{{short description|Sleeveless outer garment of varying lengths, sometimes attached to a coat}} {{redirect|Capes|other uses|Cape (disambiguation)|and|Capes (disambiguation)}} {{More citations needed|date=November 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
A '''cape''' is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles<ref>{{Cite book |last=Picken |first=Mary Brooks |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbOI4TCcnbQC&q=capes&pg=PA51 |title=A Dictionary of Costume and Fashion: Historic and Modern |date=24 July 2013 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-14160-2 |pages=51–53 |language=en}}</ref> and have been used throughout history for many different reasons.
==Semantic distinction== In fashion, the word "cape" usually refers to a shorter garment and "cloak" to a full-length version of the different types of garment, though the two terms are sometimes used synonymously for full-length coverings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-19 |title=Victorian Capes and Cloaks: A Dramatic Fashion Statement {{!}} Syrie James |url=https://syriejames.com/2021/08/19/victorian-capes-and-cloaks-a-dramatic-fashion-statement/ |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=syriejames.com |language=en-US}}</ref> A shoulder cape is thus sometimes called a "'''capelet'''".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of CAPELET |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capelet |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> The fashion cape does not cover the front to any appreciable degree. In rain gear, a cape is usually a long and roomy protective garment worn to keep one dry in the rain.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}
==History==
The first usage of capes is unknown, but some early references we know of are from Ancient Roman military uniforms.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morton |first=Ella |date=20 July 2015 |title=Battles, Batman, and Liberace: A Cultural History of Capes |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/battles-batman-and-liberace-a-cultural-history-of-capes |access-date=11 October 2024 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref> Later on, capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} They have had periodic returns to fashion – for example, in nineteenth-century Europe. Catholic clergy wear a type of cape known as a ferraiolo, which is worn for formal events outside a ritualistic context.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} The cope is a liturgical vestment in the form of a cape.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} Capes are often highly decorated with elaborate embroidery.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} Capes remain in regular use as rainwear in various military units and police forces, in France for example. A '''gas cape''' was a protective military garment issued alongside gas masks in twentieth-century wars, designed to shield soldiers from liquid chemical agents and contaminated terrain.<ref>{{cite web |title=German Uniforms and Equipment |url=https://www.mp44.nl/equipment/gas_cape_new.htm |website=mp44.nl |access-date=15 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=World War II Respirators and Equipment |url=https://erenow.org/ww/british-military-respirators-anti-gas-equipment-two-world-wars/5.php |website=erenow.org |access-date=15 October 2025}}</ref>
Rich noblemen and elite warriors of the Aztec Empire would wear a tilmàtli; a Mesoamerican cloak/cape used as a symbol of their upper status.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} Cloth and clothing was of utmost importance to the Aztecs.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} The more elaborate and colorful tilmàtlis were strictly reserved for elite high priests, emperors; and the eagle warriors as well as jaguar warriors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ancient Aztec clothing |url=http://www.aztec-history.com/ancient-aztec-clothing.html |website=www.aztec-history.com |access-date=18 April 2021}}</ref>
==In formal wear== In full evening dress, ladies frequently use the cape as a fashion statement, or to protect the wearer or the fine fabrics of their evening-wear from the elements, especially where a coat would crush—or hide—the garment. These capes may be short (over the shoulders or to the waist) or a full-length cloak. Short capes were usually made of, or trimmed in, fur; however, because fur is less accepted as a fashion accessory in modern times, other expensive materials are substituted for it, with an opulent lining and trim. Typical fabrics used are velvet, silk, and satin. Capes are still authorized as an alternative to the more utilitarian trench coat for U.S. Army officers in mess dress, formal evening uniform.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 September 2023 |title=This Old Thing? T&C Reviews: The History of Capes |url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/fashion-trends/a44714047/capes-fashion-history/ |access-date=11 October 2024 |website=Town & Country |language=en-US}}</ref>
