# Do capes have any practical use as clothing or just decorative? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847 "2018-05-26T05:09:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/21 "2018-05-26T21:19:00Z")
Just not for superheroes is all - Edna ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/22 "2018-05-26T21:32:40Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > you could wrap them around your off hand to use as a makeshift targe and/or let it hang in front of you to hide the exact position of your weapon I spent some time playing with rapiers to pass the free time during a long slow deployment to Bosnia. It started with someone who specialized in the rapier in the SCA wanting to stay sharp. It was most distinctly not fencing. We used authentic period rapier designs, just unsharpened. We also did things illegal in fencing like circling and blocking with our off hand by slapping the side of the weapon. We did some work with bucklers, daggers, and briefly a second sword towards the end. (In my case the second sword was best for parrying myself. :smack:) The instructor had a cape made in a local sewing shop. It was incredibly effective the one day he brought it. In the defense, it could swirl in and knock an attack off the mark. Even more annoying for me, it hid the start of his attacks. Reduced reaction time to parry was a big disadvantage. By the time he brought the cape, I could beat him a reasonable minority of the time. He was clearly better but I mixed being good enough to not lose immediately with being bad enough to be completely unpredictable. The day he brought the cape out it was like playing one on one basketball against Lebron James. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/23 "2018-05-26T21:43:53Z")
One of my best friends wears one when it’s cold, blustery. Seems to work quite well for her and looks good. She is also one that is perfectly happy in beat up shorts and an old tee shirt, or formal evening wear. She is very much “Dance like no one is watching, sing like no one is listening”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/24 "2018-05-27T00:08:47Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > One of my best friends wears one when it’s cold, blustery. Seems to work quite well for her and looks good. > > She is also one that is perfectly happy in beat up shorts and an old tee shirt [This is her, isn’t it?](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dfqd6XfE0Vo/UZEpELdTDKI/AAAAAAAAYSs/LQDUHln0XhU/s1600/stas+book-07.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/25 "2018-05-27T02:48:09Z")
I think like many fashion choices, things started as a practical wardrobe choice and evolved into a fashion statement. Lapels, for example, are the remnant of the flaps on a coat that could fold out and close up the collar when it was cold; but while this still works on greatcoats, it’s strictly decoration on a tux or blazer. Similarly cuffs on old-timey coats were the folded-back sleeves that could cover the hands when cold, and the buttons were practical - to hold the cuffs folded back. Today we have shirt cuffs, we have buttons on cuffs that do nothing, etc. Same with cloaks/capes. The originals long ago were assorted blankets that eventually evolved to shaped covers; then to mildly practical as per opera-goers; from the very practical all-around coverage to the strictly decorative waving-in-the-wind superhero bath-towel-clipped-on-the-shoulders. ---
**Author:** ![Richox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Richox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richox)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/26 "2018-05-27T04:26:46Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > I spent some time playing with rapiers to pass the free time during a long slow deployment to Bosnia. It started with someone who specialized in the rapier in the SCA wanting to stay sharp. It was most distinctly not fencing. We used authentic period rapier designs, just unsharpened. We also did things illegal in fencing like circling and blocking with our off hand by slapping the side of the weapon. We did some work with bucklers, daggers, and briefly a second sword towards the end. (In my case the second sword was best for parrying myself. :smack:) The instructor had a cape made in a local sewing shop. It was incredibly effective the one day he brought it. In the defense, it could swirl in and knock an attack off the mark. Even more annoying for me, it hid the start of his attacks. Reduced reaction time to parry was a big disadvantage. > > By the time he brought the cape, I could beat him a reasonable minority of the time. He was clearly better but I mixed being good enough to not lose immediately with being bad enough to be completely unpredictable. The day he brought the cape out it was like playing one on one basketball against Lebron James. That’s a very cool story. Sounds like a cape is a legitimate part of a swordsman’s repertoire. I’m led to understand the idea of one-on-one sword duels were far less frequent than depicted in books and movies, though I wonder if the cape had an equally important role in larger set piece battles prior to the advent of firearms? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/27 "2018-05-27T04:42:35Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > FDR had a thing for capes: > > [http://www.cleverhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/FDR-in-a-cape.jpg](http://www.cleverhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/FDR-in-a-cape.jpg) > [THE IRON PEN by Daniel Hite: Image](https://danielhite.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/fdr-aboard.jpg?w=658&h=482) > [https://jfkplusfifty.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/sam\_1001.jpg](https://jfkplusfifty.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/sam_1001.jpg) Easier to put on and take off a cape when you’re confined to a wheelchair. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/28 "2018-05-27T06:07:43Z")
> [@Richox](#): > > That’s a very cool story. Sounds like a cape is a legitimate part of a swordsman’s repertoire. I’m led to understand the idea of one-on-one sword duels were far less frequent than depicted in books and movies, though I wonder if the cape had an equally important role in larger set piece battles prior to the advent of firearms? Nah, in battle you have armour, you have a pike (or a horse and lance, or a musket) and most importantly you have 20 guys to help you out and they have 20 guys to help them out. Fancy duelling just isn’t done on a battlefield. As for one-on-one duelling, it was enough of a common thing that a) Louis XIII of France tried to ban it as part of his plan to consolidate the King’s power (and reduce the power of the nobility) and b) the nobles were so adamant to keep this right that it almost caused a civil war. That’s where the whole Three Musketeers vs. The Cardinal’s Guards thing comes from : the King’s Musketeers represent the Ancient Régime nobility’s values (and privileges) while Richelieu is modernity & the rise of absolutism. When young Louis XIV tried it again early in his reign it \*did \*cause a civil war. Well, OK, it wasn’t the only reason for [La Fronde](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fronde), but it was frequently referenced all the same. Similar problems arose in England when the monarchy tried to curb