Marabou (historically spelled marabout) describes a certain type of

down feather The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator an ...

trimming. Although it takes its name from the marabou stork whose undertail down once provided the feathers, white

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

feathers have been used as a substitute. The advantage of marabou is that it takes dye well, making it a very versatile trimming for dress, and makes an effective substitute for fur. While marabou has been widely used as a fashion trimming since the late 19th century, it is also often used in

fly tying Fly tying (also historically referred to in England as dressing flies) is the process of producing an artificial fly used by fly fishing anglers to catch fish. Fly tying is a manual process done by a single individual using hand tools and a va ...

for making up the lures ('flies') used for fly fishing.

In fashion

"Marabout" was a very popular trimming from the late eighteenth century onwards. It was used for trimming hats and making up muffs and

feather boa A boa is a fashion accessory that is usually worn wrapped around the neck like a scarf. Feather boas are most common, although modern boas are most often made with synthetic feathers. Construction A boa can be made of fur, but it is usually m ...

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took p ...

of 1851 prominently featured marabout alongside other feathers as second only in popularity to

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...

feathers, and it was noted that white marabout was sometimes very scarce, and also that some manufacturers were making highly commended items from turkey and goose-down. Since the 20th century, marabou (spelt without a T) has become associated with lingerie and sex appeal. The

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

states that 'no object better epitomizes the

sex kitten A sex kitten is a woman who exhibits a sexually provocative lifestyle or an abundant sexual aggression. The term originated around 1956 in articles in the British and American press and was originally used to describe French actress Brigitte Bardot ...

glamour of the 1950s than the marabou mule.' Marabou mules are popularly associated with glamorous 1950s actresses such as

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

, who wore them in ''

The Seven Year Itch ''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...

''.

References

{{reflist Feathers 19th-century fashion 20th-century fashion