Capes?

Okay, I'm not usually one to completely write off a whole category of fashion item, there are usually some exceptions to the rule that show you that you should not poo-poo things wholly as a group, however the mini-cape / capelet / shrug / coverlet genre is one piece I really do not get at all.

Herein lies my beef:

- A cape is a lovely item, a romantic, countryside, tussle in the woods kind of clothing. One which makes the wearer look like a certain type of person, a little eccentric perhaps, but definitely confident and in charge of their own sense of style. It is a poncho made good. Given a backbone and pulled out of its stroppy, awkward teenage former years.

This Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons is, for me, the perfect example of "good cape".

However, the cape's little sister is a poor wannabe of an item and one with little style, no mind of its own and not really even any purpose. A capelet can not keep you warm, it does not immediately brush you up, it usually adds an extra cheap layer to a cheap and flimsy outfit (probably from Lipsy), you can't put a coat over it, yet you will wish you could and it will inevitably just end up bunched around your neck, with you looking like a loon, fiddling with your collar and scratching at your ears all night. Look here...

Just wrong. Don't be tempted this Christmas.