English dress was spectacular in this period, but I doubt wearing a ruff amid a huge collar was comfortable!
KatRowberd has this about the portrait in elizabethangeek.com/costumereview: "Margaret is wearing the fitted black gown with a spanish farthingale
and elbow-length sleeves that seems to be typical of the 1560s style.
It is probably made of black silk velvet or wool. The collar is high
and has a full shape. The gown is decorated down the front opening and
around the sleeves and collar with pairs of decorative gold aglets. It
is fastened from the neck to the waist.
The forepart of her
skirt is a black and gold silk brocade in a large lozenge shaped
pattern. The undersleeves don't match, but instead are of a
gold/white/black lozengy design. It may be a brocade or it may be
surface decoration making this pattern.
She wears a suit of
ruffs at her neck and wrists, all of which are double-layered with gold
edging. On her head is a small coif with gold edging, and her
fashionable reddish hair is worn puffed out from a centre parting. She
wears two heavy gold chain necklaces, one with a cross (interesting in
the Protestant period) and the other with some indistinct jewel hanging
from it. She also has a heavy rope-like chain belt worn under her gown,
with a pomander or tassel of some kind on the end. The length of it
looks as if it would hang almost to the ground."
Keywords: 1562, Eworth, Duchess, Howard family, English, straight coiffure, high enclosing neckline, jeweled headdress, necklace, jeweled crucifix, aglets, rolled sleeves, false sleeves, ruff, cuffs, jeweled pendant chain, under-skirt, farthingale
