A jabot, strictly speaking, is the portion of the clothing accessory that hangs below the supporting tie or collar.

A jabot (pronounced /ʒæˈboʊ/ (help·info)) (from French jabot: a bird's craw or crop, a pouch in the digestive tract just below the throat that holds food until ready to pass into the stomach) is a clothing accessory worn around the neck.

[edit] History

In the 17th and 18th centuries, they consisted of cambric or lace edging sewn to both sides of the front opening of a man's shirt, and partially visible through a vest worn over it. This style arose around 1650.

Jabots are commonly seen as being part of Colonial official attire, and a number of variants (normally made from more common fabrics) appeared on sailors of the time. They have also appeared periodically among clothing worn by pirates, either as a looted trophy or as an imitation as previously explained.

In the late 19th century a jabot would be a cambric or lace bib, for decorating women's clothing. It would be held in place at the neck with a brooch or a sewn-on neckband.

[edit] Today

Jabots survive in the present as components of various official costumes. The white bibs of judges of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany are officially described as jabots. As are those worn by judges and counsel throughout Australian courts.

French magistrate court dress and French academic dress include a jabot, called Rabat. It is usually of plain cotton, except that of academic high officials, which is made of lace.

Jabots continue to be worn as part of formal Scottish evening attire and a former part of Scottish highland dance costumes from the 1930s to the 1970s. They are usually worn with high-necked jackets or doublets, often with matching cuffs for both genders and a tartan-patterned fly plaid draped over-the-shoulder for girls.

Both United States Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor often wear jabots with their judicial robes.^[1]

The Speaker of the British House of Commons also wears a jabot along with a black and gold robe and lace frills.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jabots

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1. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/us/politics/09scotus.html