Small clothing, smaller shoes

by: Felicia Duffy
The Greene County Historical Society

Walking through clothing stores now offers shoppers a large collection of items to purchase. From silky nightgowns at Victoria’s Secret, to going out suits or blazers, and classic everyday Nike socks and sneakers, fashion is accessible, limitless and defined by individual taste. 

It was not always like that.

While hand-me-downs are still notable today, it was the majority of what families in the 1800s knew. Buying new clothes weekly was not always an option, especially for individuals living in an almshouse or poor farm.

But why do clothing and shoes always appear to be so small in museums? Were humans those years ago really that tiny?

Height back then is pretty evenly comparable to today’s, but humans did tend to be a little slimmer on average. The idea of a much smaller frame throughout our history is a mixed result of different nutrition, deceptive designs and survival bias.

It is no surprise diets have drastically shifted from centuries ago. Especially in children, a diet is responsible for a person’s growth. The nutrients in foods, such as meats, dairy, and grains, is different in modern day factories than it was on small town farms with pronounceable ingredients. Now, we see many fast food restaurants, junk food snacks, and insanely sugary sodas that are popular and common in many people’s diets. 

But shoemakers were smart. By placing decorative pieces like buttons and frilly seams, shoemakers were able to make the feet appear slimmer. Adding buckles, a change of colors or low and forward set heels can appear deceptive. Another common practice was pointed shoes, where the shoe was longer and made the feet appear narrower and daintier. Small, slim feet were often a sign of beauty and intelligence, so people strived for it.

Survival bias is the notion that the prettiest and smallest accessories last. Fancy shoes typically worn at celebrations, for example, saw less time on the feet and therefore spent more shelf-life in a closet, preserving the fabric. Clothes for the awkward teenage years were worn a few times before the individual grew out of it. The fabric was often too tiny to be worn by others or cut up and sewn into something new. 

Clothes were made to fit the person, such as getting a dress altered to be an appropriate length. Shoes were not; people measured their feet in barleycorns, which one is equal to ⅓ of an inch, then found the shoe size that was the closest to it, depending on the space they needed for their toes.

One of the earliest shoe size charts comes from 1858 and was not drastically changed until around the 1950s.

The size scale went from 1-13 for kids, and then reset from 1-13 again for adults; most women wore between a 2-8, which sounds tiny, but translates to a modern day size 4-10. A popular size was 4, which is around a modern day 6. Many women went through around 3-7 pairs of shoes a year. The shoes were worn, worn out until they were trashed. 

So while yes, people and their shoes were a little bit smaller back in the day, they were not as miniature as you may think. Shoes were made differently than they are today, yet were still flexible and extremely comfortable to wear. It is the change in diets, smart design choices and survival bias, that makes preserved fashion appear undoubtedly small.

To see some old fashion shoes and clothing in person, come on by to the Greene County Historical Museum today!