Ruff (clothing)

A ruff from the early 17th century: detail from The Regentesses of St Elizabeth Hospital, Haarlem, by Verspronck
A ruff from the 1620s

A ruff is an item of clothing worn in Western, Central and Northern Europe, as well as Spanish America, 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 millstones for grinding grain.

Ruff of c. 1575. Detail from the Darnley Portrait of Elizabeth I