Is there such a thing as an "intelligent ruffle"?

Cristóbal Balenciaga thought so.

"There are different kinds of ruffles. Some ruffles must be very, very elegant and light you know. You must make it become an intelligent ruffle. The flounce cannot look heavy; it should be soft and light. That is the way you make a ruffle."

See if this doesn't change the way you look at them.


(botanical of Narcissus major from the World Museum Liverpool; photo by Helmut Newton of Balenciaga gown for Vogue, 15 March 1968, © 1968 Condé Nast Publications, published in Balenciaga and His Legacy, Myra Walker, © 2006 The Meadows Museum)