Why Elizabethan Collars Were Such a Big Fashion Statement

If you've ever seen a portrait of Shakespeare

or pretty much any other man from the Elizabethan era, you probably wondered something like

what's with the ruffly collar? Well, the truth is, there was a lot more to it than you'd think

So today, we're going to take a look at why those big collars were such a fashion statement

in the Elizabethan era. The Elizabethan ruff is easily identified. It's a large, stiff, upright, usually laced collar

that looks phenomenally uncomfortable to wear. But ruffs weren't really about comfort

The Elizabethan collar was an indicator of wealth, prestige, and social status

And they would have to be, since maintaining them wasn't cheap or easy

Over time, embroidery, jewels, and precious metals were added to heighten the glamour

and by the late 16th century, the collar had morphed into the ultimate display of excess

Ruffs were also not designed for ease of movement. Even the wealthiest men and women had difficulty eating

while wearing them, and to compensate, they often had to use extra-long utensils

with an extended neck piece. That should make it pretty obvious that performing manual labor while wearing ruffs

wasn't remotely possible. The limited movement wasn't a design flaw, though. In fact, it was something of a feature

and ruffs grew increasingly more elaborate, in part to highlight this impracticality

Wearing large ruffs made out of the finest material, adorned with lace, and decorated with gold

announced to the world that you didn't have to perform tasks for yourself, like a commoner

Rather, ruff wearers had servants to do those kinds of things for them, things like laundering, preparing, and maintaining the ruffs

and ironing and starching them when needed. Over time, ruffs acquired such social prestige

that not wearing one became something of a taboo. Eventually, upper-class men and women wore ruffs whenever they went out

even dressed their children in them for a simple trip to the market. There were other benefits, too

For example, improved posture. While wearing a ruff, men and women had no choice but to keep their heads up

a look associated with confidence and pride. The practice of adding starch to a ruff began in the Low Countries

during the mid-1560s and came to England in 1564. The English received the gift of starch

from one mistress, Dingan Vanderplass, who began teaching garment makers, English women

and pretty much any other interested party how to starch clothes It was quickly discovered that adding starch paste to a freshly washed ruff caused it to stand tall and things really took off from there With the help of starch clothes It was quickly discovered that adding starch paste to a freshly washed ruff caused it to stand tall And things really took off from there With the help of starch the ruffs got bigger and more elaborate

Wires and other supports were used to add to the effect, including boards that were hidden behind large folds

When goffering irons were introduced soon after starch, the shapes of ruffs became even more structured

By 1580, ruffs were so large they could extend the width of a gentleman's shoulders

At first, goffered frills or ruffs were merely an extension of a man's shirt

but as the advent of starch allowed the frilly add-ons to grow larger and extend further

the ruffs evolved into a separate accessory. Crafted using pleats and figure-eight shapes

ruffs were also adopted by women in the early 1560s and were often made out of a mixture of linen and lace

However, by the 1570s, standards dictated that ruffs could only be made from lace

and must be held together with only pieces of wood, bone, steel, or ivory

The ruffs were then also usually pinned to one's clothing to hold them in place

In fact, Queen Elizabeth was said to have ordered pins by the thousands to accommodate all of her ruffs

Not all ruffs were the same. In fact, they could vary widely based on where they were made

For example, ruff collars in Spain were made with a lot of fabric. One surviving Spanish collar actually

incorporates a full 42 yards of linen. In England, however, they used a lot less

The earliest cartwheel or fan-shaped ruffs used only about six yards of fabric, although this did change over time

When Lady Cobham wrote to Bess of Hardwick in 1564, she remarked on a garment she was making, indicating how fashion had changed, and that 10 yards is enough for the ruffs of the neck and hands

As the 16th century progressed, more and more lace and linen became necessary to make the larger ruffs that had become fashionable

By the 1580s, a ruff required about 18 yards of material and had to be supported with wire

decorative edging, and elaborate ornamentation. Imagine being rich enough that you could buy fancy, expensive clothing that you only ever

planned to wear once. Well, with some kinds of ruffs, that was exactly what was expected

Ruffs were fragile, and the materials used to construct them could fall apart due to

hot weather, rain, or body heat. As a result, many of them were only worn once

And because roughs were increasingly made using the most delicate materials and weighed down by adornments

they had a habit of easily losing their shape. Quite often stiff wire frames known as supportuses were used to keep the rough in place and to help maintain its shape Boards were also employed although unlike the supportuses they were never visible beneath the large roughs

