The REAL History of the Princess Hat

A headdress from the medieval Mongol Empire? European whimsy? Something Freudian? Maybe you've heard a pithy theory about the history of the hennin, or conical "princess hat," but I doubt you've heard the REAL history.
Today we're going to dive into some serious fact-checking, and wrap up with what I think you need to know about fashion in the Late Middle Ages.
I do my best to be accurate, but I'm an amateur history enthusiast. Any corrections and clarifications will be posted below.
00:00 Hi
00:55 General Hennin Facts
03:03 European Theory
04:13 Boqta Theory
10:32 Ottoman Theory
15:28 what is even real?
16:33 MIC DROP
_______
FURTHER READING/WATCHING/ETC:
For more on Mongol/European textile exchange check out Eiren L. Shae
• Book talk, Mongol Cour...
More than Oriental Splendor: European and Ottoman Headgear 1380-1580 by Charlotte Jirousek
doi.org/10.1179/0361211958052...
Central Asian headwear history
karakalpak.com/
*Note that i’s based on a lot of Russian ethnographic work about living cultures, which is always gonna be a lil weird, and I can't attest to the general quality of this website (very out of my wheelhouse).
________
FULL IMAGE LIST AND SOURCES:
docs.google.com/document/d/19...
_________
IMAGE ATTRIBUTIONS:
Mongol Empire Map By Ali Zifan, via wikimedia commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
____
MUSIC/SOUND:
"The Colonel." Zachariah Hickman (YT audio library)
"Mirror Mirror." Diamond Ortiz (YT audio library)
Brostep drop by MtHoustonDubstep, via wikimedia commons (CC BY 3.0)
"Thatched Villagers." Kevin MacLeod
"Angevin - Thatched Villagers" Kevin Macleod
Link: filmmusic.io/song/4585-villag...
License: filmmusic.io/standard-license
"Sneaky Business" Biz Baz Studio (YT audio library)
"Brain Trust" Wayne Jones (YT audio library)
"The Curious Kitten" Aaron Kenny (YT audio library)
Sounds from Zapsplat.com

[@singe0diabolique]

Elizabeth Zimmerman, a woman famous among knitters, once said on the subject of knitting hats, "People will wear almost anything on their head."

[@deadaf6098]

I was surprised to see such a quality production and clear explanation only having 100+ views?? U shud really have more views, this was an interesting topic! Keep it up!

[@making.history]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked it!

[@ussarng4649]

3mos later there 2.7K. As good as this is, people just aren't very interested in history..... that might be a sign of the end of times, I'm not sure though.

[@rileyrileyrileyriley1]

@@making.historyi was entertained!

[@AnnekeOosterink]

I mean, the slow evolution of styles is more or less how fashion works in general, so that sounds like a very likely theory. It's how we go from Regency slim dresses to the big crinolines, slowly over decades more and more underskirts, until you can't get bigger with fabric alone, enter the crinoline. And then the crinoline gets more and more emphasis on the back, and slowly the skirts have more focus on the back.

[@wulptices]

really really great video!! i went into this not even knowing the hennin had a NAME and now i’m saving pictures of sa’wkeles to my vision board. history is so cool and you make it so interesting!!! :o) also, your comedic editing is on point, the only thing i love more than well-sourced history is people DESTROYING faulty, easily-discredited history. just fantastic stuff all around

[@rahannneon]

interesting. now i need to check to see if hennins have a connection those phrygian floppy top hats, or the witchy hat.

[@Stormy38044]

This is fantastic :D Love the message at the end too. Sometimes the truest answer is "we really aren't sure" and i think it's important to be ok with it, rather than making up something. The Silk Road and other long-distance trade routes absolutely fascinate me

[@making.history]

I'm glad it resonated!

[@misss7777]

Transcultural influence throughout Eurasia was a thing for at least 2000 years. (The general trade routes are still even older.) Silk was traded from China via the Middle East to Rome while the Chinese protected the Origin of Silks fiercely against foreignerd. On the other hand for example during thr flourishing ChineseTang Dynasty (even beforen Yuan Dynasty) patterns and even some mens clothes were heavily influenced from Persia. And that's not even talking about Religion and the import of Buddhism from India to China...

