The ruffling of ruffs….

 

A curious article of clothing was the original neck ruff:  the quality of the fabrics used are very fine and the techniques of its manufacture and embellishment are dazzling.

 

And always a sign of status because of the time involved in its manufacture, not to speak of its maintenance. 

 

 

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The real ruff:  Philomachus pugnax, a sandpiper

whose show grounds extend from northern Eurasia to southern and western Europe, southern Asia, Africa and Australia. Photo from the net.

 

 

Sapiens, in customary excess, now has the ruff running all over the body of the female of the species.

A curiosity still because it almost always constrains movement.

 

 

 

Marc Jacobs, 2020, Haute Couture, New York. 

Photo for the NY Times by Nina Westervelt, September 2019 

 

But fabulous in its insouciance, its theatricality, its excessiveness and exuberance.

 

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Portrait of a Man, Possibly an Architect or a Geographer, oil on copper, 1597. 

Peter Paul Rubens, 1577-1640,  Flemish

An exquisite little painting, 18 inches tall.  Metropolitan Museum, NY

 

 

 

 

The Ermine Portrait of Elizabeth I, 1585, oil on canvas.

Nicholas Hilliard, 1547-1619, English.  Hatfield House, England. Photo from the net. 

The Queen of ruffs.

 

 

 

 

Charles I, 1600-1649, King of England, 1629, oil on canvas.

 Daniel Mijtens, 1590-1647, Dutch.  Metropolitan Museum, NY 

Deruffed by the Roundheads and their allies in 1649 for bringing disorder and chaos to the realm.

 

 

 

 

Portrait of a Gentleman, and detail, c. 1615, oil on panel. 

Peter Paul Rubens, 1577-1640, Flemish.  Philadelphia Museum of Art

 

 

 

 

Portrait of a Gentleman in a Fancy Ruff, oil on copper, 1627. 

Thomas de Keyser, 1596/7 – 1667.  National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

 

 

 

 

Portrait of a Man, 1632, oil on wood. 

Rembrandt, 1609-1669, Dutch.  Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

 

 

 

 

Portrait of a Woman, probably a member of the Van Beresteyn family, 1632, oil on canvas.

  Rembrandt, 1606-1669, Dutch.  Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

 

 

 

 

Herman Doomer and detail, oil on wood, 1640. 

Rembrandt, 1606-1669, Dutch.  Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

 

 

 

 

Portrait of a Man with a Ruff, 1625, oil on canvas. 

Frans Hals, 1582/3-1666, Dutch.  Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

 

 

 

 

Marchese Brigida Spinola Doria, oil on canvas, 1606. 

Peter Paul Rubens, 1577-1640, Flemish.  National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

 

 

 

 

Mara Theresa, Infanta of Spain (1638-1683), oil on canvas, 1651-4. 

Velazquez, 1599-1660, Spanish.  Metropolitan Museum, NY.

Half ruffs in the royal coiffure

 

 

 

 

Portrait of a Woman said to be Madame Charles Simon Favart, 1727-1772; oil on canvas, 1757. 

Francois Robert Drouais, 1727-1775, French.  Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

 

 

 

Portrait of the Countess of Tournon, 1812, oil on canvas. 

Jean-Auguste-Dominque Ingres, 1780-1867, French.  Philadelphia Museum of Art

 

 

 

 

Girl in a Red Ruff, 1884, oil on canvas. 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1841-1919, French.  Philadelphia Museum of Art

 

 

 

 

Tight Rope Walker, oil on canvas, 1885. 

Jean-Louis Forain, 1852-1931, French. The Art Institute of Chicago on loan to the Metropolitan Museum, NY in 2016-17

 

 

 

 

Dancers, 1906, ink on paper. 

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1880-1938.  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY

 

 

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Right, light purple synthetic tulle, 1956. 

Lanvin-Castillo, French, active 1950-1962.

Lanvin (the company founded by Jeanne Lanvin, died 1946), French, active 1950-1962. 

Antonio del Castillo, 1908-1984, Spanish. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Full-body upside down ruffs.

 

 

 

 

Lanvin-Castillo.  Lanvin (the company founded by Jeanne Lanvin, died 1946), French, active 1950-1962. 

Antonio del Castillo, 1908-1984, Spanish. 

Evening dress, 1956, of light purple, nylon tulle.  Metropolitan Museum of Art on display in the summer of 2016 

Ruff to the tail

 

 

 

 

Wedding ensemble, autumn/winter 1977/78 haute couture; ivory silk crepe, Chantilly lace, and organza, white cotton organdy, embroidered silver metal thread, pearls and paillettes. 

Yves Saint Laurent, 1936-2008, French.  Loaned by Musee Yves Saint Laurent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2018. 

 Ruffled from the first day of a marriage.

 

 

 

 

Roberto Capucci, Farfallone / Butterfly, 1985. Silk, plissé. Italy.

Archivio Fondazione Roberto Capucci, Foto di Claudia Primangeli.

 

 

 

Issey Miyake, 1993 (recreated 2016).  ‘Pleats Please’.  Machine sewn polyester plain weave, machine garment pleated in paper.

  Accordion ruffs.

 

 

 

 

Junya Watanabe, Fall/Winter couture, 2000 

A ruff which seems to have been thrown from the top of a snowy mountain to land haphazardly like a harpoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gareth Pugh, British, born 1981; Spring 2009 couture, Paris. Photo from the net

 

 

 

 

Dress, spring/summer, 2011 by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. 

Black silk organza with orange feathers painted with black and white pigment. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY 

 

 

 

 

Jun Takahashi, Japanese, born 1969, couture for Undercover, Fashion Week, March 2017, Paris. 

Honeycomb ruff.

 

 

 

 

Jean Paul Gaultier Autumn 2016, Haute Couture.

  Ruff gone to the hips. 

 

 

 

 

Gianbattista Valli, Italian, born 1966.   2016 Haute  Couture. Photo from the net

 

 

 

A member of the Hispanic community of the greater Philadelphia area marking her 15th birthday  (fiesta de quince años ) with photographs in the conservatory of Longwood Gardens,  Pennsylvania. April 2017

 

 

 

 

Molly Goddard, British fashion designer, born 1988.  March 2017, Haute Couture, Paris. Photo from the net.

 

 

 

Valentino, Italian born 1932;  Haute Couture 2019-2020, Paris.  Photo from the net.

 

 

 

 

Comme des Garcons (Rei Kawakubo).  Spring 2025.  Paris. 

Photo by Simbarashe Cha for the NY Times. 9/29/2024

Ruffs as personal airbag.