Capas Seseña is an icon of the capital. His store on Calle de la Cruz has been selling this Castilian coat since 1901, and throughout its history has dressed more than a few illustrious figures, including Picasso, who was buried with his cape. Now the British newspaper Financial Times makes it news again because the owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, one of the richest men in the world, has also bought one.
More than a hundred years of Capas Seseña
The store founded by the great-grandfather of the current owner, Marcos Seseña, has changed little, both in appearance and product. Red facade, as is typical in Madrid, wooden floors, simplicity on the walls and a large mirror: the recipe for success is almost never clear, but the business survives almost unchanged, although this in the times of Amazon almost seems a chimera. Its best-selling product is the classic Spanish cape, the 1901 model.
As the British newspaper highlights in its style section, How To Spend It, this cape has always been a status symbol. Firstly because of its historical heritage, secondly because of its quality – few feel like this one -, thirdly because of its price – between 300 € and 1000 € – and lastly because it is here that people from Federico Fellini to Hillary Clinton have come to buy coats.
Madrid’s centenary restaurants and bars
Madrid is home to some of the bars and restaurants that are more than 100 years old, such as Casa Botín, the oldest restaurant in the world, and Lhardy, the first modern restaurant in the city. These establishments have survived all historical vicissitudes and remain as relevant as ever.