Jabot; alternatively a bird's croup or craw. Originally the term jabot referred to the frilling or ruffles decorating the front of a shirt. It has evolved into a decorative clothing accessory consisting of lace or other fabric falling from the throat, suspended from or attached to a neckband or collar; or simply pinned at the throat.

History

In the 17th and 18th centuries, a jabot consisted of cambric

Cambric

Cambric, pronounced , "one of the finest and most dense species of the cloth manufacture", is a lightweight plain weave cloth, originally from Cambrai, woven in greige, then bleached and piece-dyed, often glazed or calendered. Initially made from flax, then cotton in the 19th century, it is also...

 or lace

Lace

Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...

 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 made of lace and hanging loose from the neck were an essential component of upper class, male fashion in the baroque period. Examples can be seen in the movies, "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Dangerous Liaisons".

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.

Today

Jabots survive in the present as components of various official costumes. The white bibs of judges of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany

Federal Constitutional Court of Germany

The Federal Constitutional Court is a special court established by the Grundgesetz, the German basic law...

 are officially described as jabots, as are those worn by judges and counsel throughout Australian courts.

French magistrate court dress and French academic dress

Academic dress

Academic dress or academical dress is a traditional form of clothing for academic settings, primarily tertiary education, worn mainly by those that have been admitted to a university degree or hold a status that entitles them to assume them...

 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

Scottish highland dance

The term Highland dance or Highland dancing is used today to refer to a style of athletic solo dancing which developed in the Gaelic Highlands of Scotland...

 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

Fly plaid

A fly plaid is an added form of a pleated cloth in the same tartan as the kilt, cast over the left shoulder and fastened in front of the shoulder with a plaid brooch...

 draped over-the-shoulder for girls.

In the United States Supreme Court, jabots are worn by some female justices, but are not mandatory. Both United States Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...

 and Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....

 often wear jabots with their judicial robes; Justice Elena Kagan

Elena Kagan

Elena Kagan is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 7, 2010. Kagan is the Court's 112th justice and fourth female justice....

, in contrast, does not.

The Speaker of the British House of Commons

Speaker of the British House of Commons

The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...

 also wears a jabot along with a black and gold robe and lace frills.

Since the 1970s, a white jabot has been part of the blue and white concert costume of South Africa's Drakensberg Boys' Choir.

Jabots are prescribed attire for Barristers appearing before the Supreme Court of South Australia.

External links

Jabots are an alternative for formal ascots, and scrunchie ties