Capote (garment)

A capote or capot (/ka.pɔt/) is a long coat with a hood.

From the early days of the North American fur trade, both natives and French Canadian voyageurs made wool blankets into capotes, which were perfectly suited to Canada's cold winters. They served as winter outerwear for the habitants and voyageurs of New France and the Métis of the Red River Colony.

The Hudson’s Bay Company also sold capotes, called blanket coats or Hudson Bay coats, made out of their "point" blankets.

In the early 1600s French sailors traded their capotes to the Micmac in North America and by 1619 the French habitants were also wearing capotes. Fifty years later the habitants wore an altered form of the capote possibly based on the then fashionable justacorps or on the French military uniforms of soldiers stationed in New France at the time such as the Carignan-Salières Regiment. The altered knee length version had no buttons and was worn with a military sash (Ceinture fléchée). The habitant capot was no longer the sailors' capot nor the soldiers' capote but something distinct combining features from both.

Capot is the Quebec French word that described this unique winter jacket. From capot came the verb encapoter or s'encapoter also in Quebec French (meaning to put on a capot and other winter accessories before going out).

"The Metis man’s winter attire was the capote; a thigh length coat with full length sleeves which could come with or without a hood or cape. Most had small shoulder decorations made of red stroud. To keep the coat closed there were both thongs and buttons or a sash." Lawrence J. Barkwell

...
Wikipedia