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A ruff is an item of clothing worn in Western Europe from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-seventeenth century.
The ruff evolved from the small fabric ruffle at the drawstring neck of the shirt or chemise. They served as changeable pieces of cloth that could themselves be laundered while keeping the the wearer's doublet from becoming soiled at the neckline.
The discovery of starch allowed ruffs to be made wider without losing their shape. Later ruffs were separate garments that could be washed, starched, and set into elaborate figure-of-eight folds by the use of heated cone-shaped goffering irons.
At their most extreme, ruffs were a foot or more wide; these cartwheel ruffs required a wire frame called a supportasse or underpropper to hold them at the fashionable angle.
By the end of the sixteenth century, ruffs were falling out of fashion in favor of wing collars and falling bands. The fashion lingered longest in Holland, where ruffs can be seen in portaits well into the seventeenth century. It also stayed on as part of the ceremonial dress of city councillors (Senatoren) in North German Hanseatic cities and of Lutheran clergy in those cities and in Denmark.
See also
References
Janet Arnold: Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd, W S Maney and Son Ltd, Leeds 1988. (ISBN 0901286206)
External links
- Constructing Elizabethan Ruffs
- Glossary of Elizabethan clothing terms at Thrednedle Strete site see "Supportasse"
"Ruff (clothing)"