[@chrysparker300]

I have multiple doctorates , and am a professor, but am SPELLBOUND listening to YOU. I hope I’m half as interesting to my students as you are interesting to me. Keep posting! You’re marvelous

[@astrinymris9953]

Another interesting question is "Why did this particular headwear somehow become emblematic of noblewomen's Medieval dress, instead of any of the many other hats and headpieces of the Middle Ages?"

[@ealusaid]

I'd love to hear that too! It probably has a lot to do with what artistic depictions were available when Victorians were drawing on images of the past, and which Victorian images got re-produced when, but I don't know the specifics in the least.

[@elsa_g]

Thanks for this interesting deep-dive! I also appreciate your example of the textile similarities to support the takeaway that much of history is messy and uncertain, including fashion history. I tend to think of globalization as a new concept, so it's very interesting to see how the world has been globalized in different ways deep into the past.

[@making.history]

I had so much fun trawling through online collections to pull those images together! (The Cleveland Museum of Art's textile collection is amazing) And yeah, no doubt. It's so easy to forget that there was a whole global world BEFORE the age of colonialism.

[@leahpearce5128]

"No definitive answers about anything" is a solid benchmark for a history deep-dive! I love these gosh darn hats!!!!

[@EmelieWaldken]

I love your style of presentation (just chaotic enough, yet very picky about sources and accuracy, yet accepting and even praising the chaos that is History = so good) and this topic was really interesting, I had never thought to wonder about the origins of the hennin.

[@fredwood1490]

A question that might explain the slow evolution of fashion design: When the average Peasant might own one or two sets of clothes, how many would a wealthy person own? If a Princess has half a dozen dresses and a wealthy Trader's Wife might own a few more, some of them being quite old, where would be the market for fancy dress in medieval Europe? Later on, cities would bring about real fashion change and experimentation, with the birth of large amounts of disposable income among the social elite, but who designed the clothes for medieval Princesses?

[@robertafierro5592]

I had a co worker named CeCe. She came to NYC to study Hat Making at a leading Art School, i want to say Parsons, bit most likely it was FIT. I was so amazed that at only 20 yrs old, she already knew what she wanted to do with her life. Over the years I've thought about her and always hope she made it! I hope she's had an exciting career! Imagine what you can do with that! Design hats for a movie. Design uniforms for various fields. The Fashion House's of course, Stylist..historical illustrating, reference, most likely, Teach..to me that is quite exciting! Beautiful and captivating video. Informative and just plain FUN to watch! I wish I had a Grand daughter or a young niece..

[@bricksloth6920]

Parenthetical asides and unrelated sidetracks are my favorite. It's why I subscribed.

[@dumbbitch2.04]

CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED CHANNEL omg I absolutely love how much research and passion and critical thinking you use! Plus your editing is so nice. The quality of your videos are so amazing, especially since I assume you aren’t make a lot of money off these videos.

[@annalisette5897]

This channel is so good that one of these days subscriber numbers will explode, and a couple years from now there will likely be 100k views in a week! :-)

[@aggiefields9496]

A few magicians have also been depicted in pointy hats, like Merlin and Gandalf. Sometimes these "gnome hats" have a pattern with stars and moons on them. Are these depictions accurate, or not.. I'm sure you can answer :)

[@marthahawkinson-michau9611]

The Ottoman Empire theory makes sense. It’s kind of a bridging culture anyway, but it’s one of the few cultures that had contacts between both Europe and Asia. Honestly, I think there probably is no proof of how the henin came to be. It’s basically just a viral fad that got crazy fashionable for while during one century, but then lost popularity afterwards.

[@SA-bc6jw]

Karolina Zebrowska would bestow a seal of approval I believe. Really enjoyed your peeling back the veils.

[@donquijotedegranada]

well, something similar to tantour hat was known and worn in al-andalus (southern spain, in europe too) from 711 up to 1492... and the look of the hennin is quite similar... or maybe the pileus cornutus worn by jewish, os the influence of the arabic religion present in europe (you know, southern france, southern spain, parts of italy, southern portugal...) during medieval times

[@making.history]

An interesting thought! I hadn't stumbled upon this hat before.

