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A ''ruff'' is an item of Clothing worn in Western Europe from the mid- Sixteenth Century to the mid- Seventeenth Century . The ruff evolved from the small fabric ruffle at the drawstring neck of the Shirt Or Chemise . The discovery 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 Iron s. At their most extreme, 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 end of the sixteenth century, ruffs were falling out of fashion in favor of wing Collar s and Falling Band s. The fashion lingered longest in Holland , where ruffs can be seen in portaits well into the seventeenth century. It also stayed on as part of the ceremonial dress of city councillors (Senatoren) in North German Hanseatic cities and of Lutheran Clergy in those cities and in Denmark . SEE ALSO REFERENCES Janet Arnold: ''Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd'', W S Maney and Son Ltd, Leeds 1988. (ISBN 0901286206) EXTERNAL LINKS
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