The only reason I know about why doilies became a thing is because my ex had a really entertaining book called “Word Origins”, as I recall. It was full of bizarre words like “antimacassar”.
I inherited a lot of crocheted doilies, table runners, etc. from my grandma. As I really don’t have a use for such things, I sewed them all together and made a skirt out of them. It’s pretty cool.