We begin to see the exaggerated collar appear in portraits of Europeans in the early 1600s.  Let’s look at the portrait painted by Dutch Golden Age artist Frans Hals.  Look at that collar around the neck of this guy! This is a portrait of Tieleman Roosterman, who was a very wealthy merchant from the Netherlands. His expensive clothing reflects the height of fashion, and this style of collar evolved to cover up neck sores from the rising spread of syphilis throughout Europe. 

In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was created in the Netherlands.  Its purpose was trade, exploration and colonization throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.  The Dutch were poised to be much more successful than the British because of their superior money and tax system.  As a result, the Dutch East India Company merchants doing business with India and China and other eastern countries became extremely wealthy.  This wealth is reflected in the clothing of this rising merchant class of people.  And, just like the aristocracy Catholic Church leaders  before them, they choose to have their portraits done to show off their wealth and fortune! 

In this portrait, the merchant Tieleman Roosterman wears black velvet, which is from made from silk. Silk is a fabric first produced in Neolithic China.  The secrets of silk production did not reach Europe until about 550 A.D. through the Silk Road, the Eurasian trade routes.  In addition to the luxurious velvet fabric, the black color of the velvet worn by Tieleman is very expensive to produce.  

Sadly, the outbreak of syphilis first recorded in Naples, Italy in 1493-95 eventually found its way all over Europe. So prevalent was this disease that it drove an entire fashion line of large and camouflaging neck collars in the ensuing decades.