Jabot (neckwear)

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Jabots are various items of clothing. In the 17th and 18th centuries, they consisted of cambric or lace edging sewn to both sides of the front opening of a men'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.

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.