Elizabethan Ruffs

We look back at fashions of the past and wonder what they were thinking. A little research and some common sense tell us that high heels were developed to hold one's feet in the stirrups while riding a horse, but became a permanent fashion for women because they made them flex their leg and butt muscles attractively. The codpiece started out for reasons of modesty, but became popular as a way of showing off. But what was up with the ruffled collars of the Elizabethan era? They only look natural on Bozo the Clown. They served no practical use, and they certainly weren't comfortable. Weird History goes over the real purpose of ruffs, plus how the fashion changed to become more elaborately ridiculous over time, spread across the world, and eventually died out -except for clowns.