The cloak or cape was a standard garment for outerwear until the nineteenth century. As a garment for children its advantage lay in the fact that since it was not a close-fitting garment, it had a much loger period of use as a child grew; it was also relatively simple to produce, even for the amateur dressmaker.
Coats for children were potentially less thrifty, since they needed to be replaced when they no longer fitted. They were also of more complex cut and construction, so were generally more expensive, but various forms of child's coat became widespread in the second half of the 19th century, and eventually took over from the cloak except for party and other 'occasion' wear.