[@donquijotedegranada]

@@making.history actually we still wear the CATITE hat in some parts of andalucía

[@DipityS]

That was fascinating and really added depth to your video on making the hat which I just watched. I also think the blowing a raspberry is a perfectly valid academic argument against someone making a silly assertion 😊

[@annalisette5897]

I like the way you think! You think like I do. (My area of amateur expertise is the Voynich Manuscript. One of my ancient in-laws was probably involved in obtaining this item for a royal court back in the 1400's. LOL!) The hennin would be horribly impractical for peasant women. Imagine going out to milk the cows or shovel out the barn while wearing something like that! Lots of extraordinary fashions were created in royal courts by high ranking nobles. Was there a queen in Western Europe who was very short? A foreign princess making her mark on a far away court? A high ranking woman who was not pretty but distracted attention with outrageous headwear? Some of the oddest fashions had to do with being noticed in dark, candle-lit great halls. Some fashions progress because technology improves. I have read the curved seam on trousers was not invented until the 1700's. Thus prior men's lower garments were something like skirts with legs. Thus, codpieces and other things. I think men rather enjoyed the codpiece, especially Henry VIII. LOL! The skirt with legs style is still made in Central Asia. SO.....what fabric and sewing technology progressed to make the hennin possible? Felting? New material? New starch? Etc.? Lots of things are done, simply because they can be done, whether they make sense or not. Lots of historic costume in royal courts was restrictive and announced through its impracticality that the wearers did not have to do any manual labour. Somewhat like the hive's queen bee is helpless and attended by drones, so have been many human queens. It is hard to believe the tall conical hats would have been practical for Ottomans on the battlefield as depicted in the Burgundian painting. I wonder if they were over-emphasized in the painting? If not, I wonder if they were used kind of like uniforms, to rank and easily identify soldiers on the battlefield? Maybe red hats were infantry, blue hats archers....etc....whatever(?) Might the tall, conical hats have been a mark of masculinity among the Ottomans? If so, might western Europeans, in a somewhat emasculating move, have adapted a similar style for females? Sort of like females with fake codpieces over their skirts. LOL! But, imagine such hats while riding horseback, which was certainly something Central Asian people did! I am always amazed, how many fashions historically were applied to the human body with pins. Were tall, conical hats pinned on? Or were there chin straps? Was this painful? Were they secured enough so that a wearer could be active or gallop a horse? (Despite the fact that actors in our western TV shows and films could get into brawls and never lose their hats, real life doesn't work that way. LOL!) One last thing, when I think of late 1400's England, I think of the advent of the gable hood. I think that is one of the stupidest head coverings invented. (However the hennin and other 'fairy tale princess' styles are far worse.) I see now that a portrait of Elizabeth Woodville with a sheer veil over her head, actually portrays the antennae type hennin thing. Anyway, it might be worthwhile to see when the gable hood was started. By who? From where? (Possibly from The Netherlands.) We know that Anne Boleyn helped popularize the French hood in England, though she went to her death wearing the more English gable hood. Anyway, is there a historical breaking point when the hennin-type attire was changed over to the gable hood and why? That might help work backward.

[@helenaprudenciado4388]

I always want to dress up as a princess and wear that hat as a kid. This video gave me more inspiration.

[@judithsixkiller5586]

I've always wondered if the dunce hat or fool's cap was a mockery form of the princess hat.

[@Neppy22]

Came for the red vase hat in the thumbnail. Stayed for the entertaining hat history! I want a boqta now... They're very fun looking

[@wifeofagrumpyoldmarine428]

What a fun channel! I’m so glad I found it! :D

[@jelly434]

Honestly I think every so often a milliner somewhere in the world just made a shape and was like, 'yeah I quite like that.'

[@making.history]

This made me giggle. That is probably as good a theory as any haha

[@jrmckim]

You had the perfect opportunity for a pun girl! You could have said "pulled out of a hat" lmao I'm a simple being.. people make puns.. I laugh.

[@sukar120]

This was a fun deep dive! I remember Medieval POC from my time on tumblr a million years ago, and I distinctly remember seeing several of their posts that made me go ????????? That blog was messy when it came to sources

[@making.history]

Haha, I also ran into it back in the day, but in my case i was just like "this is a legit historian." Imagine my surprise 9 years later after some learning haha.

[@ashtonadams2843]

@@making.history lol the second you cited medieval poc i knew what was up, they were notorious for deliberately misinterpreting sources to support whatever wild-ass claims they wanted to make. but i love all the research you did, as always!

