Public image of men in rain capes

[Hugo]

I love pvc capes and I am determined to wear one whenever possible. However, I feel iffy, can't help it. It seems that a simple pvc cape (see picture below) is the most iffy garment, I ever wanted to wear in public. Against my reason, I fear that people will think, I am filthy, pervert, rapist or whatever. I know that this is probably silly, but it gives me trouble.

This is me in a cape that I consider completely "harmless" until I want to step out of the door wearing it:
http://www.likera.com/forum/mybb/attach ... p?aid=2109

Over the internet, I tried to find answers from "normal" people but it looks like nobody ever talks about rain capes for men, except for bikers, but that is about a completely different design or even ponchos, so useless. So, what do you people think? What are your experiences with capes in public. I would especially like to know, how those "who think too much" overcame their concerns and also, what other people said to you.

[merv]

well the picture doesnt show as it seems one has to be a member of whatever site it is you have posted it on.
As for wearing a cape, not my thing, always prefer a raincoat personally but if you want to wear one why shouldn't you.

[Hugo]

Oops, I wasn't aware that that site requires login. Here is a new link to photobucket:

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i46 ... ecapes.jpg

Too bad, I can't edit the old post.

[merv]

oh nice picture and do like the look of that cape but would not wear it out for sure, could be a fun item for around the house though

[Hugo]

Thanks

This is encouraging, even though you wouldn't wear it in public.

[wellyboy]

Your yellow cape looks lovely and I see no reason why you should think that it makes you look weird, pervy etc
To me it is an everyday raincape worn by lots of people. Most important of all it keeps you dry and happy in yourself.
Don't worry what other people think about what you wear. You will find that many people don't even notice what we wear.
So chin up and on with your raincape.

[pvc_pete]

It probably wouldn't look out of place whilst riding a bike in public.

Pete

[Hugo]

I can't explain, why I have these irrational thoughts and looking at that picture tells me how silly they are. But there is a lot of social and self-implied conditioning in me that I haven't overcome yet. I am trying hard though, and had quite some success in the past, just not with capes.

Bycicles, especially racing bikes, are indeed a great excuse for wearing lots of garments, not only rain gear and I am exploiting this as much as I like. Unfortunately, long capes don't work on racing bikes. But I seriously consider buying a poncho of similar length for biking. At the moment, I am stuck at selecting a colour from shiny red, transparent yellow, transparent orange and the same yellow as the cape.

But, as nice as bike-excuses are, I want to wear stuff without the need of excuses. And by the way, the reason is often style. As much as I like rain gear, I can't enjoy wearing stuff that doesn't suit me - and I think that most of the rain gear made for men is not exactly stylish.

[Jjai]

I think you will find that if you wear your rain cape on wet and rainy days then no one will bother to look twice at you. Once you have worn it out a few times you will wonder what all the fuss was about and will not bother to think about wearing it outdoors.
These days so many people wear so many styles that you will probably not stand out half as much as you believe !
People will get used to seeing you in it after a while and it will seem mundane and normal to them .

[Hugo]

You are right, it is not a question of style. When it comes to style, men are the first to ignore it although there are some really stylish garments available for us. And I already said, that the cape suits me well. I had to go through this process a few times, especially with hoods and scarves. After all, I only have one more reason than others to wear some things, and I tend to forget, that the reasons are not visible at all. Of course, it would be more obvious to wear rain gear on a dry hot summer day, but even then, most people probably wouldn't know where to put that.

I read an interesting article about capes for men, their fashion history and the change of associations with them. According to that article, capes have pretty much vanished from today's fashion, despite some efforts from the fashion houses. Soldiers and British policemen were the last to officially wear capes (well, ponchos in most cases, but not all) and most other capes are worn by evil sorcerers, mad scientists and vampires. I excluded super heroes, because their capes are of a different type. Apparently, the "happy capes" have to be reintroduced.

By the way, thanks a lot for your comments so far. They helped me a lot, I enjoyed two long walks in my cape these days and now I have to solve some more practical questions:

- How suitable are capes in crowded buses where I have to stand and hold onto a strap on the ceiling?
- What to wear under a cape during the cold season?
- Where are my rain boots?
- Do I really need a backpack? I don't like the idea of wearing it under a cape because it looks like a deformed back and pulls the cape collar against my neck.
- How transparent is the cape (i.e. can I wear really inappropriate clothes underneath)?