Wool Naval Cape

The 1987 “Cape of Two Countries” was a grey wool replica of a blue wool surplus French Naval Cape sold in 1986. The blue wool cape was appropriately reviewed by vampire novelist Anne Rice. ” When I took it out of the box, I knew it was mine. Any self-respecting vampire would adore it. Throw it on, clasp it at the neck, draw up the hood, and slip out of the house into the chill darkness….”

From the 1987 catalogue: “It was a classic case of demand exceeding supply for Republic citizens who sought but were denied our surplus French Naval Cape last winter. Happily, your impassioned letters–fraught with reports of “twarted purchase lust,” “daggers of uncloaked depression,” and “frustrated fantasies of whirling about town” –touched our sensibilities, and so we have cut a cloak as devilishly dashing as the soigné surplus original. From Sweden came the cloth: an exceedingly dense, military-grade wool woven to withstand Arctic winters. In styling, we hoored the French forebear, with its dramatic hood and draft-resisting armholes. In perpetually neutral gray-green, the Cape of Two Countries is a sweeping response both to winter’s demands and to its own loyalists.”

Photos from eBay Nov. 2020