02/04/2025
Hands up if you love a fancy collar! And collars from the 16th and 17th centuries are really the best. Curled, ruffled, gathered, starched, - people invested as much in their collars as we do in fancy hand bags.
I've made a new one for my collection: it's called a "falling band" and based on an exhibit at the V&A in London dated at 1650. After the craze of the Elizabethan ruff, this seemingly square or triangle shaped collar was quite a change in fashion.
I used some wonderful Cluny lace for this one. As close as you can get to bobbin lace, 100% cotton, and wonderfully detailed.
The first three pictures show the falling band, and then there are some pictures of the 16th and 17th century coats i made on other occasions, like Elizabethan ruffs and the jabots, which came into fashion after 1650.