap, hands or the closest bare legs caulked and wrapped in warm wool, but still enhanced by the magic dancing textile side.
According to the usage and patterns, the cape, appeared in 1460, and it is still evolving. It is used by the heroic knights, or for going discreetly out of the convent, operationally by military, theatrically in pink silk on one side and in yellow percale the other in a passing game by bullfighters, enigmatically as force of astrologers, magicians or sorcerers, more provocative, even sexier, according to Kubrick, or more manipulative in the footsteps of an impostor Tartuffe, air in the manner of vampires who seem to spread their wings before flying, or finally innocently and purely on babies ready for baptism.
Thus, the cape can hide many symbols, especially those referring to the state of a person. “To have only the cape and sword” means to be penniless or to have only an apparent merit, which is superficial; while a novel cape character means a personality with luck and love, and who gives, as figuratively as literally, duels against traitors; and finally “to laugh under your cape” means in secret, secretly aside.
The cape can be worn by both sexes, down to the knees or feet, with or without hood. Therefore, wearing such a piece in which we wrap ourselves can obviously show the meanings that we embody, including the meaning of tobacco leaf that wraps around greedily the cigar to retain all its flavors. The trench coat can be thrown over the shoulders like a cape, another side, the jacket thrown more proudly on one shoulder can be seen as the cape of the matador.
So it’s your turn to know which cape you want to talk about and which character you want to embody.
Are you now capable to wear a cape?
