Generally an alb is closed with a girdle, an Anglican-style double-breasted cassock is closed with a cincture, and a Roman cassock is closed with either one."

In the medieval and early modern period there are also accounts of girdles being used as a mnemonic. These would be tied or decorated with bead so that, like a rosary, each notch would remind the wearer of a particular psalm or book. The girdle, in the 8th or 9th century, was said to resemble an ancient Levitical Jewish vestment, and in that era,