… Empress (later wife of the President when the empire was dissolved) Eugenie of France was another key fashion figure of influence. You can imagine the mix of admiration, curiosity, jealousy, and giggling when Eugenie first showed Victoria the new 8′ crinoline hoops.
(Portrait: Eugenie in about 1862 in just one of her many Charles Worth, Parisian designer hoops and crinoline ensembles – rare in gold, because she usually wore purples and blues)