The Spanish layer, power with capital letters

At the beginning of the 20th century, few, like Ramón del Valle-Inclán, dared to wear the Spanish cape practically every day, a warm and prestigious garment worn by emperors, kings, popes, bullfighters, artists or politicians, also women, but today only the "snob" dare with her.

Madrid, November 11 (EFE) .- At the beginning of the 20th century, few, like Ramón del Valle-Inclán, dared to wear the Spanish cape almost daily, a warm and prestigious garment that they have worn emperors, kings, popes, bullfighters, artists or politicians, also women, but today only the "snob" dare with her.

Mantle blanket and indicator of hierarchies, "the cape It goes back to prehistory ", explains to EFE, the Head of Collections of the Costume Museum (CIPE) of Madrid, Concha Herranz, who assures that this piece is the" oldest "clothing that can be find in all cultures.

In Spain there has always been tradition for the cape, it is said that its season goes from November 11, San Martin Day, to March 19, San José, a garment that, in addition to identifying with the attire of the mayors, is part of the regional costumes.

The Spanish cape is a piece of cloth that falls from the shoulders to the ankles, "a 360-degree cloth circumference to which a standing collar is added", explains Herranz.

Throughout history, this garment has evolved and has been adding details, in such a way that in his day was added a "smaller capeline that sheltered the shoulders", says Herranz, who details that the closure of this garment consists of "two pieces joined with a chain ".

The interior of the layer is resolved with the lining and the views," two fabrics that are incorporated into your cloth ", says Herranz, who emphasizes the importance of the views, piece which is made with velvet in contrasting colors or with floral prints, and which rests on the left shoulder.

Its length has been varied depending on the fashions and the height of men, given that it is a garment that is inherited generation after generation, "and not all have the same height".

Formerly, who wore a coat had purchasing power, it was an elite piece of social prestige in the Middle Ages.

In the Baroque period, he also dressed and it was Goya who, for the first time, portrayed a woman with a cape, "appears in the painting the Sunshade, a sumptuous garment, very luxurious, "says Herranz.

During Romanticism and Modernism there were many who wore Spanish cape, among them, the writer Mariano José de Larra or the poet Rosalía de Castro. Miguel del Amo.

It has been a long time since the coat was usual in the Madrid of Mesonero Romanos or in the later one, of "Fortunata y Jacinta" of Galdós, a city for which They also walked with Pío Baroja, Manuel Machado or Antonio Buero Vallejo cloak.

Since 1901, the Seseña family has made layers in a traditional way, a garment that has had followers in everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Lady Di, including Winston Churchill, Hillary Clinton, Rudolph Valentino, Marcelo Mastroianni, Gary Cooper, Catherine Deneuve or Federico Fellini.

Illustrious Spaniards have worn it and wear it, "considered an icon of elegance and modernity," says Del Amo, who recalls that "Picasso is buried with a cloak Spanish ".

More than a coat, the kings have used royal mantles and mantillones, but Alfonso XIII preferred to be faithful to the Spanish cape, like the kings Juan Carlos and Sofia or the king Felipe VI and Mrs. Letizia, who have displayed this garment on many occasions.

A piece that has also been part of the military clothing; to protect the soldiers from the cold and the rain, "made with thick cloths like Alisten's that repel water", says Herranz.

The Spanish layer has also given rise to bullfighting suit great beauty, "says Herranz.

In the sixties and seventies, the cape becomes fashionable, returns to the street, is imposed on the windows by the hand of André Courrèges and Paco Rabanne, designers who proposed a "galactic model, with hardly any flight", and that today is back in fashion, classic or versioned, for its power with capital letters.

Carmen Martín