Lacy Jabot (Bomber)

14" x 17", ink on paper, 2004, private collection

Long ago, I worked for a few years as a costumer in the opera department at Malabar in Toronto. It was interesting, learning about all the bits and pieces that make up a whole costume. One part in particular tickled my fancy because it was fancy and had a fancy name: the jabot. These were worn by fancy men around their necks in the 17th and 18th Centuries. They look like fancy dinner napkins.

Now, as we compiled the costumes for operas in other cities in Canada and the US, we naturally made an inventory list. These jabots came in various styles, but, each time I typed out my list, the item that tickled my fancy most was the "lacy jabot" because to me that sounded like it could be the name of a burlesque performer. So I did a pin-up (or three) based on this "jabot" motif.

That's Betty Page serving as my Lacy Jabot. Technically, she's not wearing a jabot that's lacy in this painting –or even in the other painting I did of this character, but I planned to paint more pin-ups to correct that. I painted Lacy here on the side of a World War II bomber because it seemed most appropriate despite the fact Betty herself was famous as a model in the '50s.

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