A Spanish cloak is a garment typically worn in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

-speaking world, and dates back to the late nineteenth century. It was the garment of priests and traditional Christians. It is called "Spanish" or even "Pañosa," being made of cloth, wide flight and with bands of velvet lining revealing colour at the front edges.

History

The cloak is thought to originate from the "Sagun", a garment worn by the Celtiberians. Much later the cloak was banned by one of the ministers of Carlos III, triggering the start of the Esquilache riots in the eighteenth century.

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, in 1845, wrote that the cloak "favours habits of inactivity, prevents the over-zealous arms or elbows from doing anything, conceals a knife and rags, and, when muffled around, offers a disguise for intrigues and robbery", and that this is why it was banned. The first cloaks of the nineteenth century came from some of the wool-producing areas such as

Béjar Béjar () is a town and Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located in the province of Salamanca, autonomous community of Castile and León. As of 2018, it had a population of 12,961. The historical development of the town has been link ...

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

. It is for this reason that one of its early precursors corresponds to the Duke of Béjar. Capas Seseña - Madrid

In the nineteenth century the cloak became very popular and thought of as elegant and stylish. Its use decreased around 1900. The journalist Antonio Velasco Zazo founded in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

the Association Cloak (called "La capa") in 1928, which was devoted entirely to encouraging the Spanish cloak as part of the popular apparel in Madrid. Zazo frequently wore the "castizo Spanish coat", whilst still wearing a hat, a custom among intellectuals. Although the association emerged in Madrid, it was something also typical in the history of Spain, and its prevalence existed in many cities.

Features

The cloak is long, open at the front and sleeveless. It was originally worn by men; models for women began to exist at the end of the 20th century. The most common colours for the cloak are black, navy blue and brown. It typically includes a fibula (generally similar to those of forms charro button).. It is often made of 100% sheep's

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

, or 90% wool and 10% cashmere. In the present day it typically includes some amount of

polyamide A polyamide is a polymer with repeating units linked by amide bonds. Polyamides occur both naturally and artificially. Examples of naturally occurring polyamides are proteins, such as wool and silk. Artificially made polyamides can be made through ...

tissue. The emboli, the part that covers the face, is almost always 100% cotton

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

and is dyed in different colours: red, maroon, green.

References

External links

The spaniard cloak (Blog)
{{Folk costumes Coats (clothing) History of clothing (Western fashion) Spanish fashion