Cloaked in Magic

I know Underdog is not the most revered cartoon caped crusade.  I just like what the superhero stood for.  Shoeshine Boy’s alter-ego Underdog, appeared whenever his love interest Sweet Polly Purebred was being victimized by villains as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff (don’t you love their names). When villiains threatened, Shoeshine Boy, ducked into a telephone booth where he was transformed into the caped and costumed hero, destroying the booth in the process when his super powers were activated. Underdog nearly always spoke in rhyme, as in “There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!”  The secret to his super powers were in the pill he swallowed that was stored in his ring.

Typically when one thinks of caped crusaders, they may consider the DC or Marvel Comic Book superhero’s such as Superman, Batman, SpiderMan, Iron Man, Thor, or Captain America. My memories of capes stem from Grimm Fairy Tales characters like Red Riding Hood, Snow White, CInderella and Sleeping Beauty mainly because my Dad didn’t allow my older brother and I to read comic books while we were growing up.  So my memories of caped crusaders were in the Grimm Fairy Tales female characters. Before they became Disney characters, Little Red Riding Hood, CInderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, they were all Grimm Fairy Tales.  Ever notice these ladies were always clothed in hooded cloaks/capes?   To me the cloaks represented mystery and magic.

Capes to me are dramatic, don’t you like a touch a drama?  I believe capes have magical powers.  I like how a cape can transform any outfit from blah to chic, from plain to sophisticated and distinctive, pair with leather riding boots or booties, leather gloves especially the long ones that go over your wrists with an “it” bag then the elegance begins.

I mentioned in another post about the peplum having it ‘s moment.  Designers seem to have rediscovered the utilitarian cloak to become feminine and fascinating now as a cape as evidenced in the latest runways.  Women and men frequently wear capes as a fashion statement, so not just comic book superheroes wore capes, everyone gets to enjoy this  the magical moments .

Another funny cape memory I must share, some of you may remember “The Godfather of Soul” singer James Brown was known to wear capes and prominently used it during concerts when he feigned exhaustion.  The MC or saxophone player Maceo Parker would escort Brown off the stage and Brown would shake off the cape and return to stage for an encore performance with the song, “Please, Please, Please.” Now that’s a showman with stage presence and drama.

I noticed a few of my fave movies where the lead femaile character is wearing hooded cloaks/capes like Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face and Kim Basinger in LA Confidential.

As you can see I have this fascination with capes, I still have the long black cape that I wore during my first pregnancy and I wore a cape for the logo of my blog.   How about you–any fashion fascinations? Any piece of clothing that you are obsessed with?