Late-world, they cannot be raised in quality by string the same way pretty much literally every other cape I'm seeing can be. This is because they were made in a time Jorb&Lorb did not understand the fine intricacies of the plant fiber. I propose, similar to a lynx cape, similar to a walrus cape, similar to a reindeer cape, similar to a bat wing, that Bear Capes have a two-string crafting requirement added to them. That way, I can use a bear cape that's actually sorta decent quality in this late world so I can be reminded of the olde days.
Bonus points if anything is done to make these capes actually competitive with just wearing two gilded pieces, the hat and cape, separate.