Past the last campsite, the path slips under the trees and the bass changes shape. It bounces off trunks instead of open sky. The light turns green, then greener, then disappears, and the forest stage glows ahead like a lantern somebody hung in the branches.
That walk is why green cloaks exist.
Green is the color of everyone who ever lived in the woods on purpose: Robin Hood's outlaws, the Green Man in the church ceiling, the knight who rode into Camelot dressed in nothing else. As Magus and Lylyth Fawn, we keep finding green in our own art: filigree, mushrooms, neon sacred geometry, ivy-like ironwork. Below are the stories behind the color, the costumes it makes, and five green cloaks we'd wear tonight.
What does a green cloak symbolize?
Nature, renewal and a little outlaw spirit. In English folklore green stands for growth and rebirth: the Green Man's leafy face in medieval churches, the all-green knight of the Arthurian poem. And Lincoln green, a medieval woollen cloth, is the color most people link to Robin Hood. A green cloak carries all three.
Lincoln green began as cloth from Lincoln, a major English cloth town in the high Middle Ages. Its dyers first colored wool blue with woad, then dipped it again in yellow weld or dyers' broom, and the two dyes together made the famous green (Wikipedia). The poet Michael Drayton wrote in 1612 that Lincoln had once dyed the best green in England. Today the color is most often linked with Robin Hood and his Merry Men in Sherwood Forest. Every green cloak at a ren faire owes them a nod.
The Green Man is older and stranger: a face made of leaves, sometimes with branches or vines growing from the mouth, carved into churches and other buildings. In England these foliate heads appear from the early 12th century and were especially popular in Gothic architecture of the 13th to 15th centuries. He is mainly read as a symbol of rebirth and spring growth; the popular idea that he represents a pagan figure isn't supported by the evidence (Wikipedia).
The Green Knight brought green to the winter holidays. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a late 14th-century English poem, a gigantic figure, entirely green and riding a green horse, rides into King Arthur's hall on New Year's Eve and issues a challenge that takes a full year to play out. Scholars note that in English folklore and literature green traditionally stood for nature, fertility and rebirth (Wikipedia).
A green cloak at a midwinter party, then, is very good literary company.
Is a green cloak good for an elf, druid or Robin Hood costume?
Yes. A hooded green cloak is the base of almost every woodland costume: elf, druid, ranger, forest wizard, Robin Hood or the Green Knight. Add brown boots and a belt for an outlaw, silver jewelry for an elf, a wooden staff for a druid. Magus Fawn cloaks carry full art, so the cloak brings the magic.
For Robin Hood, keep it simple: green cloak, brown or black boots, a leather belt and a hood pulled low. For an elf, choose a cloak with fine, symmetrical art, add silver at the ears and throat, and leave the hood down to show off your hair. For a druid or forest wizard, carry a wooden staff or a lantern and wear the hood up. For the Green Knight, go all green, head to toe, and arrive late to the party.
A cloak like this is also the rare costume that keeps working after the party. Our guide to wearing a cloak every day covers the farmer's market, the school run and the walk home.
What colors go with a green cloak?
Black, brown and gold are the classic partners: they ground green the way soil grounds a forest. For a festival look, try violet, cobalt or hot pink, which make green glow. Silver suits pale and minty greens; gold and copper suit deep emerald. Match your boots to the darkest shade in the cloak.
A green cloak with full art is already a statement. Let the outfit underneath be quiet: a black bodysuit, dark jeans or leggings, a fitted top. Several of the cloaks below mix green with violet and blue in the art itself, and picking up one of those accent colors in a top or a pair of boots ties the whole look together.
Choose the lining with your green in mind. Each cloak below comes with a faux-fur lining in black or white. Black makes neon greens look electric when the cloak swings open; white softens deep greens and turns the hood into a bright frame.
Which green cloak should you choose?
Choose by shade and by mood. Magus Fawn makes green cloaks from deep emerald to neon lime, each with different visionary art: a dream mandala, glowing sacred geometry, a mushroom forest, cathedral-style filigree and a tribal Flower of Life. They share one build, so the art decides which is yours.
The build: a micro-mink poly outer with a faux-fur lining in black or white (listed fabric weight 200 g/m²), heavy drawstrings on the hood, a double front zipper, and four pockets: two deep side pockets and two interior stash pockets, one zippered. The fit is unisex from XS to 5XL, and each cloak is made to order. Men's and women's cloaks share that spec.
The greenest green: Dream Weaver. The Dream Weaver Green men's festival cloak ($250) is green from hood to hem: emerald and lime filigree woven into a symmetrical dreamscape, a wolf's face at the center of the back under a pointed temple spire, and violet coils curling at the shoulders like vines. It's the forest guardian of this guide, a wolf watching the path from inside the leaves. Our Dream Weaver colorway guide shows its other colors.