[@ealusaid]

Yeees, the moment she said "Medieval PoC" I literally said "OH NOOOOOO" aloud. I love things like Black Tudors that actually factually examine the historical evidence for marginalized people, but medievalpoc just pulled the wildest takes out of crappy sources and completely refused to listen to people with more information.

[@rachelamsterdam1106]

I think the crusades prob had something to do with this. That makes sense to me. Wonderful video by the way. I subscribed.

[@Sarafimm2]

Another thing to consider is to follow the money. Those clothes and hats were worn during the Little Ice Age when temperatures became much colder in Europe. That dress style kept women warm and could also hide a pregnancy when a woman still wanted to be able to travel without getting disapproving looks from older women or men. I believe this was also the time when the Merchant/Middle Class was coming into their own and may have had incomes exceeding that of nobles. Many of the pictures you show in your video depict the expensive fabrics these dresses used. It's not far to conclude that the hats were not only for warmth, but also to show off and use more expensive fabrics. Your video briefly shows how the hennin may have naturally evolved from the wide lobes, to the upright lobes, and then as the lobes get taller and closer together and ending with a shape exceedingly close to the hennin. Then there is some sort of change and the clothes become less heavy/extravagant. Were there laws passed to start affecting the income of merchants to favor the nobility? The Ottoman hats that merchants saw and may have used variations of to make themselves look more worldly is surely plausible. Add in wives who also want to show how worldly they (through their husbands) have become combined with the changing local styles and you could just end up with something like the hennin.

[@dizzyk54]

Great video!! I like how you investigate and present in an entertaining manner. Keep creating! Vicki

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

it's a lookout position at the top for your mouse, who scans the room for threats

[@Fuzyryoko]

You know your stuff! So nice to find a small creator that isn't cringy trying to get attention lol

[@making.history]

Either you didnt watch the last 5 seconds or your cringe threshold is very high haha. Thanks though

[@jeffbybee5207]

@@making.history did not see anything cring worthy in your vid. It's intresting even to a guy who's main fashion criteria is wearing enough clothes to keep from freezing in winter or arrested in summer. Best wishes

[@_Julie_Bee]

Wow! Your analysis is spot on and delivery is perfectly entertaining, keeping us engaged. Love it! Instant subscription! I'll be bingeing in the rest of your content! 😍

[@AzraelThanatos]

You know, the had also has several similarities to the liripipes of different hoods, even with the Chaperon being worn in a way with the liripipe pointing upwards before hanging down and around the throat to be hung off the other shoulder. With the popularity of that design, it could easily just lead to stiffer fabrics being used with it that someone thought fashionable and leading to the same kind of situation as the shoe toe craze (and insanity) that seemed to also happen. Cue a new hat style, and the various decorations including the silk draping it or other things...and the wealthy extending it over the years

[@robertafierro5592]

Hat joke I just made up. What's is the Tall Hats worst nightmare? A Doorway!

[@okpo2596]

Actually pointy hats like the henin have always been a thing in Europe since ancient times. The Scythians wore pointy hats similar to the henin from which central asian pointy hats of the mongols & turkic tribes most likely derive. Also the ancient celtic tribes of europe wore gigantic golden pointy hats

[@cbbcbb6803]

What were the fashions for regular people during those times?

[@tasanijanus7092]

Whoa now... I came prepared. After carp leather, I'm all in.

[@jennyfrances456]

I just keep thinking of this 1550 gorgeous painting of Hurrem Sultan wearing something that looks hennin-y? Do you think the she is wearing a Western-inspired hennin in the Ottoman empire? This would be way later than the late medieval henin we talked about here, so I could see it getting big in Europe and then inspiring Ottoman fashions? Or maybe this was their own look. Anyone have any thoughts? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurrem_Sultan

[@johannageisel5390]

Lol, I wouldn't be surprised if all of those theories were somewhat true. As you mentioned, the Mongol fashion could have inspired or have a common ancestor with the Ottoman headgear and the Ottoman headgear could have been an idea-giver for fashionistas in Europe who were looking for the next big thing in the area of huge headwear.

[@okpo2596]

The common ancestor of all is the scythian pointy hat from which centrak asian ponty hats derive

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

cant believe i actually watched the whole thing, and found it interesting. nice work.

