The history of women's attire is something you can find in museums. The summary is: the dresses got more ornate as a status symbol, and then the masses of fabric became chains. So dresses became simpler again. Here's one link.

https://political.fashion/posts/western-fashion-a-journey-through-time-and-trends

I went to the Smithsonian's First Lady dress exhibit, and the takeawy from that exhibit was that most of those dresses cannot be made today. The materials, and labor make them priceless. ( they tend to put their exhibits online these days).

Can you tell I like to look at the pretty dresses? Can't revise this history, it is part of the Suffrage Movement. Too well documented.