There is no doubt: the ruff collar (or more simply “ruff“) is the unforgettable accessory when talking about Elizabethan fashion. History books and pictorial depictions of the time never forget – whether for Elizabeth I or William Shakespeare – to draw these gigantic fan-shaped collars around the heads. But where did this fashion come from, and who could wear it?
In case you were wondering, the collar already existed before, yes, but it was nothing more than a small insignificant flounce: medieval shirts, in linen or cotton, if they didn’t have laces, had two folds around the neck, but it was nothing significant. After all, you couldn’t even see the shirts, because at the time they were considered an undergarment. Around 1515, under the reign of Francis I of France, The collar began to riseand shortly before 1530 it reached below the chin (less than ten years passed before the doublet and padded jacket also reached the same point). This choice was motivated primarily by harsher winters – and therefore the need to protect the neck from the cold – and then also from religious climatewhich also became more rigid with the Counter-Reformation (the set of Catholic measures to counter the Protestant Lutheran reform).
The ruff collar emerged as a decorative detail only in the 16th century Spainwhen shirts began to include elaborate pleated or gathered collars. Now you’re probably wondering: but how did this fashion reach England? Thanks to relations with the Spanish crown in the first half of the century, but above all with the wedding of Mary I Tudor (elder sister of Elizabeth I) And Philip II of Spain in 1554. The union strengthened the ties between the two nations, and a cultural exchange was inevitable which brought Spanish fashion to England, with dark fabrics, golden embroidery and sumptuous accessories such as ruffs.
A “medium” ruff required from 4.50 a.m 6 meters of fabric (first it was common to use linen, which then almost disappeared in favor of lace) to be made. By the 1580s, gorget collars had become gigantic, and some even “wagon-wheel” collars – as they used to be called – extended horizontally from the neck. They were so bulky that they needed to stand up metal structures that held them in place. Furthermore, from 1570 onwards they had become completely accessories separated from the dress worn, to which they were attached using pins.
But why would you ever wear something like that uncomfortable? It wasn’t just a question of Spanish contamination, or even of taste: the ruff was a symbol of high lineage, opulence, but above all… power and authority. The larger and more elaborate it was, the more important the wearer was. Here’s why Elizabeth I’s ruffs made with the finest lace and with almost imperceptible embroidery they were so eye-catching. Elizabethan society being like that highly hierarchicalhigh-ranking citizens could not escape this new fashion, whether they were women or men (or even children).
In any case, to avoid anyone thinking of wearing a more elaborate and showy ruff than hers, the queen made sure to enforce the sanctuary laws issued years earlier by his father Henry VIIIwhich regulated what types of clothing and colors could be worn based on social class, to ensure that each person dressed appropriately for their “position in society.” It goes without saying that these laws limited the most luxurious clothing to higher classesand therefore whoever belonged to it had the right to wear the ruffs (moreover they were very delicate, and a lot of care was needed to keep them well, which was only possible if you had a lot of money).
In the last decades of the 1500s, lace almost completely replaced linen, and people of the highest rank commissioned them from haute couture shops that embroidered them and inlaid them with gaudy precious stones. But not only that: it is well known that collars were “starched” (treated with starch) to make the fabric stiffer, smoother or stronger. However, not everyone knows that they were often starched and colored pink, lavender, green, yellow and blue.
In 1595, however, Queen Elizabeth banned blue ruffs. According to some, the ban came from the fact that blue was associated with the Madonna and the purityand therefore it could be considered a “popular” color. What’s more, it contrasted with white, red, black, gold and silver, colors known to symbolize elegance and nobility. It is therefore thought that the queen banned blue to prevent ruffs, a symbol of nobility and refinement, from being perceived as too common. There was also another risk in this regard: introducing blue into such an emblematic accessory could be seen as a act of rebellion or excess by the emerging nobility, and for this very reason it had to be avoided.
Instead, the golden yellow ruffs which for decades were very fashionable because they were showy and particularly bold, at the beginning of the seventeenth century they lost their appeal following the trial and execution of Anne Turnera businesswoman who ran “houses of ill repute” and had a monopoly on saffron-based dyes for yellow collars and ruffs. In 1613 Mrs Turner ended up at the center of the scandal after being accused of having supplied the poison for the murder of a certain Sir Thomas Overbury. Throughout the trial the accused wore a yellow gorget, which she soon became symbol of immorality. As if that wasn’t enough, the executioner chose to imitate his style and even wore a yellow gorget on the day of his sentencing.
In any case, things changed at the dawn of the 1600s, with women in high places demanding open and straight ruffsfollowing the fashion of the French queen Maria de’ Medici. These ruffs were much less heavy and were particularly loved by noblewomen because they framed the face and highlighted their décolleté.
As the century passed, however, this fashion also disappeared, in favor of dropped band collar (French) draped over the shoulders, much less excessive and formal than the Elizabethan one.