[@Proestetic]

Fashion as depicted on paintings of the upper class. Those who could afford the luxury of a painter. Fashion amongst the common people was much different and quite boring. Brown and gray mostly. Wearing white fx. was not typical, cus in no time it would look dirty. Only those who could wash their clothes often wore white. Like those in the paintings. Being pale was also an expression of wealth since it symbolized that you don't have to work outdoors like people of course did. So some would color their skin white too.

[@robertafierro5592]

Henin! All these years I thought it was called That Pointy Hat!

[@midnightchannel7759]

(Hierarchy was super important to the aristocracy, as u know a commoner could be killed for wearing the color purple... Hats would seem to be an easy and relatively inexpensive (compared to gowns) was to continue saying to the world " I'm above peasants and I'm above merchants.. * and * I have excellent taste", or, perhaps, merchants saying " I'm as good asnthe aristocracy" since, unlike the color purple and ermine fur, both as mentioned capital.offense if worn by rich merchants, etc, maybe they forgot about hats. So... (?))

[@loujobar1974]

That was really really good. (And I never write these comment things)Wow the effort and research and time that has gone into it. And your presenting style! Brilliant! Thanks. I thoroughly enjoyed.

[@joannebattersby8365]

Are you Canadian my friend? It seems so to me - that " frig" was a bit of a give away if so. I love your work and appreciate it greatly. I learned to sew from my 1898 book of my Granddads and made my first pair of sails on my Grans' Treddle at 12. I worked as a costumer for theatre at 18 and as you know old dressmakers never die- we just fall over into a pile of mending , alterations, crinoline and bustiers one day. And I make Bury me in one of my treddles' cabinet. 😂🇨🇦

[@emilygoodman6779]

They liked big hats, and I cannot lie

[@gh0st_b0yfriend]

The elephant 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

This was a great video. I really enjoy research videos lots of great stuff to learn! I have so many questions about history but my research skills are horrid! I get very weird looks when I tell people if I won the lottery I would hire a researcher to answer all the questions!

[@rogerarrysheldon8394]

whoa... i love the research done for this smithsonian article... when i think of the degree of anxiety i feel when, in dialogue, i think i may have mishandled a quotation in a way unbecomming and unintentioned, i pluck my forehed.

[@fredwood1490]

That was amazing!!! I really liked your presentation. I even subscribed! What is life, what is history but layers and layers of trivia piled up till somebody notices. Historians are those "Somebodies" and all those piles of trivia are what culture is made of. Your Hennin looks very much like part of the ritual robes of the Office of the Inquisition, (Looking very much like the robes of the KKK here in the US), to make themselves seem much larger than they were. It could be that that simple device, desanctified by time, could have been the root of the construction. It was a symbol of power for them and, maybe, one of wealth and power to a later, non-religion enslaved generation, just like rest of the fancy dress of the trophy wives of the time. Just a thought.

[@marinarobb5239]

Your videos are so interesting and well researched. It’s such a breath of fresh air to have the Middle Ages presented plainly, without being overly romanticized or presented comedically (looking at you Terry Gilliam). My toddler is your biggest fan…but now he says bullsh*t. 😉

[@pt8257]

You’re so underrated omg

[@Keriousity]

Lol nope 1:08 came here for a 30+ min movie. About hennins

[@rogerarrysheldon8394]

i think my life is changed forever.

[@charlessmith5114]

Perhaps they showed something about their families and descent? Fun!

[@hirnlegorush]

@ 11:05 schuuulz lol :)

[@midnightchannel7759]

Do u read French? A Camnridge medieval historian told me once that tit was the language to know as it has changed little since then, ie, if u read French now you'll understand what was written the , and because it was * the * language to know, lots of secular I do along with official and sacred written in French (and I bet dress wasndocukented a lot). English dress is always focused upon, but didn't Italian dress differ from what Northern women wore? In Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet the dress was GOEGEOUS, but I think maybe different from the North (?). This would be interesting to know ..

[@GG-it9cj]

Really loved this deep dive

[@jennyfrances456]

This is amazing! I couldn't stop listening!

[@rogerarrysheldon8394]

...and, after writing so many absurd comments, suddenly having a sincere question, i mean, whatever, it will help your metrics - wtf is "cleveland", is there a textiles exhibit next to the big "cleveland"...or is it in the rock n roll hall of fame... because 'met' and 'cleveland' as the localities - they aren't equivalents and now i am curious where this textiles collection is in cleveland...

