Players with capes, but have never been to MineCon

I've noticed some players with capes, special ones unlike what you see from MineCon, I've asked how they got them and they'd never say, I asked if they've gone to MineCon, but they denied it.
I do not have any mods that are relevant to capes, so this is not the issue, I've always wondered "Why is MineCon the only way to get a cape, that's a bit unfair to the rest of us?" I'd go of course but unfortunately...I do not live anywhere near the MineCon locations.
Why hasn't there been a way to get a cape without going? And why am I seeing players with Non-MineCon capes? Is there a way? Is it legal? I want to know, I've been searching for an answer EVERYWHERE!
If these players have hacked the game, I'd gladly find and report them to Mojang, but if it's possible and completely supported by Mojang, please tell me how, I've wanted a cape for so long, ever since I began playing Minecraft.
Since I live in such a horrible positioned place, I can never go to MineCon.
I'm a big fan of Minecraft, I've even become quite an expert builder, my server is not popular yet...Sadly enough but I'm sure one day, some person who likes a server built entirely by someone's own stories will enjoy what I've done and worked hard on for months, and they will spread the word. But anyway, the cape issue is either a threat or completely normal, I've yet to see anyone with the knowledge to figure this out, maybe Mojang itself could find out what this is, or maybe give the community a new way of getting a cape, but only around MineCon time, like a new section on the Minecraft website or Launcher where you watch MineCon live, but also get a free code for a cape, it's like attending MineCon, but from the comfort of home, of course actually attending MineCon would get you better perks but for those who cannot attend, can simply get the cape of their choice.
I hope Mojang acknowledges my plea.