honour duels (for the same reason, also with the argument that English nobles shouldn’t hurt each other when they could be hurting Dutch, French or Scottish nobles instead). Duelling was popular for two reasons. For one thing, it was private justice and a way to enforce one’s right using one’s might and martial training, which for a long time was the nobility’s hat ; in fact after the Renaissance when noble families started dabbling in finance and commerce and academics the French old guard became all the more adamant to call itself the\* noblesse d’épée, \*as in “we got where we are via our swords”, to distinguish itself from the \*noblesse de robe, \*guys who’d bought their titles or gained them through administrative or judicial roles. In the feudal social contract the role of nobility (and the justification for its privilege) was to fight and protect the other orders, and having the right to duel one’s way out of a legal dispute was a way to remind people of that. The other part of that equation is that when there wasn’t a war on, the nobility had nothing to do and no way to gain status, honour, glory etc… for itself. So duelling became a way for nobles in civil society to distinguish themselves and one-up each other when they couldn’t do it on a real battlefield while at the same time keeping their martial skills sharp for when a real war would come. Tournaments and jousts were about the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/29 "2018-05-27T11:23:42Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Big drawback with capes- they get caught in doors very easily. Especially carriage, and now car, doors. I suspect that’s the main reason they suddenly went out of fashion. Oh, more than [doors](https://youtu.be/M68ndaZSKa8?t=119). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/30 "2018-05-27T12:39:24Z")
Capes are _warm_. I have 3 - I got them for the SCA but wear them at other times. My black velvet cape, especially. > [@DinoR](#): > > It was most distinctly not fencing. It definitely \*was \*fencing. That’s what you call fighting with civilian swords. It just wan’t sport fencing. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/31 "2018-05-27T14:48:50Z")
Nobody remembers the “Highlander?” “There can be only one”. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/32 "2018-05-27T16:28:08Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Just not for superheroes is all - Edna > [@DesertDog](#): > > Oh, more than [doors](https://youtu.be/M68ndaZSKa8?t=119). See the OP. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/33 "2018-05-27T20:07:54Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It definitely \*was \*fencing. That’s what you call fighting with civilian swords. It just wan’t sport fencing. It is? Thanks - I never knew that - I always figured fencing meant the difference in intent - [sharpening your skills and/or scoring points] compared with [inflict maximum harm]. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/34 "2018-05-27T22:03:24Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > FDR had a thing for capes: > [https://jfkplusfifty.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/sam\_1001.jpg](https://jfkplusfifty.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/sam_1001.jpg) Falva! FDR wore a Naval officer’s boat cloak. It was useful to him because polio made various movements difficult for him. Eleanor related that after FDR’s death, Falva would sit in the middle of the house where he could see the front and back door, waiting for FDR to come home. She said he was obedient and polite to her, but he was just waiting for FDR to return. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/35 "2018-05-27T22:26:59Z")
I should think that capes are very useful when you don’t want to be bothered with another layer of sleeves. One reason I hate coats and jackets—even light suit jackets—is how they encumber your arm movements. And if you’re wearing certain kinds of clothes, sleeves might ruin the design underneath. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/36 "2018-05-27T23:07:41Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Falva! > > FDR wore a Naval officer’s boat cloak. It was useful to him because polio made various movements difficult for him. > > Eleanor related that after FDR’s death, Falva would sit in the middle of the house where he could see the front and back door, waiting for FDR to come home. She said he was obedient and polite to her, but he was just waiting for FDR to return. [Fala](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fala_%28dog%29?wprov=sfla1) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2018, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/37 "2018-05-27T23:33:03Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [Fala](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fala_%28dog%29?wprov=sfla1) Thanks, Fear. FDR related how POed Fala was when Republicans began rumors that he was left behind somewhere and was returned at enormous cost by the US Navy. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/38 "2018-05-28T00:02:16Z")
Of what use are they to superheroes? I think the trend started with Superman, but why? For someone like Batman, who engages quite a lot in acrobatics and hand to hand fighting, it seems like it would be an encumbrance. I realize that they’re fictional and the creators probably just thought that they looked cool, but did they have other reasons in mind? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/39 "2018-05-28T01:01:21Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Of what use are they to superheroes? I think the trend started with Superman, but why? > > For someone like Batman, who engages quite a lot in acrobatics and hand to hand fighting, it seems like it would be an encumbrance. > > I realize that they’re fictional and the creators probably just thought that they looked cool, but did they have other reasons in mind? IIRC, part of the reason for the cape (like the underpants on the outside) was to make Superman’s look suggest “circus strongman” — and part of why a circus strongman would wear a cape is (a) because he’s going to show off his muscles when flexing in tights; and (b) since he can only do his best flexing for a limited amount of time, starting that right when he throws back the cape is kind of a smart move. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847/40 "2018-05-28T01:03:52Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Of what use are they to superheroes? I think the trend started with Superman, but why? > > For someone like Batman, who engages quite a lot in acrobatics and hand to hand fighting, it seems like it would be an encumbrance. > > I realize that they’re fictional and the creators probably just thought that they looked cool, but did they have other reasons in mind? Batman and Superman’s uniforms were based on the costumes worn by circus performers like strongmen and acrobats. They wore tight bodysuits called union suits, a pair of shorts or briefs over them, to hide their pelvic bulges, and capes. They removed the capes before doing any physical stunts, like a lot of wrestlers and boxers still do. But I guess Batman and Superman couldn’t really leave their capes behind when they started punching. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-capes-have-any-practical-use-as-clothing-or-just-decorative/814847.md?page=3)