Often, before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg even speaks a word from the bench, you might well have a good idea of what she’s thinking – just from the jabot she selected to wear.
Her collars serve both as a semiology and semaphore for those who are able to interpret them. So I thought it’d be interesting and fun to familiarize ourselves with some of her favorites.
When Justice Ginsburg was first confirmed to the Supreme Court, she noted that all the robes she found were designed for men:
“You know, the standard robe is made for a man because it has a place for the shirt to show, and the tie,” Ginsburg told the Washington Post in 2009. “So Sandra Day O’Connor and I thought it would be appropriate if we included as part of our robe something typical of a woman. So I have many, many collars.”
THE ORIGINAL
This is the jabot she wore for her first official Court portrait. As is plain to see, it was devoid of any frills, and is very similar to the traditional jabots worn by French justices.
HER FAVORITE
The simple white crocheted collar is what she wore to Pres. Obama’s first address to a joint session of the US Congress on December 31, 2005. It’s the one she tends to show first when displaying her collection of collars and announces it is her favorite. She wore it to Pres. Obama’s State of the Union in 2012 (an election year), and her 20th anniversary on the bench in 2013.
It was purchased in Cape Town, South Africa – a fact she’s always sure to share – although I was unable to learn the significance of its provenance.
MAJORITY OPINION
When she is announcing a majority opinion for the Court, this is the collar she always wears. The beige and egg-yolk yellow crocheted jabot is quite elaborate, featuring pink edges and gold appliqués, all suspended from a gold chain.
She’s quick to add that it was a gift from her law clerks. (Kind of like the “Best Boss” coffee mug we might give – only a tad classier.)
DISSENT
To express her disapproval (unfortunately too often – but her dissents are eloquent and legendary, and will surely be quoted frequently in future cases) she would wear a bold, black, spiky bib-style necklace decorated with rhinestones from the Banana Republic. It came from the VIP gift bag at Glamour magazine’s “Women of the Year” gala the year she was an honoree.
It was no coincidence that she also wore it the day after the 2016 election, even though the court had no rulings to issue that day. It was such a popular design that it’s now available in jewelry, magnets and even paste-on tattoos.
When asked why she chose this one for Dissent, RBG simply said: “It looks fitting for dissent.”
FEMINIST FAVORITE
To convey her sentiments of strong equal rights and feminist support, she will wear the Pegasus Necklace from Stella & Dot (never heard of it, but apparently a fairly well-known jewelry maker). It was a gift from a fellow lawyer who served with her at ACLU.
The gift-giver, Susan Hyman said, “It reminds me of something a warrior princess like Wonder Woman would wear as armor into battle. It projects strength, confidence, and fearlessness.”
Again, no coincidence that she chose it to wear to the Court’s first official portrait with Brett Kavanaugh on November 30, 2018.
And not surprisingly, RBG sent Ms. Hyman a hand-written “Thank You” note.
STIFFELIO OPERA COLLAR
This crisp white jabot edged in black has a very interesting background history. It was purchased at the New York Metropolitan Opera gift shop, and is a replica of the collar worn by Plácido Domingo in Verdi’s opera Stiffelio.
The history made more interesting when Domingo surprised Ginsburg with a serenade when she received an honorary law degree from Harvard. “It was glorious,” she said.
LACE – IN HER PORTRAIT
This simple, elegant jabot is what she chose to wear in a portrait she commissioned by Simmie Knox in 2000.
MOVIE POSTER
The movie poster for her 2018 “RBG” documentary simply had a collar and her initials – it was all that was needed.
It became such a popular film that theaters started putting up RBG cardboard cutout figures in their lobbies so you could take selfies of yourself as RBG.
There’s a fun, short (2 minutes) interview with Katie Couric chatting about her collars that’s quite interesting. It contains a clip of her being serenaded by Domingo. But I couldn’t find anything embeddable (and the CC doesn’t always work).
https://news.yahoo.com/video/justice-ginsburg-exhibits-her-famous-194517521.html
And this brief video (< 1 minute) is fun. It had a collar from the University of Hawaii made of French lace, and all the beads came from sand on their beaches.
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/ruth-bader-ginsburg-collars/index.html
There are several sites that have quite a few additional photos of RBG and her collars – but none offer any background history (which I obviously enjoy).
https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/collector-of-collars-a-look-back-at-ruth-idUSRTX7WY77
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ruth-bader-ginsburg-collars_n_58c9812fe4b0cb7d28ce4cf3
As we are now saying farewell to our beloved RBG, I hope we all will continue the good fight she worked so hard for. So …
