1800s French Capes

Capes were a convenient shape to cover popular dress styles.

Although cloak, coat and cape were used somewhat synonymously for nineteenth-century outerwear, a cape is best defined as a piece of outerwear hip length or shorter that is generally more decorative than functional, with or without sleeves. Capes were particularly popular for women in nineteenth-century France, due to the difficulty of covering over the large dress skirts that were in vogue. Although there were more varieties of capes for women, men also had a few cape styles to choose from.

Women: Pelisse-Mantle

Though the regular Pelisse was a popular coat style during this era, the pelisse-mantle was a fashionable cape. Usually waist-length, the cape had hanging, large sleeves and was sometimes tied in the back at the waist.

Women: Tudor and Paletot Capes

Seen largely towards the very end of the 1800s, the Tudor cape was a circular cape made of embroidered cloth. The textural contrast of the embroidery was the most important decorative element for the Tudor cape.

The Paletot was a men's style full-length overcoat, but in the latter half of the 1800s it became a women's style coat with a decorative cape attached at the shoulders. Women would sometimes add extra flaps of fabric at the shoulder to create the look of up to three capes.

Both of these cape types were more popular in England, but they were worn in France as well.

Men: Raglan Cape

Popular during the latter half of the century, the Raglan cape was a very loose overcoat with pointed, wide sleeves and a diagonal seam. The cape was often made from water resistant material and was a popular choice for inclement weather. The raglan style of sleeve is still used in modern clothing styles, particularly in baseball jerseys.

Men: Coats with Capes

A variety of caped coats were available in this era. The options were generally the Cambridge coat or the Inverness, which were longer coats decorated with capes at the shoulder. These styles were primarily popular in England, but due to the proximity of the two countries, the styles were not unknown in France during the 1800s.

Tags: Capes were, latter half, popular England, styles were, Tudor cape, were more