Fashion expert explains why ‘survival bias’ makes it seem like 19th century Victorian gowns were much smaller than they were |
It’s often fascinating how history is written. Perhaps it’s not for nefarious reasons, but it can lead to misconceptions about the reality of the past. From history to art to fashion, we see through certain filters often applied without us knowing.
Fashion historian Dr. Serena Dyer has become popular online for sharing what clothing trends looked like decade by decade through the centuries. In a recent clip posted to social media, she shares a video of a 19th century gown with a thirty-nine inch waist. She points out that despite often seeing much smaller garments from this time period, larger ones were actually quite as common.
Thirty-nine inch waist
Dyer explains why this phenomenon happens. “This Victorian gown has a thirty-nine inch waist,” she begins. “And in the 19th century, this was not uncommon. Survival bias means that garments with enough fabric to be remade were recycled or worn as fancy dress. But tiny garments that were too small to be re-worn were disproportionately preserved in our attics and museum collections.”
We zoom in on the exquisite brown silk garment. “This chocolate brown silk gown from 1864 in the collection of Bankfield Museum is a rare, glorious exception. Its large skirt, supported by a crinoline, and curvy bust supported the Victorian emphasis on proportion over tininess. So let’s stop pretending that the eighteen-inch waist was the standard and start accepting that bodies of all shapes and sizes have always existed.”
The clip delighted some of the commenters. One Facebooker wrote, “Love this!! I adore the dresses from the era and have always thought, thank goodness I did not live back then, those dresses would look awful on me. Now I see they are just as beautiful in normal sizes!!”
In the piece, “Understanding Survival Bias in Vintage Plus-Size Clothing”, licensed aesthetician, makeup artist, massage therapist, and fashion expert who goes by Christine “The Glambassador,” explains what survival bias is and gives an example, unrelated to fashion. “Survival bias occurs when we form conclusions based only on what has lasted over time while overlooking everything that didn’t survive. A classic example of this comes from WWII, when statistician Abraham Wald analyzed bullet holes on returning planes. The military initially thought they should reinforce the areas that had been hit, but Wald realized they were only looking at the planes that made it back—meaning the planes that didn’t return were likely hit in the areas without visible damage.”
She then reiterates what Dyer posted in her clip: “How does this relate to vintage plus-size fashion? The reality is that plus-size garments were often worn more frequently, handed down to younger family members, or altered over time, meaning they simply didn’t survive as well as their smaller counterparts. Unlike smaller garments, which were often stored away and preserved, larger garments had a higher likelihood of being used until they were unwearable.”
On “The Glambassador”‘s YouTube page one person shared a similar bias from the 1930s in the comments, writing, “I have a quilt made in the 1930s by my great-grandmother from the scraps of clothing during the 1930s. She told us that it was cheaper to cut down outgrown childrens’ clothing and make quilt than it was to buy a new blanket at the time. So, yeah, that was also something that happened to clothing at the time – remaking garments into quilts, throws, or even toweling.”
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dr Serena Dyer | Fashion Historian (@dressing.history)
A post shared by Dr Serena Dyer | Fashion Historian (@dressing.history)
“Curation is an art form”
In a 2024 paper for New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study, one student writer explains that relics of fashion or art in general are not only selection-biased, but often at the whim of the curators. “The priorities within museum curatorship dangerously contribute to our connection with the past by utilizing a limited selection of women’s garments to represent a general population. Curation is an art form. A curator’s choices can shape how visitors understand a topic or time period. Deciding what to display and where to place it creates a narrative of the topic the exhibition delves into, all for visitors to interpret as they explore each piece of art.”
A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing.
Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold.
A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen.
Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing.
Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth.
Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:
Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis
Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community
Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or in one of 60 countries where we work around the globe
Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door
Shop or donate at your local Habitat ReStore
Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone.
Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today.
It’s no secret that work culture in Europe is a lot different from what it is in the United States. Europeans often get more time off and work fewer hours overall. Even so, you have to really live there to understand just how different things are.
Justyn Lee is doing exactly that. He is an American living and working in Paris, and even he was surprised after moving there to discover a few new things about the work culture. One major takeaway? In France, the month of May barely exists.
American living in Paris explains “le pont”
In a LinkedIn post, Lee explains that France has four official holidays in the month of May. That’s kind of a lot, but not totally unusual compared to what Americans are used to. In November, we have Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, while in January there’s New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In France, there’s Labour Day, Victory in Europe Day, Ascension Thursday, and Whit Monday.
However, he notes that “France does not operate on days. It operates on proximity.”
Lee then explains something called “le pont,” which means “the bridge.” Whenever a holiday, or a day off from work, lands in the middle of the week, most companies just go ahead and make “the days in between disappear.”
Americans are familiar with “the bridge” in a few scenarios. Most businesses are closed the Friday after Thanksgiving, for example. But in France, while it’s not legally mandated, it’s culturally accepted that most holidays turn into a four-day weekend.
Lee says people take this opportunity to travel, go on vacation, or rest, only occasionally checking in on work. “Let’s circle back in June” is a common refrain.
“May is not a month,” he writes. “C’est la vie.”
It’s not just France that likes to stretch its holiday weekends
The concept of “bridge holidays” is almost universal across European and Latin American work cultures. It exists under different names in France, Germany (Brückentage), Spain (hacer puente), Brazil (imprensar/emendar/enforcar), and more.
There are tons of reasons for this extremely liberal vacation policy. European and Latin American countries have strong labor unions that protect workers’ rights, and most have universal healthcare, which lowers the economic pressures associated with working.
Though bridge holidays and large amounts of paid time off are not completely universal, the U.S. does seem to be in the minority by not participating.
How do countries like France keep the “trains running,” so to speak, in the month of May and other months full of holidays? Essential services are often still open, as are shops and small businesses in big cities like Paris. Tourism workers may not get such an extended break at the same time, since everyone is vacationing. But otherwise, typical office workers........