Large Victorian skirts were influenced by fashion trends that saw width as elegant and helped create an exaggerated hourglass shape adored at that time. Wearing substantial skirts also symbolized wealth since more costly materials were required. Modesty drove their size too, as fulness shielded legs from view matching genteel standards. Supportive crinolines and hoop skirts moreover enabled volume, underpinning skirts in luxury fabrics that signified rank through expansive excess.