The ruff, which was worn by men, women and children, evolved from the small fabric
ruffle at the neck of the shirt or
chemise. Ruffs served as changeable pieces of cloth that could themselves be laundered separately while keeping the wearer's
doublet or
gown from becoming soiled at the neckline. The stiffness of the garment forced upright posture, and their impracticality led them to become a symbol of wealth and status. The size of the ruff increased as the century went on. "Ten yards is enough for the ruffs of the neck and hand" for a New Year's gift made by her ladies for
Elizabeth I of England in 1565, but the adoption 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, "cartwheel 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 start of the seventeenth century, ruffs were falling out of fashion in Western Europe, in favour of wing
collars and falling
bands. The fashion lingered longer in the
Dutch Republic, where ruffs can be seen in portraits well into the seventeenth century, as well as in other places. The ruff remained part of the ceremonial dress of city councillors (
Senatoren) in the cities of the
Hanseatic league and of
Lutheran clergy in
Denmark,
Norway, the
Faroe Islands,
Iceland, and
Greenland. The ruff was banned by
Philip IV of Spain in 1621 in a symbolic attempt to reduce the inertia and power of the conservative Spanish elite.
Today wearing a ruff (2015) Ruffs remain part of the formal attire of bishops and other clergy in the
Church of Denmark, the
Church of the Faroe Islands and some districts of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. The
Church of Norway removed the ruff from its clergy uniform in 1980, although some conservative priests, such as
Børre Knudsen, continued to wear them. Ruffs are also worn by
boy sopranos in some
Anglican church choirs. ==Colours==