The ruff, reconsidered

It once framed the faces of women in oil paintings. Now it comes on a black jacket that goes with your jeans.

Words by Amorette · 2 minute read

Walk through any old gallery in Italy and you'll meet them on the walls: women in black, painted four centuries ago, faces framed by a pleated white collar. They look composed, a little severe and entirely sure of themselves. The look never really went away. It was just waiting for the right jacket.

This is that jacket. Black, cropped close, with the ruff brought down to a size you can wear to lunch, pleated white and dotted with tiny pearls, then echoed again at each wrist. It does one thing beautifully and leaves the rest of the outfit up to you.

Let it be the only formal thing you're wearing. Faded wide-leg jeans and a pair of pointed black pumps, hair pulled back so nothing competes with the collar. The contrast is the whole point: something out of a gilded frame, worn with the denim you live in.

“A good collar works like a frame. It tells everyone exactly where to look.”

For the evening, go darker and quieter. A black slip skirt, bare ankles and no necklace at all, because the collar is already doing that job. By candlelight the pearls catch the glow and the white seems to float.

And on the days you'd rather not think about it, wear it to work over black trousers and loafers. People will assume you planned it. You can let them.

Like everything at Amorette, it was found by hand and chosen for the woman who will wear it next. It fits a size small, and it's on the rail now.