A ruff is an item of clothing worn in

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, and Northern Europe and

Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th century, 15th ...

from the mid-16th century to the mid-17th century. The round and flat variation is often called a millstone collar after its resemblance to

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

s for grinding grain. Elizabeth I Darnley portrait crop

History

The ruff, which was worn by men, women and children, evolved from the small fabric

ruffle Ruffle or ruffles may refer to: * Ruffle (sewing), a gathered or pleated strip of fabric *Ruffle (software), a Flash Player emulator written in the Rust programming language *Ruffles (potato chips), a brand of potato chips *Ruffles and flourishes ...

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 Doublet is a word derived from the Latin ''duplus'', "twofold, twice as much",