==The caped overcoat variant== Caped overcoats were popular for men during the Victorian era, with some caped Ulsters featuring multiple layered capes, and the Inverness coat (both formal evening and working day variants) had a cape.<ref>{{cite web |author=Pauline Thomas |url=http://www.fashion-era.com/Coats_history/cloak_costume_history_1.htm |title=Cloak Line Drawings. Fashion and Costume History 1 |publisher=Fashion-era.com |date=8 September 2007 |access-date=17 April 2012 |archive-date=15 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415142759/http://www.fashion-era.com/Coats_history/cloak_costume_history_1.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Inverness coat is no longer commonly worn (though it has begun to be revived, on a limited scale, in steampunk fashion), and the Ulster lost its cape in the 1920s.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}
==As protection== In modern times, capes are commonly used by hair and beauty salons for the purpose of hair styling services, in which usage they protect clothing from loose strands of hair being cut from the head or from the chemicals often used in such styling.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}
==In fiction== right|thumb|upright|Batman and Robin
The cape is a symbol for superheroes in the American comic book genre.<ref name="thr20221021">{{Cite magazine |last1=Couch |first1=Aaron |last2=Galuppo |first2=Mia |last3=Kit |first3=Borys |date=21 October 2022 |title=Marvel, DC Among Last Bastion for Supersized Paydays |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/marvel-dc-florence-pugh-michael-keaton-pay-1235243911/ |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |access-date=27 October 2022}}</ref> They are often used by comic book artists to create the illusion of motion in a still image. Most often, they are worn by heroes like Superman merely as a costume adornment. Other times, as in the case of Batman, Shroud, Cloak, and Doctor Strange, the cape serves a functional purpose, with Batman's cape allowing him to glide, and Cloak and the Shroud's capes enhancing their ability to teleport via the Darkforce. Spawn has a cape (actually a part of his living symbiotic costume) that obeys Spawn's mental commands, changing shape to scare, confuse or even kill would-be attackers, while Meta Knight of the ''Kirby'' franchise disguises his wings as a cape. Some media, such as ''Watchmen'', ''The Incredibles'', and ''Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', comment on the potentially lethal hazards of a cape.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cape Facts – Capes.com |url=https://capes.com/blogs/cape-facts |access-date=11 October 2024 |website=capes.com |date=14 October 2022 }}</ref>
==In religious contexts== In some ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, capes have become a symbol of stringent modesty norms.<ref name=":0" /> Wearing capes developed as a way for ultra-Orthodox women to express their spiritual devotion and demonstrate a higher level of modesty. This trend gained traction in Israel, particularly within the Toldot Aharon sect, where it was initially encouraged by religious leaders as a form of spiritual striving. Some women believe that wearing a cape brings divine protection and blessings, including fertility and health benefits.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal | last1=Block |title=Shouldering the Burden of Redemption: How the ""Fashion"" of Wearing Capes Developed in Ultra-Orthodox Society |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/nashim.22.32?seq=1 |access-date=30 January 2025 |journal=Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues | date=2011 | issue=22 | pages=32–55 | doi=10.2979/nashim.22.32 | jstor=10.2979/nashim.22.32 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> Dracula Cape.jpg|Bela Lugosi as seen in Dracula (1931) sporting a cape. Nezahualpiltzintli.jpg|Tlatoani Nezahualpiltzintli; Aztec king of Texcoco wearing a Mesoamerican cape Milano Italy Carabinieri-01.jpg|Two Italian carabinieri (gendarmes) with capes PazyrikHorseman.JPG|Pazyryk horseman wearing cape 300 BCE Pelerine1911.jpg|A young woman in a crocheted cape </gallery>
==See also== {{wiktionary}} * Artois (cloak) * Cape (dog) * Tippet * Duster (clothing) * Mantle (clothing) * Wrap (clothing) * Inverness cape * Ulster coat
==Notes== {{Commons category}} {{reflist}}
{{Clothing}}
Category:Medieval European costume Category:Robes and cloaks