Dressing Up? A Sartorial Look At Halloween 1/4: The Cape #halloweencostume @Escapade_UK

DC Editor Adam writes…

Are you dressing-up for our Halloween Ghost walks? Today I'm looking at the famous monsters of movieland from a sartorial perspective, three posts starting with…

The Dracula Cape

The opera cape is always a good look for a villain. And we have the original movie Dracula, Bela Lugosi, to thank for bringing the costume to the role.

 

Lugosi had originally played Dracula on stage, where the long opera cloak was employed to conceal trap doors in the stage to make the wicked Count’s disappearances more sudden and dramatic.

Spencer Tracy adopts it for his Doctor Jekyll (and, of course, Mr Hyde) in the 1941 movie…

And right here in London, the popular myth of the gentleman killer in the Jack the Ripper case is, for many, incomplete without the swirl of an opera cape in the smog.

This last, persistent image, for many, functions as a metaphor: a wealthy man descending upon the poor and causing untold suffering, mirroring the real life modus operandi of many a mill and factory owner.

Christopher Lee retained look when he took over the fangs in 1958 – why spoil a winning formula?

Here’s Christopher Lee in action…

It's also a look favoured by our very own Duke of Darkness Shaughan when he leads his Saturday night ghost walk…

This post's tip for Halloween Fancy Dress Hire… Escapade in Camden

Their website is here: www.escapade.co.uk/

Next Post… Get the Wolf Man Look

Our Halloween Walks for 2017…

A London Walk costs £10 – £8 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.