What do you call the sheet that a barber covers you with?

It's that sheet/blanket that they put on you so you don't get covered with hair. Is there a formal name for it?

Solution 1:

I think you are thinking of a barber's cape. Sometimes you might also hear 'barber's gown'. See this commercial site Salon Lines, for instance.

Solution 2:

There doesn't appear to be a single consistent answer, as shown below.

From a UK supplier, "cutting cape" or "cutting gown", as sold here.

From a USA supplier, "hair cloth", "styling cloth" or "styling cape", as sold here

Solution 3:

My grandfather was a barber for 72 years, in Alabama and Florida. He called it a barber cloth (not the possessive barber's). This term can be found when ordering this product from Amazon.

Solution 4:

I've been a barber for almost 40 yrs. The proper term for this article is a "chair cloth" or less commonly "hair cloth." The term "barber cape" or simply "cape" did not come about until the unisex trend became popular and the distinctions between barbering and cosmetology became blurred. In my shop it remains "chair cloth."

Solution 5:

I would call that a cape:

A sleeveless outer garment fastened at the throat and worn hanging over the shoulders.