Get Cape. Wear Cape.

Having worn the same cape for the last seven years (Oxfam, £20, rips all through the lining and a button missing but love it more every winter) thought it was about time I invested in a new one. Came across this in Lotta Vintage in Madrid last week. It was a hot day, I was wearing a sundress and while I did feel ridiculous coating myself in Norwegian wool - sure enough, back in Blighty, six days later, it's autumn, it's freezing, it's cape time. 

When you think about it, capes are one of the few advantages of our rubbish weather. I've never been able to get that excited over the purchase of a new 'winter coat'. It's like admitting defeat, that you're going to spend the next six months inside a thick, dark, depressing cocoon.  Don't even get me started on black winter coats. Capes on the other hand are playful and fun, the possibilities (like say, flying) are endless and they pretty much make an outfit. You could be wearing a fluorescent tie-dye blouse and a moth-eaten skirt underneath and it wouldn't matter. The cape does all the talking.

Even better when the cape has a striking pattern or unusual clasps. It's worth scouring second hand shops and vintage shops because there are some amazing ones out there that you just wouldn't find on the high street.

Lotta Vintage is one of my favourite shops in Madrid. The staff are lovely (and don't seem too offended by my lack of Spanish!) the clothes are quirky and the decor really cute and personalised with old records and dress patterns. I've been buying bits over the last few years because it's so timeless yet unusual. My favourite ever handbag (made of plastic bags in the 1960s) comes from here.

From Lotta Vintage, to Biba Vintage (not that one, but still cute) and Pepita Is Dead, Madrid definitely has a vintage scene to rival Milan or Paris. The area around Tribunal is a must if you've got an afternoon to browse around the pretty little leafy streets.

Yep, Madrid may not be a fashion capital, but it does do a lovely cape... and has a vintage cafe. How many cities can say that?