Tabard

A tabard is a short coat common for men during the Middle Ages. Generally used while outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. It could also be worn with or without a belt. Tabards might be emblazoned on the front and back with a coat of arms, and in this (livery) form they survive now as the distinctive garment of officers of arms in heraldry. In the modern day, a tabard is the overall garment of the same description as its middle age's counterpart, but is primarily worn by dinnerladies in the UK.