Queen Elizabeth loved wearing roughs, and for all intents and purposes, she single-handedly determined rough trends

In addition to banning blue roughs, which we'll explain later, the monarch also legislated the general sizes of roughs worn in her kingdom

them, and she took her responsibility seriously. For example, when double ruffs appeared on the scene

during her reign, Elizabeth forbade them. She also tried to limit the size of ruffs

tasking the Lord Mayor of London with reforming monstrous ruffs and other disorders

Who knew that becoming mayor of London would also make you the head of the fashion police

In 1580, a certain Mr. Hewson was targeted under the ruff order

on account of wearing an excess of ruffs in the open street

after Easter, against Her Majesty's proclamation. Houston, for his part, refused to stop wearing his large ruffs

and appealed to his father-in-law, the Lord Chief Baron, to intercede on his behalf

However, Mr. Houston's bad luck aside, the ruff law was generally ignored in the interest

of displaying wealth, garnering attention, and currying position within political and social circles

So rich people ignored the law and were able to get away with it. Oh boy, glad we don't live back then, right

For 16th century Protestants, ruffs represented excess, something best demonstrated by Philip Stubbs

Stubbs was a devout Puritan who decried English men and women for living non-virtuous lives

and in 1583 he published a pamphlet that mentioned the evils of ruffs

and those who wore them. According to Stubbs, the devil, as he is in the fullness of his malice

first invented these great ruffs. Stubbs also hated starch and took issue with the facts

that ruffs were wrought all over with needlework, speckled and sparkled here and there with the sun

the moon, the stars, and many other antiquities. Maybe not the most fun guy to hang out with

Generally seen as white in paintings, ruffs were actually worn in a variety of colors

The fabric itself wasn't colorful, but the starch used on ruffs could be dyed yellow

blue, or green. Vegetable dyes were also used to create pink or mauve colors

which was then added to a starch paste, which would be spread on every fold of a ruff

However, by the 1590s, the queen decided blue starch was no longer

an option. Did she just hate blue? No. Apparently the decision was a political one based on the fact that blue was the color of Scotland flag Elizabeth banned blue roughs indicating that no blue starch shall be used or worn by any of Her Majesty subjects

Another change to the look and style of roughs took place during the 1590s

Women, for the first time, began wearing roughs that were open in the front

This modification essentially meant that the rough would now frame a woman's entire head

while still giving her room to bend her neck forward. Some men didn't wear open front ruffs

but the style was really intended for the ladies, as it afforded them the opportunity

to show off their décolletage. In fact, to wear an open ruff with a bodice

that enhanced one's cleavage became the ideal presentation of the Tudor woman

Later, from about 1625 to 1650, women also started donning large closed ruffs

set in formal tubular pleats spreading laterally over the shoulders. These oval ruffs were usually accompanied by a wide-brimmed beaver hat, because, well, why not

Preparing a ruff could take hours, so making sure it kept its shape was a big deal

Once the pleats were folded, ironed, and pinned, a wire or poking stick was then needed to set the curved shape

After that, starch was applied, and it usually required more than one coat

Waiting for a ruff to dry between layers required patience, and when all was ready, any misshapen parts could be smoothed out with wax

Because ruffs were so delicate, expensive, and time-consuming to create, men and women

kept them in special carrying cases when they traveled. As such, a servant always had to be at the ready to pin the neckwear on their employers

at a moment's notice. Ruffs worn by children were also likely carried and cared for in this way

Starting around the 16th century, round band boxes were used to transport ruffs

Although no one knows exactly when the practice started, the term band box is found in print

as early as the first decades of the 17th century, making an appearance in William Rowley's play

Match at Midnight, published in 1633. One of the stage directions has a maid entering a scene

holding a band box. She then explains she had just gone to pick up her mistress's ruff at the seamstresses

During the early 17th century, ruffs, worn by men and women alike, underwent a significant change

With the development of the falling ruff, pleats were attached to the neckline of a garment

and allowed to hang over one's shoulders. Originally a fashion development that mostly affected the men

by 1615, women began to wear them as well. Falling ruffs, as opposed to their standing counterparts

could be unstarched and, depending on their size, also function as small capes