Tippet
Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A tippet is a stole- or scarf-like narrow piece of clothing, worn around the arms and above the elbow. Tippets evolved in the fourteenth century from long sleeves and typically had one end hanging down to the knees. Nowadays a tippet is often any scarf-like wrap, usually made of fur. A ceremonial scarf worn by Anglican ministers is also called a tippet: it is worn with choir dress and hangs straight down at the front. Ordained clergy wear a black tippet, while licensed readers wear a blue one, and it is often simply called a black scarf or blue scarf.
A Tippet is a stole or scarf-like narrow piece of clothing, worn around the arms and above the elbow. They evolved in the fourteenth century from long sleeves and typically had one end hanging down to the knees. Nowadays, a tippet is often any scarf-like wrap, usually made of fur.
A ceremonial scarf worn by Anglican ministers is also sometimes called a tippet. The tippet is worn with choir dress and hangs straight down at the front. Ordained clergy wear a black tippet, while licensed readers wear a blue one. It is often simply referred to as a black scarf, or blue scarf. The tippet is different from the stole, which although often worn like a scarf is a liturgical vestment.
Tippet may also refer to the part of the leader that a fishing fly is tied to.
Meriwether Lewis wearing the tippet Cameahwait gave to him.Painted by Charles B. J. F. de Saint Memin in 1807, watercolor over graphite
It may also refer to a bird's or other animal's ruff (colorful feathers or neck hair).
Picture of Anglican priest in choir habit -- cassock, surplice, academic hood and tippet -- taken by Gareth Hughes on 21 October 2005.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tippet). 5/27/06 |
The Sleeve That Became a Scarf
Fourteenth-century fashion lengthened sleeves past usefulness, and the tippet is what utility made of the excess: the overlong hanging end, detached in effect if not always in fact, worn as a narrow band around the arm above the elbow with its end falling toward the knee. As sleeves normalized, the band survived on its own as an accessory, in fur for warmth and display, the sense in which a tippet today is often simply a fur scarf or wrap, short, close to the neck, and worn with coats and evening dress.
The Clerical Tippet
Ceremonial dress preserved the tippet longest. In Anglican choir dress, cassock, surplice, academic hood and tippet, the scarf marks the wearer's office at a glance in procession and choir: black for the ordained, blue for licensed readers, a colour code any congregation can read. The distinction from the stole matters in that setting because the two scarves say different things: the stole speaks of sacramental office at the altar, the tippet of the wearer's standing in the choir and the daily offices. Costume and church suppliers still sell both, and confusing them is the most common error the definitions exist to prevent.
Common Questions
How does a tippet differ from a stole?
A tippet is a ceremonial scarf worn with choir dress, hanging straight down at the front. A stole, although often worn like a scarf, is a liturgical vestment with its own rules and symbolism. The colour of an Anglican tippet also signals office: black for ordained clergy, blue for licensed readers.
Where does the tippet come from?
Tippets evolved in the fourteenth century from long sleeves, typically with one end hanging down to the knees. The hanging sleeve-end became a separate narrow strip of cloth, and the form survived in ceremonial dress and in fur wraps long after everyday sleeves shortened.
What else does tippet mean?
Tippet also names the part of the leader that a fishing fly is tied to, and a bird's or other animal's ruff of colourful feathers or neck hair. The explorer Meriwether Lewis is pictured wearing a celebrated tippet given to him by Cameahwait.