Ruff
The starched pleated linen collar that surrounded the head like a platter in the late 16th century.
The ruff was worn by men and women and needed daily care with starch, which reached England in the 1560s. It appears in portraits of Elizabeth I and Rembrandt’s merchants. Surviving ruffs are rare; some are in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Royal Armoury in Stockholm.
Materials: Linen, often with lace, starch
Manufacture: Long strips of fine linen were set in figure-of-eight pleats and starched; pressed with heated iron sticks, poking sticks.
The figure-of-eight pleating seen from the side, like organ pipes.
The size – a ruff could be wider than the shoulders.