Can we please bring back cloaks?

metaltoilet@beehaw.org to Chat@beehaw.org – 214 points –

They're so great!

  • Pockets

  • Super cool looking

  • Warm

  • Blanket whenever you need them

||Just don't make them a neckbeard thing people!||

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Cloaks? I want these hats back:

Chaperone

I remember a video some dude put out where he discussed how he's pretty sure he discovered that those hats were just some other article of clothing rolled up which is why they're a little silly... I'd need to look for the video again. He'd made something, I forget what, and realized that it folded up into that hat exactly.

I don't know the video you are talking about, but the piece of clothing this hats developed from is called gugel. Someone decided to wear the part for the face on the head, and fancy fashion it became.

Watching historical series and the hats people used to wear makes me want one too. But then I remember all the tips fedora jokes.

Be the change you want to see. Whats stopping you from rocking a cloak?

I was literally just shopping for cloak sewing templates. If anything I’ll have a nice costume.

Immediately people start hiding rifles and rock launchers under their cape. But it’s ok. I’ll curl up in my rock patterned cape to camouflage as a rock.

Come to College in portugal! Is part of the atire.

I had a "traje academico" back in those days. Loved to wear it on winter, it was so warm and confy.

I'm worried about the safety implications of bringing them back. What if they got caught in an escalator, elevator door, taxi door, normal door.

Plus I think it would be rude if you are walking down the sidewalk and your cape/cloak keeps touching people who are walking by you.

I don't think anybody worries about those things happening with long dresses, which are already plenty common and have similar risk.

Flashbacks to that chapter of The Watchmen where Dollar Bill tried to stop a bank robbery at a bank with revolving doors...

Do you know about dresses ?

The long but slim/tight ones seem fine in most circumstances, but you can't be claiming that the big and loose ones don't tend to make their wearer hyper focused on trying to get through the "danger areas" without incident.

I am aware of them haha but I know that those who wear them also do not like to wear long ones because of the inconvenience they cause.

It kind of irks me to be spoken for, so to say, so just for the record: me right here, I wear dresses, and I especially like to wear long ones. We do exist!

Also, any inconvenience is a worthy trade-off for vastly minimised accidental flashing risks, for me personally. I like dresses, but I'm not always good at remembering I'm wearing one 😅

Yikes, didnt think of that. I think we could work it all out though.

Check out the Cloak brand of clothes, they've got really neat cloaks that are super warm and fashionable!

Is that even a cloak? Seems more like an attached cape.

I want full cult/jedi ammonitiy.

Cloaks are really a cool idea and I miss them, not that I was ever alive for them being en vogue haha

A great look despite the obvious hazard of them getting caught on things

I'm no hobbit, but they seem impractical to me. Drafty in cold weather and sweaty in cool weather. I'll stick with modern breathable Gor-Tex!

I have one that a friend made for me. Thick, warm, waterproof, not only is it my favorite "winter coat," I legit get compliments from strangers when I wear it in public.

I had one for a couple years, best winter 'coat' I've ever had! You probably shouldn't wear it with just a t-shirt underneath in the freezing snow, but with a sweater - you could wear that in the freezing rain for a while!

I always layer up in cold weather anyway; I hate feeling cold.

If I see one I'll get one and then probably not wear it. Unles it turns out to be super cool

The problem with a super cool item of clothing is you then have to make the rest of your outfit cool enough to match, or you look like a goof. Chunibyo territory.

It's doable but requires effort and wardrobe expansiveness.

You might think they look cool but they don't work that well when it's actually cold or raining hard

I've been thinking about this recently with the heat in my region. Wouldn't a light cloak, with very light clothing underneath, work well for sun protection (one or two layers over skin) while still keeping fairly cool (due to airflow)?

I feel like a lot of peacoats, and even more so whatever you call those grandmotherly women's overshirts that drape and don't have buttons, are really close to this already.

Also, of course, traditional Arab clothing, like hijab. Light, really flowy, and complete with hood or a scarf that serves the same purpose. I know Muslim women who look way more comfortable than anyone else in the summer.

Or pants or shorts plus a windbreaker, or a poncho.

Tldr: I agree, they can be practical; they just also potentially make you look nerdy or edgelordy compared to existing and socially accepted similar options, depending on how well you coordinate the outfit and such.

It might be hard to make one equally practical to similar options as well, honestly. With a light jacket, you can take the jacket off easily and drape it over something, or tie it around your waist. But a light cloak might be more difficult to make while preserving the aesthetic you want, since it's more material all in one piece, and lighter material might flap around or tangle in the wind goofily instead of flaring dramatically? Maybe if you weighted it just at the end, and more toward the center than the edges? I wonder how costume departments do it for movies.

I think that’s basically how traditional bedouin clothing works?

I have a cloak that I got from Topshop when I was a teenager. Was great for wearing at festivals. Still have it but doubt it fits these days

yes! we absolutely should bring them back. They are really functional and also just look fabulous!