… the “crinolette” evolved away from just keeping the drapes away from the back of the legs, into a shaping structure in themselves. Different designs accomplished different things; a crinolette, still considered a transition between the earlier crinoline and the bustle to come, was getting stronger and stiffer.
They were still rather light in weight and not strong enough for the heavier fabrics like this 1872 crinolette or early bustled hoop cage.