Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother fashions a scarlet hood for her pretty, charming granddaughter. When her grandmother falls ill, Red Riding Hood is sent to her house in the forest to deliver a basket of food. There, she meets a wolf, who suggests she take one path to her grandmother’s house while he takes another. When Red Riding Hood dawdles in the woods, the wolf eats her grandmother, dresses in her clothing, and waits for the girl to arrive—eventually devouring her, too.
Of all the descriptions of clothing in fairy tales, Red Riding Hood’s ensemble is perhaps easiest to envision in real life. The red, hooded cloak commonly used to illustrate this character was based on an outer garment worn during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The distinctive red hood has also been interpreted by many high-fashion labels, including this provocative example from Comme des Garçons.
