Ten of My Favourite: Capes

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to wear capes. I've worn them in different ways throughout my life, starting with when I wore them to play dress-up as a child. I later wore them both ironically and then with all of the seriousness I could muster, when I was a Goth. The first winter coat I ever made myself was a cape made from Italian wool and lined with fleece. It had a hood and wee bells dangling from the ends of  its cordon.

Years ago I noticed that people in a lot of European countries also wore capes. In NYC capes were huge during the sixties and seventies, going from shorter mod versions to longer, peace-and-love and flared pants-covering ones. Then, around 2010, they made a comeback and have been holding steady since. Here in Montreal, I only began seeing capes on racks last fall and it's only this year that they could qualify as trendy, although I have barely seen any on actual people. the lack of a garment's popularity in Montréal has never swayed me before and it certainly won't now.

My criteria this time is simply that it looks good. You can easily style a cape with what you have on your arms or legs and feet and by changing what you do with your hair.

...Onward to ten of my favourite capes!

1. The Michael Kors pea coat cape for $295.00 USD.

2. ZARA's checkered studio cape for $269.00 CAD.

3. Banana Republic's monogram colorblock wool cape for $225.00 USD.

4, 5, 6. The next three are all from asos.com.

The Jarlo Kerry Check Cape for $85.43 USD.

The Cooper and Strollbrand Cape for $104.12 USD.

The Mango Wool Cape Coat for $177.96 USD.

7. As much as I would love to point you to stores that have several of the same thing in stock, I'm afraid this is where my mainstream retail list runs dry. That said, I have acquired most of my favourite capes and coats from the thrift store. Along the same vein, I will show you four gorgeous, vintage capes currently listed on Etsy. It's also a safe bet seeing as most capes will fit most sizes.

This Irish wool cape is $94.99 CAD.

8. This 1960's Betty Rose cape is $84.32 CAD.

9. This reversible cape from the 60's is $307.40 CAD.

10. This argyle cape is currently on sale for $40.56 CAD.

Posted in: asos,banana republic,cape,etsy,fall 2013,fall shopping,michael kors,plaid,shopping guide,ten of my favourite,tweed,vintage,wool,zara