Ten in the morning at the farmer's market, and a woman in a violet cloak is choosing peaches with the hood down and the zipper closed to her collarbone. Fourteen hours later the same cloak swings open in front of the main stage, hood up, gold starbursts on the sleeves catching every sweep of the lasers. Same cloak, same woman. Only the zipper moved.
A cloak is the rare layer that never asks you to change your plans. Zipped, it's a coat with art on it. Open, it frames whatever you're wearing underneath, and the hood waits for the evening air. The two of us, Magus and Lylyth Fawn, design ours as wearable visionary art, so the real question isn't whether a cloak works for your day. It's which hour you want the art to own.
Where should the hem of a cloak fall?
Where it suits the way you move. A hem near the knee takes stairs and bike rides in stride; a longer one tucks more of you under the lining when you sit. Magus Fawn women's cloaks list a front length of 40 inches at XS, rising an inch per size to 48 inches at 5XL.
Those numbers come from the size chart on every cloak's product page, just under the size buttons. The chart measures the garment laid flat and allows up to an inch of variation. On the models in our product photos, the hem sits a little above the knee. Height, posture and boots change that, so the clearest test is a coat you already love: lay it flat, measure its front, and compare.
Our favorite buyer note on length comes from Tyler, who bought an Ophanim cloak and wrote in November 2025: "Very cozy, a little longer than expected." Between sizes? Email your measurements to art@magusfawn.com.
The one we'd hand you first: Ophanim. The Ophanim Women's Festival Cloak ($250) is named for the wheels of Ezekiel's vision, which later writings count among the angels and call the "many-eyed ones" (Wikipedia). Fittingly, the hood keeps watch with two luminous orbs. The rest of the cloak is dusk in fabric form: deep amethyst, feathery lilac and sparks of copper along the sleeves, a pale star shining high on the back, and color that warms to ember orange and gold toward the hem. Zipped, it's a violet coat for the market. Open, it's a constellation.
Every cloak in this guide shares one build. The outer is micro-mink poly (listed fabric weight 200 g/m²), the lining is faux fur in your choice of black or white, and the hood has heavy drawstrings. The front closes with a double zipper, and there are four pockets: two deep ones at the sides and two stash pockets inside, one with a zipper. Women's and men's cloaks share this spec and the same unisex fit, XS to 5XL. Each one is made to order.
For the daylight hours: Feathery Fractal. Zipped up, the Feathery Fractal Women's Festival Cloak ($250) reads as deep green and violet from across a parking lot, which is exactly why it works on a weekday. Step closer and the swirls turn out to be feathers, fanned and folded into fractals, edged in teal and mirrored around a dark diamond in the middle of the back, set there like a brooch. It's a cloak for anyone who likes color with a little mystery.
How do you wear a cloak from day to night?
Keep the outfit and change the zipper. By day, zip a Magus Fawn cloak over wide-leg trousers and a turtleneck with the hood down. At dusk, open the zipper and let the art frame a bodysuit or a dress. After midnight, hood up, phone and keys in the interior pockets, and back to the dance floor.
Think of it as three settings on one garment. Morning: zipped to the collar over boots you can walk all day in, so the art reads as a bold coat. Golden hour: unzip to the waist and let the lining frame the print. Night: fully open over whatever you dance in, with the hood ready for the walk back to camp.
For the golden hour: Dream Weaver Blue. The Dream Weaver Blue Women's Festival Cloak ($250) is the hinge between day and night. On the front, a blue wolf looks out with amber eyes, the zipper running straight down its nose; on the back, a calm wolf keeps watch before towers of crystal, with dragon-like coils curling over each shoulder. Cobalt, ice and turquoise run top to bottom, cool and composed at noon, electric under stage lights.
For hood-up hours: Pink Cosmic Flower of Life. Pull the hood up on the Pink Cosmic Flower Of Life Women's Festival Cloak ($250) and you're wrapped in orchid and rose, printed edge to edge with Flower of Life circles, the overlapping pattern that sacred geometry reads as a blueprint for everything that grows. Spirals unfurl across it like fiddlehead ferns, and darker lacy scrolls trace the hood around your face. Worn open with the black lining, as in the photo, it turns a simple bodysuit into a whole look.
For the walk through the crowd: Temple of Horus. Some cloaks are made to be seen from behind. Across the back of the Temple Of Horus Women's Festival Cloak ($250), sheer wings of pale gold and green open from a bright star, laid over violet and electric blue scrollwork like the carved wall of a temple. Horus is the ancient Egyptian sky god with a falcon's head, and his eye, wounded and then healed, came to stand for protection and wholeness (Wikipedia). A good thing to carry on your back through a crowd at 2 a.m.
For the night in: Temple of Sound. When the night moves home, trade the cloak for the Hooded Blanket w/ Ears | Temple of Sound ($150). Up top, a crowned figure sits haloed in gold above a smaller figure in meditation, flanked by towers of speakers like temple pillars. It's 300 g/m² poly fleece made as a roomy one-size pullover (4XL), cat ears topping the hood, a quarter zip at the front and one oversized pocket. Cloak for the dance floor, blanket for the couch and the playlist after.
Can you wear a cloak over a dress?
Yes, and it's one of the easiest pairings in a woman's closet. A cloak hangs from the shoulders, so it never fights a waistline the way a fitted coat can. A Magus Fawn cloak zips closed over a short dress or falls open beside a long one, and the faux-fur lining wraps bare shoulders and arms.
