For other uses of "cape", see Cape (disambiguation).
A cape is an article of clothing, and can be used to describe any sleeveless outer garment, such as a poncho. They were common in medieval Europe, and have periodic returns to fashion, for example in nineteenth century Europe. They remain in regular use as rainwear in various military units and police forces, for example in France and the United Kingdom. Perhaps for this reason, capes became associated with fascism in Italy during the 1920s. A gas cape was a voluminous military garment designed to give rain protection to someone wearing the bulky gas masks used in twentieth century wars.
Superheroes, vampires, and the like are often depicted wearing capes, and they are therefore sometimes adopted by those with superheroic or vampiric pretensions.
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