The time of the year has come to pull out the cloak, coat, pelisse, wraps, and spencers. At least, it is for those of us who live in climates that have winter from November/December to March/April and have frosted fields, snow on the ground for months on end, and the weather can remain at freezing temperatures weeks after the calendar tells us it’s spring.
I could not have thought up a better explanation: “An introduction to the names possible for coats and cloaks often confusing to the costume beginner. Many terms like Mantles, mantelets, cloaks, capes, capelets and pelerines, pelisse, pardessus, paletot, and redingote confuse and mystify – but all are coats, jackets or upper body cover-ups.” –A Cloak, Coat, Mantelet, and Jacket Fashion History from 1800 (fashion-era.com)
One needed to use different outerwear at different times, and I wanted to make certain I wrote accurately about outerwear in the context. It took time to learn and categorize, and I have my favorite depictions of women’s outerwear as well as the greatcoats for men.
The gentleman wore a greatcoat over his attire and looked ever so dashing in the wearing of it.
But soon, in but a few months, we can pull out the spencers yet again! Isn’t it a most wonderful time of year as our winter doldrums melt away with the warmer days as flowers appear in the fields and trees start to bud. (Though if you suffer from allergies, I do sympathize.)
And then it is all too soon summer. What could be a better accessory for a lady than her shawl for a sunset stroll?
But for those times of year and evenings when the cloak is the best choice, the most staple of choices, per janeausten.co.uk, is the red cloak. It was a must have, a crème de la crème, the pièce de resistance of a lady’s wardrobe. The perfect way to draw a gentleman’s eye, just as a young lady found nothing more alluring than a man in a red coat. For those of you who have a talent for sewing or would like to try the art and feel like a red cloak would be just the thing, I have added a link to making one worn by “Lydia and Kitty Bennet” in the Pride and Prejudice 1995 BBC adaptation. Sew a Walking Cloak – Jane Austen articles and blog
If you do make one, please let us know how it goes!
Sources for Pull Out Your Cloaks and Coats
Matthews, Mimi “Shawls and Wraps in 19th Century Art, Literature, and Fashion History” Mimi Matthews, July 29, 2015 Shawls and Wraps in 19th Century Art, Literature, and Fashion History | Mimi Matthews
Hatch, Donna “Regency Gentlemen’s Greatcoats” Donna Hatch, March 3, 2017 Regency Gentlemen’s Greatcoats – Donna Hatch
Chloe “Regency Fashion History 1800-1825 | Beautiful Pictures Empire Line Dresses” Fashion Era, Updated December 20, 2023 Regency Fashion History 1800-1825 | Beautiful Pictures Empire Line Dresses (fashion-era.com)
Fashion Era A Cloak, Coat, Mantelet and Jacket Fashion History from 1800 (fashion-era.com) © 2023 Fashion-era.com
Boyle, Laura “Sew a Walking Cloak” Janeausten.co.uk, June 17, 2011, Sew a Walking Cloak – Jane Austen articles and blog
Boyle, Laura “The Regency Red Cloak—a fashion staple!” Janeausten.co.uk, March 12, 2013The Regency Red Cloak – a fashion staple! – Jane Austen articles and blog
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