Will cloaks ever come back into fashion?

No one would even be able to see me in the one I have even if they did come back into style.

Are they warm?

I’ve never worn one but it could be a winter alternative.

They are so warm. I have one and I love it. Before I got my puffer coat, it was the final, final layer on those really cold days. I often take it when traveling because of the potential to double as a blanket.

Absolutely. You just need a few movies with only heroes wearing them. They are a lot warmer than you’d think if you’ve never worn one.

@cprevite—as others have said, they’re very warm. My way of explaining this is that a coat of fabric X will be less warm than a cloak of the same fabric. Why? The cocoon effect. There’s a lot of warm air with you in there, which you just can’t get with a coat, and it cuts the wind magnificently. Now, no cloak I have is good enough for an Iowa winter (though maybe all six together would be), but cloak over coat will do amazingly.

As for the original question… Based on the above information, they should come back in fashion, though I doubt that they ever will, other than more poncho-like things that women can wear to fancy events. However, at my college, we have ‘Cloak Brigade’, which just means that there are a lot of us who wear cloaks around campus, so there will, on the other hand, always be people wearing them around on a regular basis—anyone who wears one becomes a member, though they may not end up hearing about it… And I certainly wear mine around town during the winter, and people comment positively on it, so maybe there’s a little bit of hope there.

Hoorah! So, the next question, what should I look for in a cloak? Also, where should I look?

Wool. You should look for wool. With a nice lining. As for where, the place I got mine went out of business. Possibly because they only made pretty heavy capes and cloaks and that’s not a great business plan in the deep south.

Why do we wait for things to ‘come into fashion’ before we wear them? Why not bring them into fashion by wearing them?

@Grisson Well, things that are ‘in fashion’ are easier to purchase, and sometimes harder to avoid. I lost a tshirt and I want to replace it with one in the same style but all the shops are filled with Y-neck buttony things because they’re in fashion. I don’t like them but the kind I want isn’t in fashion so I can’t get them.

No one is surprised at cloaks in NYC. Men and women wear them. That’s the thing about a megalopolis, people will wear anything, fashion be damned.

i wouldnt even know where to look for a cloak around my way. I sure would like one though.

I must correct what I said earlier! They still exist! I had just heard they were going out of business and thought they had. They are not cheap at all. In fact, I really think they only way they are affordable is by showing up in person to buy a pre-made, on sale one, but if someone really wanted to plonk down the money, there you go.

They no longer make the style I have, which is similar to the Harrison, but lined.

@EmpressPixie The neat thing about this newfangled internet thingie is that they can be in Texas and still sell warm cloaks where they’re needed! (I just lurve technology!)

@Grisson: They were around before the Internet thingie had taken off. I became obsessed with the store as a child. They probably did more of their business by going to Ren Fests. I know they went to the Texas and North Carolina fests. I’m sure they went to others as well, I mean, who’s going to buy a cape if not those folks? But still—I wasn’t horribly shocked when I heard the rumor.

I knew a guy in college that wore a genuine, tailored cloak in cold weather. I thought it was pretty badass.

Visiting Ren Fairs always works… So do internets. Actually, truth be told, I made my main winter cloak… sorry, the photo is bad—only so much I can do with a self-timer There are patterns out there which can also be used; I just kind of envisioned and designed it (with lots of help from my father), using polar fleece (why not) for the lining and covering it with some sort of fabric called suede (but isn’t leather?). If anyone’s interested, I can explain the technique; I made two cloaks this way and they were both very satisfactory. Plus it’s kind of fun…

I’ve always wanted a cloak. It’s just so dang warm here…

Cloaks are indeed wonderfully warm, and they are easy to make by hand. But if you have to do anything with your hands – such as pay subway fare, or open a door – you lose a great deal of the heat. And it’s a major pain to do things like sit down in a car with a cloak on—and you might as well just take it off, because you have to have the cloak open to drive.

With mass-production technology that allows us to have long coats, the cloak loses out—because a full length coat gives you most of the warmth advantage of a cloak, but you can also do things like pay subway fare, sit in cars, and open doors while still remaining warm.

Cloaks are sexier, though.

@knotmyday- totally agree! Cloaks are supersexy!

I wear mine all the time, bought it at the renn faire, but I forgot how much it set me back…

I lurve it so… With the exception of the hassle of doing those everyday tasks cwilbur mentioned…

My sister made cloaks before her arthritis got too bad to do the piecing. She made me one, and I love it except for two things; It doesn’t have shoulders — and it’s heavy, so it slips down my back and chokes me if I don’t watch it. Also, the car thing mentioned earlier is a limitation; if I knew how to sew I’d make reclosable armholes in the side seams so I could poke my arms through to drive and hold onto subway straps.

Thinking about it, cloaks are great anti-pickpocket wear!

There is someone on the bus wearing a very nice one right now!! He made it, I asked.

The problem with cloakwearing is that people either think you’re a Rennie, playing D&D, or they ask questions like “Are you a witch?”

I was Wiccan when I was asked that last one, walking across town in a cloak at night, and the guy ‘bout had a cow when I said, “Yes, but it doesn’t have anything to do with what I’m wearing.”

did you point at him and cackle “eeee heee heee?”

I should have. He just kept nattering on about how I should have more respect for myself.

Did you tell him to go blow himself after that?

ummm…. NOO!??

Maybe if more people watched Heroes…who doesn’t want to be like Sylar?