Those giant white collars in 1600's

I’m guessing they removed them when they ate ass. Can’t get all up in there with that damn thing on.

"Ruffs were somewhat impractical: they restricted movement considerably, and those who wore wide ruffs often had to eat with special long utensils so that they could reach their mouths. Some European governments tried to pass laws to restrict their size. Queen Elizabeth I of England, who ruled from 1558 to 1603 and who loved to wear ruffs herself, passed a law in 1580 that limited the size of ruffs worn by people outside her court. She even posted guards at the gates of the city of London in England to monitor the size of ruffs. Like most laws limiting clothing, called sumptuary laws, this law did not have much effect."

[quote]Queen Elizabeth I of England, who ruled from 1558 to 1603 and who loved to wear ruffs herself, passed a law in 1580 that limited the size of ruffs worn by people outside her court.

That is just what Mrs Slocombe did to Miss Brahms only it was ruffles.

Ruffs were signs of status, and they became bigger and more elaborate to showcase one's wealth.

Mine woman doth proscribeth such a ruff to preventeth me from suckage of nubile male specimens ....

It dost not work!

^^^ prescribeth

Queen Elizabeth was no fool, she had ruffs that looked faboo, but which didn't interfere with eating and quaffing!

In some paintings they can create a strange "your head on a plate" effect.

I have a ruff. Some might call it a neck pouch, but I call it a ruff!

Beatrice & Eugenie should revive this crazy look-- ruffs could be the new fascinators at royal weddings and such.

R8, there were a lot of beheadings back then, so that's rather appropriate.

Ruffles have ridges.

So, this isn't that?

Bring the ruffs back! and the conical plague masks!

I would love to see that tomorrow - particularly the conical plague mask. That would provide me with some much needed uplift.

Ruffs ARE still in style, you cunts!

Tons of plague doctor masks on ebay, R14.

I will if you will...

R16 - you're AMAZING! Thanks for the link.

This would be Sooooooo MUCH FUN! - or maybe the rest of the American dumbfuck public would think I'm from Spy magazine. Probably the latter.

I am a physician and I think I will get. plague mask, to bring smiles to my frightened patients as we teleconference.

r18, have you given any thought as to which fragrance you'll be using?

Sorry to barge in. Thought someone said Rowlf.

Yeah, well, R18, I'm a nurse who treats COVID patients, and I'm thinking of getting one for shits and giggles and mordant humor.

I'd wear one while going into work, if I thought any of my co-workers would get it.

So, when it came to Ruffs, size mattered.

Always hated the look of them

They kept the fleas off of their heads. Can't have your austerity ruined by fleas in your hair.

Could a 6 ft. ruff be the fashionable social distancing accessory that we can use as an alternative to those dreary masks?

I take mine off to eat.

Ruffs started out as modest ruffles lining the collars and cuffs of a chemise worn under a doublet, like what this handsome 16th century tailor is wearing.

The woke edition:

Who's the cute guy in R27's pic?

R29, he was a "The Tailor" ("Il Tagliapanni"), painted by the talented portraitist Giovanni Battista Moroni. Moroni was not very well known in his time, except in his native Bergamo, where he painted the local nobility and artisans, many of whose names are lost through time.

A nobleman dressed in bright hues:

Hot Renaissance ruff trade?

[quote] or maybe the rest of the American dumbfuck public would think I'm from Spy magazine. Probably the latter.

Not Spy Magazine, Mad Magazine. (“Spy vs. Spy.”)

The ruffs were stiffened with a sort of starch that would wilt if a drop of water ever hit it, so for noblemen wearing huge ruffs, going outside was perilous! Especially anywhere in the British Isles! Plus, if rain hit the expensive brightly colored gowns or doublets of the era, the dye would probably run.

So what was the etiquette of huge impractical ruffs? Were the reserved for grand formal occasions at court or in one's own palace, where there was no risk of rain and only one meal to be skipped? Were smaller, more practical ruffs (see link) worn for everyday use? Or was there a time when fashion got out of control and everyone who was anyone was eating with two-foot-long spoons and refusing to go outside?

Reminds me of this. Not a fan.

Well someone decided to wear ALL the family ruffs for her portrait sitting!

Look, they don't match.

R35, See R4.

Were they meant to hide the telltale signs of scrofula? Or were they just to keep the neck warm?

L to R: closed ruff; Medici collar; open ruff; falling ruff / falling band

No neck monsters!

The collars were the first generation air filters.

[quote] No neck monsters!

How dare you!

The large, heavily starched standing ruffs came to be called cartwheel ruffs or millstone collars. They could either be worn open or closed. Venetian women heavily favored open ruffs, made of lace rather than the linen, and this Venetian lace came to be highly prized throughout Europe. Marie de' Medici introduced the fan-shaped, open, standing ruff made of Venetian lace into France, which came to be known as the Medici collar.

The cartwheel ruffs fell out of fashion around the early 17th century, supposedly because Louis XIII (France) and Charles I (England) preferred to wear their hair long, thus making standing ruffs an obstacle to presentable hair. Falling ruffs or falling bands became the fashion of the day.

Louis XIII wearing a falling ruff:

Louis XIIII wearing a falling band.

Interesting, R30. That artist certainly had a type he liked.

But however on earth did they wear plastic bibs for all-you-can-eat ribfest with them collars?