For the night forest: Angel Catcher. The Angel Catcher Green festival cloak ($250) is neon green on black: a dotted hexagon glowing at the chest, scalloped petals around it, and two interlocked triangles below, with grey knots braided through the lower half. It's the green that looks best after dark, like moss lit by a lantern, and the one your friends will spot from the back of the crowd. More colors live in our Angel Catcher colorway guide.
For the druid: Mushroom Flower of Life. The Green Mushroom Flower of Life men's festival cloak ($250) glows like a forest floor at midnight: lime bubbles rising through violet and navy, spiny green clusters like lichen under a flashlight, and a bright coiled spiral low near the hem. Up the back, one slender mushroom reaches for a Flower of Life, which is about as good a picture of growth as we know. If you're building a druid costume, start here. Every colorway is in our Mushroom Flower of Life guide.
For the elf: Cosmic Cross. The Cosmic Cross Green women's festival cloak ($250) traces fine green linework over deep blue diamonds, like an old garden gate lit from behind; in the photo it catches the golden hour the way leaves do with the sun coming through. It's the most elegant green here, and the one we'd hand anyone dressing as an elf. Green boots are optional, but as the photo shows, they're a very good idea.
For the loudest green: Psy Tribal Mushroom. The Psy Tribal Mushroom festival women's cloak ($250) is lime-led and loud: tribal swirls in lime and emerald, Flower of Life petals in hot pink, cobalt dots running along the edges. It's green the way a rainforest is green, crowded with color. In the photo the white faux-fur lining turns the hood into a bright cloud around the face.
For the fire circle: a green hooded blanket. The Mushroom Flower of Life Green hooded blanket with ears ($150) carries the forest in moss, olive and gold: mushroom shapes gathered under a Flower of Life, sparked with crimson, a close cousin of the green cloak above. It's 300 g/m² poly fleece, an oversized pullover with a cat-ear hood, a front quarter zip and an oversized front pocket, in one size (4XL). Pull it on when the forest stage goes quiet and the fire circle starts.
Will a green cloak fade in the wash?
No. Every Magus Fawn cloak is printed by dye sublimation, which makes the ink part of the fiber rather than a layer on top, so the colors won't fade and the image won't crack. Wash it cold with like colors, skip bleach and the iron, and tumble dry low or hang dry.
Medieval dyers needed two dye baths to make Lincoln green; on your cloak, the emerald and lime are already part of the fiber. After a dusty forest weekend, our cloak washing guide walks through it step by step.
For warmth, the faux-fur lining does the quiet work, the hood and its heavy drawstrings frame your face, and the double front zipper closes the cloak right up to the collar. Nicholas, who bought a Sacred Grounds cloak, wrote in December 2023: "First cloak ever. Super comfortable and warm. Fell asleep with it on. Kept me warm all night."
For sizing, our FAQ suggests sizing up for cloaks, "sometimes even 2 sizes up to fit extra layers under," so you can wear a sweater or jacket beneath it on a winter night. Each cloak is made to order: production takes 7–11 business days and delivery 6–14 business days, and US shipping is free on orders of $70 and up. Every piece comes with one free size exchange, but if you're between sizes, email your measurements to art@magusfawn.com and we'll help you choose.
Wear the forest home
Woad and weld in a Lincoln dye vat. A leafy face in a church ceiling. A giant in green at King Arthur's door on New Year's Eve. Green has always been the color of people who belong to the woods, and a hooded green cloak lets you carry the forest with you: to the stage under the trees, the ren faire lane, the winter street and the fire circle after.
Pick your green and follow the path under the trees.
Find your green: women's cloaks · men's cloaks · all festival cloaks · hooded blankets
More cloak reading: are festival cloaks worth it? and what's really in a festival cloak? We compared 50 listings
Frequently asked questions
What color green was Robin Hood's cloak?
Lincoln green, in the stories. Lincoln green was a woollen cloth from the English town of Lincoln, a major cloth center in the Middle Ages. Its dyers colored wool blue with woad, then overdyed it with yellow weld or dyers' broom to make green. The color is now strongly associated with Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
What does the Green Man symbolize?
The Green Man, a face made of leaves carved into churches and buildings, is mainly interpreted as a symbol of rebirth and the new growth of spring. In England these foliate heads appear from the early 12th century and were most popular in Gothic architecture. The popular idea that he represents a pagan figure isn't supported by evidence.
What shade of green cloak is best for a forest festival?
Choose by the hour you'll wear it. Neon greens on black, like Magus Fawn's Angel Catcher Green cloak, glow best after dark among the trees. Deep emerald and filigree designs, like Dream Weaver Green and Cosmic Cross Green, look richest in daylight and golden hour. All share the same faux-fur-lined, hooded build.
Is a green cloak good for the winter holidays?
Very. In the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an all-green knight rides into King Arthur's hall on New Year's Eve, so green has holiday history. Magus Fawn's green cloaks are hooded and faux-fur-lined and made to order, so allow 7–11 business days of production plus 6–14 of delivery.
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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