[@rogerarrysheldon8394]

yamm, u killin it. awesome banter....with yourself - 101%

[@idontgiveafaboutyou]

14:46 they look beautiful

[@tenaoconnor7510]

I thought you were informative and entertaining. 😉 👍🏻 good job 😊 I think people just liked to have fun with hats.

[@amazinggrapes3045]

"the blog medievalpoc" Oh, no wonder they deleted it

[@robertacomstock3655]

Adorning: opposite of donning. Love your critique of source credibility!

[@catherinejustcatherine1778]

Wonderful details!

[@making.history]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@nernguan995]

Thank you for bringing up mongols Source: Mongolia

[@MrTraewilliams]

Great video looking forward to your making a hennin video

[@robertafierro5592]

Great Channel! Bravo Lydia!

[@bubimilagro]

Wonderful video, very interesting and well made, thank you!

[@happyguy963]

I LOVE THIS VIDEO!!!!!!!!!

[@making.history]

Hehehe happy to hear it!

[@janach1305]

Sewist??? Where did that word come from? 🤔 If you don’t like seamstress, you can surely come up with something better than “sewist.”

[@magicknight13]

Simply amazing!!! New subscriber here 😁

[@midnightchannel7759]

Thumbs up, great channel, thanks!

[@juliemayfield1282]

Very interesting!!

[@smallbeginning2]

You don't need to carry that guilt, girl.

[@Sworddove]

Stellar research

[@ahhhlindsanityyy]

Great vid!

[@making.history]

Glad you think so! I'm so pleased to see a couple familiar handles after my very long absence. Thanks for sticking around! 😄

[@indigop38]

Maybe it was meant to imitate the “alien conehead archons” that some say were vistors and whom were thought of as gods. So-called “royals”, it is said, claims to be descended from those. The planking of heads of royal infants in some cultures is said to be an imitation of the coneheads also. Snl ridiculed the conehead theory to help discredit it in 80s. I clicked here to see if you’d “go there”.

[@suekraeuter5844]

👍

[@charlottepeukert9095]

I'm still wondering why women were wearing these headwears.There are pictures of naked ladies wearing henins while swimming or bathing.Why didn't they take them off?

[@idontgiveafaboutyou]

Possibly to make them still show some modesty by covering their hair lol

[@sophiecunningham2937]

pքɾօʍօʂʍ 😞

[@SevenStanesMBT]

Please, never change! This was witty, informative, irreverent and highly entertaining. And the burp......Goddess like!!! :DDD

[@rogerarrysheldon8394]

dude, but you can't tell me the golden horde was prioritizing women's head-dress that was likely being related to a gluttonous and sinosphere-over-mongol-o-sphere?-ich? emperor... i mean, it's KOObluh that was all about that yuan culture, and i don't think his affinity for silk and conjee was enthusiastically shared by his progeny to the west at contemporary times,...and after they melted his golden chair i think his influence likely dwindled.... - i mean, it's a major part of the one show that harvey weinstein produced while embroiled in sexual..._misconduct?_ scandal... so, i just wanted to throw that in as my cited source... and, there's ya go... way too much nonsense typed without any solid justification - and why is there a pressure to uncover a secretive mongolian sycophantic fashion element in the high middle ages... also, is there a ver meggren with a princess hat? i just imagine a fake Vermeer somewhere with one of these....? also, can you elaborate on the fabrics, construction, appproach to manufacture, equipment, social fluxus and caddy meen girls-Esque drama/gossip... it's ... i want so much more.... so much.... i feel like all of my comments are off-putting.... I enjoyed this. serial. compliment achieved.

[@pennypop408]

Yes but why did people (no matter who wore it first) start wearing such a thing in the first place.

[@suziecreamcheese211]

It’s possible that westerners were inventive enough that they came up with interesting headware on their own.

[@jettsetgirl]

You had me at - “I’m Working on a 1400’s ensemble “ 😮🫢❤️❤️

[@AnnekeOosterink]

I mean, the slow evolution of styles is more or less how fashion works in general, so that sounds like a very likely theory. It's how we go from Regency slim dresses to the big crinolines, slowly over decades more and more underskirts, until you can't get bigger with fabric alone, enter the crinoline. And then the crinoline gets more and more emphasis on the back, and slowly the skirts have more focus on the back.