The 10 Best Adult Bibs
Special Honors
Hubert Snap Drape White Polyester Dining Scarf This accessory doesn't have the traditional bib look, which fashion-concerned individuals may prefer. It's made from durable polyester that shouldn't let any messes get through, and has a simple and well-placed snap closure. At 34 inches long, it can keep your lap clean, too. However, it's worth noting it is only available in packs of 12, which are a bit costly. hubert.com
CiboWares Paper Adult Bib With Lobster Design Available in a bulk case of 500 units or more and with a reasonable price-per-unit cost, this bib is ideal for food trucks, oyster shucking contests, shellfish festivals, and seafood restaurants. The necktie is easy to put on and take off, and, because it's made of crepe paper with a laminated back, it's absorbent while keeping fluids from making it onto the user's clothing. cibowares.com
Editor's Notes
April 02, 2020:
We know that the demographic of adults who uses bibs is quite diverse, with just as many seniors or caregivers for the elderly relying on these as young, messy eaters. We also understand that, while some people don their bibs loud and proud, others prefer something a bit more discreet, and we made our selections accordingly.
For those who'd prefer that onlookers didn't know they were wearing protective gear at a meal, there is the DinerWear Cravaat, with its silky, flowy design that resembles a fashionable scarf. The Frenchie Mini Couture 9703 is another good subtle pick, because it looks like a black blouse paired with a pearl necklace.
As for particularly messy eaters who often have to reach for the stain remover after meals, there is the Royal Medical Solutions Heritage, which is long enough to keep spills off the lap, and the Shorewood Medical Waterproof, which is available in a wide design for those requiring extra coverage.
When liquid spills are of the utmost concern, the Bella Kline Design Deluxe can be a good pick since it has a terry cloth front, making it about as absorbent as a towel. For those looking for moderate mess clean-up for on-the-go meals like picnics or food truck outings, the Neatsheets Disposable are ideal.
This Bib Could Change Your Life
The models on our list are designed to protect your clothing and your skin against stains and scalds.
It would be understandable if you felt a little strange about wearing an adult bib. Usually, when you hear the word adult describing something that’s normally meant for children and babies, you probably conjure up images of incontinence and slow, steady physical decay. Either that or a form of erotic play in which you’re specifically not interested.
An adult bib is a fine thing to own, however, and it isn’t something you have to worry about creating any stigma, mainly since you’ll usually only use it at home. The models on our list are designed to protect your clothing and your skin against stains and scalds. They can save you tremendous amounts of money on dry cleaning bills and the cost of replacing valuable shirts, jackets, ties, and blouses.
Imagine, if you will, that you have an important meeting on a given morning. You were up late preparing, so your significant other was kind enough to make you breakfast while you got ready for work. You’ve got your lucky shirt on, and before you sits a lovingly prepared dish of eggs over easy. You lay one of those tasty morsels out on a piece of buttered toast, take a big old bite, and splatter your shirt with hot, sticky egg yolk. Now, you’ve got to go back upstairs to get changed, and you might even be late for this all-important meeting.
If you’d had an adult bib and the wherewithal to wear it, your clothes would have been fine, and you would have been on time. Then, the partners would have taken you out to celebrate, perhaps to their favorite lobster joint. They would all sit down and adorn those silly plastic bibs with lobsters on them, but not you. You’d reach into your briefcase and pull out your trusty bib — chosen with your sense of style and normally reserved for private lunches at your cubicle. The partners would be rather impressed by your preparedness, not just in the meeting, but now also at the restaurant. They’d tell you to kiss that cubicle goodbye and prepare to move into your very own office. Not a bad day’s work for a bib.
How To Find Your Perfect Bib
There comes a time in most people’s lives when they begin to take their fashion sense seriously, when the way in which they present themselves to the world becomes a vital part of who they are. From that point forward, there usually isn’t a ton of sartorial energy poured into the style of one’s prospective bib. Still, the look of a bib can be a big deciding factor in your search, especially if you plan on wearing it out in the world. Even if you don’t intend to grace the masses with your bib selection, picking one you like the look of will help remind you to wear it.
Still, the look of a bib can be a big deciding factor in your search, especially if you plan on wearing it out in the world.
If you’re less concerned about run-ins with the fashion police, the appearance of a bib can still play an important role. For example, if you know that you’re a messy eater, then a bib with a busy pattern or darker colors can help disguise any food material that ends up on it.
More important perhaps than the look of a given bib, however, is its coverage area. This, like the pattern and coloration you choose, has a lot to do with how messy you are, or the type of foods you usually eat. If you live on protein shakes that you drink through straws out of sealed smoothie cups, then you might not need a bib that extends to cover your pants. If, on the other hand, you prefer sloppy Joes, saucy pasta dishes, and floppy salads covered in dressing, you might want to skip the bib altogether and invest in a good rain suit.
How a bib attaches around your neck is vital, as well. If you’re searching for a bib on behalf of an elderly individual or anyone else who has a problem keeping their hands steady (thus, necessitating a bib while eating), then you’d do well to find a bib that closes easily. These can have snaps or magnets to aid in their closure. Models that you have to tie around the neck are best left for users with younger, more dexterous hands.
The last bit to consider is the material from which the bib is made. Some materials are more absorbent than others, and some are easier to keep clean and free of permanent stains. Look for a bib with some kind of backing if you anticipate larger liquid spills. Otherwise, you might get so much material on the bib that it soaks through to the clothes and defeats its purpose altogether.
A Brief History Of The Bib
It isn’t easy to pinpoint the development of the bib, in part because its design and function are both so simple. In a sense, the first clothing items worn by humans served as bibs to protect the skin from all kinds of things, not just food. More accurately, however, a bib’s purpose is to protect clothing from stains.
To that end, the first bibs had nothing to do with food at all. These were aprons worn by craftsmen in several fields, from cooks to blacksmiths, that covered them from the area of the neck towards the thighs or lower. These garments were often referred to as bib aprons to differentiate them from aprons that only covered workers from the waist down.
It’s also possible that the term comes from the Latin “bibere,” a verb meaning to drink, as early bibs may have been worn by people consuming one kind of liquid or another. Usage in the form of “bib” began at some point in England in the 16th century, and from then on the word has maintained its current meaning.