Two choices shape the look. Length: if the dress is longer than the cloak, let a few inches of hem show below it; the contrast looks deliberate. If it's shorter, the cloak covers it completely when zipped and becomes the outfit. Lining: black lining disappears into the shadows and lets the dress lead; white lining frames your face when the hood is up and brightens a dark dress at the neckline.
For the date night: Hearts Roses. The Hearts Roses Women's Festival Cloak ($250) was practically drawn for a dress. The back reads like a valentine: a big glossy heart in deep crimson up top, one red rose standing tall beneath it, and tiny hearts scattered through marbled pinks and lilacs like confetti on the dance floor. With the white lining shown here, the open front glows soft and pale against a red or black dress. Valentine's Day is the obvious night for it. Any cold evening with someone you like will do.
What cloaks did women wear in the 1700s and 1800s?
Hooded wool ones, mostly. The cardinal cloak, a hooded wool cloak for women, was popular through the late 1700s, and Victorian women wore loose mantles and hooded cloaks trimmed in the fashion of the moment. Magus Fawn women's cloaks keep the hood and the loose drape, and trade the wool for art.
The cardinal cloak was popular in the last third of the 18th century. It was wool, often so dense that the edge could be left raw without fraying, and its hood was often gathered so it wouldn't crush the wearer's hairstyle. The name is usually tied to cardinal red. In England it went with the country life of the new landed gentry, then crossed to colonial America, and it turns up in accounts from about 1740 to 1840.
By the 1860s, trims told the season. The V&A holds a British woman's cloak from about 1860: cream wool, three-quarter length, hooded, lined in silk, its hem, hood and front edged in tartan velvet ribbon, lace and silk fringe. The museum ties the tartan to a craze for Highland dress, helped along by Queen Victoria's love of Scotland and her purchase of Balmoral in 1852.
The vocabulary shifted too. Mantle comes from mantellum, a Latin word for a cloak, and by the 19th century it covered almost any loose, shaped outer garment cut like a cape. A century earlier, a mantelet had meant a woman's short cloak (Wikipedia). A gathered hood that spared your hair, a trim that said what was in style: we'd argue women still choose cloaks for those same two reasons.
The practical part: layers, gift dates and laundry
Size up if you'll layer. Our FAQ suggests sizing up for outerwear like cloaks, "sometimes even 2 sizes up to fit extra layers under." George, who bought a Madriax cloak, summed up the feel in May 2023: "So comfortable you almost forgot how cool it looks!"
Each cloak is made to order for you: 7–11 business days in production, then 6–14 business days on the road. For a holiday gift in the US, order by Tuesday, November 17, 2026; that date allows for our longest production and delivery windows before Christmas Eve. Standard US shipping is free on orders of $70 and up, and international shipping starts at $10. Every piece comes with one free size exchange, but send that sizing email before you order to get it right the first time; we typically reply within 1–2 business days.
Washing takes no ceremony. Machine wash cold with like colors, skip the bleach, then tumble dry low or, better, hang it to dry; leave out the iron and the dry cleaner. The art is dye-sublimated into the fibers, so the roses stay red and the wolves keep their amber eyes. Our cloak washing guide has the step-by-step.
One cloak, every hour
The women of the 1700s gathered their hoods to save their hair; the women of the 1860s trimmed theirs in tartan, a fashion a queen's love of Scotland helped along. Today the choice is art. Pick the one that feels like you at ten in the morning and at midnight, zip it or swing it open, and let it carry you through the whole day.
Find your cloak: women's cloaks · men's cloaks · all festival cloaks · hooded blankets
Keep reading: are festival cloaks worth it? · purple cloaks with art · witchy cloaks for full moons and every day
Frequently asked questions
Why was it called a cardinal cloak?
The usual story is its color: the deep red of a cardinal's robes. Fashion words in the 1700s were loose, though, so not every cardinal cloak was red, and the style is said to have been a variation on the capuchin, or monk's habit. It turns up in accounts from roughly 1740 to 1840.
How did the mantle differ from a cloak?
A mantle was a kind of cloak whose meaning kept stretching. From the 12th to the 16th century, the word meant a long, loose cape-like cloak worn by men and women. By the 1800s it covered nearly any loose, shaped outer garment cut like a cape, including the dolman, a woman's wrap with partial sleeves.
Which cloak size should a petite woman order?
Start with your usual size and read the chart before sizing up. A Magus Fawn cloak measures 40 inches down the front at XS, and every size up adds an inch of length along with room for layers. If you love a longer, sweeping hem, that extra inch is a bonus. Unsure? Email your measurements to art@magusfawn.com.
What do you keep in a cloak's interior pockets?
The things you want close all night: phone, ID and a card in the zippered interior pocket, earplugs and lip balm in the open one. Hands, gloves and a snack go in the two deep side pockets. A Magus Fawn cloak has four pockets in all, so a small bag becomes optional.
Written by Magus & Lylyth Fawn, the Los Angeles artists behind Magus Fawn. Magus makes VR and digital visionary art and produces Psy EDM. Lylyth makes fractal digital art and runs design and customer care. We've been selling wearable art since 2020 (4.8★ from 147 reviews as of October 2026), and every piece is made to order here at magusfawn.com. Come say hi on Instagram @magusfawn.
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