The earliest garments known to man were essentially cloaks – protective furs or animal skins worn across the back and shoulders. Woven textiles evolved during the prehistoric era and un-sewn square, rectangular or semi-circular lengths of cloth, or circular bell-shaped cloaks with a simple hole for the head, were worn over the inner clothes, providing a warm outer layer. These basic wraps, tied, pinned or draped around the body, also served as blankets at night for ordinary people worldwide, such as the Roman soldier, the Scottish Highland shepherd in his plaid and the desert Arab in his burnous, their size and material determined by climatic conditions.

The word ‘cloak’ derives from Latin cloca (cape) and by the Christian Anglo-Saxon period, different cloak-like garments included the casul (ecclesiastical chasuble) and the unisex mentel (mantle). By the Middle Ages voluminous, sumptuous cloaks of velvet or fine woollen cloth, secured at the shoulders with jewelled brooches, were worn by the wealthy, while labourers wore shorter cloaks – clear markers of social status. During the Elizabethan and Stuart eras, cloaks were fashionable for men throughout society, the most luxurious made from rich fabrics, beautifully lined and worn elegantly over one shoulder.

Over time, greatcoats and other male coats came into vogue, although a capacious cloak might still be donned for travelling. Some cloaks had hoods, such as the ‘cardinal’, fashionable for women, who wore mantles into the Victorian age. A red hooded cloak was immortalised in the folk tale ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, referring to a hooded cloak worn for riding and as an outer wrap by women and children. During the 1700s and early 1800s, bright scarlet or crimson riding hoods of woollen cloth became so popular for country wear that the red riding hood or cloak is one of the only English garments that may be termed ‘traditional’. In the early 20th century cloaks added glamour and drama to evening wear but eventually the ancient garment became outmoded. Nonetheless the cloak survives today as a theatrical prop, conveying an air of fantasy, magic and intrigue.