It was the style of the times, and nothing more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoop_skirt
The Victorian era had women dressed covered from head to foot, and even hiding their faces behind hand held fans. Not a lot different from the Islamic hijabs of today.........................
Despite widespread criticism, crinolines became extremely fashionable across the Western world from the 1850s to the 1870s. The steel-hooped cage crinoline was mass-produced in massive quantities and worn by women of every social standing and class across the Western world, from royalty to factory workers.