.. when one looks at garments hanging on mannequins in museums. While statistically women WERE much smaller on the average in the late Victorian era; e.g. median waist was 25″ vs today’s 32″, there were in reality women of ALL sizes from very small to very large.
The Natural Form era of 1878-1881 was a particularly bad time for large women.
(Photo: Natural Form dress by French designer Emile Pingat for large woman in black silk)