Living By The Light Of A Laptop

the ghost bridegroom 💋🦋

Most fat people just wore a sized up version of skinny people’s clothing. For most of history a silouette was really the important part more than arbitrary unpadded measurements. Anything you’ve heard otherwise is a…hmm what’s the word I’m looking for, a miss representation. What I mean is, most people wore literal padding to achieve a look, they didn’t manipulate their natural bodies like we do now, they added material to achieve the silouette. Nothing about this directly excludes fat bodies. For most of history fat clothes was just like I said, skinny clothes sized up and capable of holding the same padding. 

If you look closely at a lot of Victorian imagery (esp the adult China dolls) you’ll find a LOT of double chins – at least for women. The ideal woman was (and this is sexist as hell but) a successful mother and a successful mother was rounded and plump from multiple pregnancies.

Anyway, a really cool image I have is an ad from the Victorian era that really shows how ideals have changed;

As far as the clothing goes: a LOT of what we have left are the garments of young, rich women (like, premarriage age) and garments from special occasions – so debuts, weddings, special parties – because, like how a lot of women now will put aside their wedding dress, a well off young woman may have a dress made for a special occasion and never wear it again whereas most daily wear (much like with fat folks now) was worn until it fell apart.

Anyway, here are also some images of fat Victorians (sadly mostly women, I couldn’t find like any men that weren’t like, freak show photos which are kinda demeaning so not included)

I included the image with the group of women because look at that body type variety!

My great-great aunt Susan Kaufman Hentzleman, age 20

Cousin Mary Jane Evans, around 16 or so. Love that hair.

The seven Kaufman sisters. From left to right: Back Row: Belle Good, Theresa Anseis, Kate Kaufman, Susan Hentzleman Front Row: Alice Schwenk, Priscilla Henry, Celara Lewis Susan (this is the same Susan pictured above) is only 11 here- she’s the one on the far right in the frilly white collar. My great-great grandmother Celara Lewis is sitting immediately in front of her.

Achilles *putting those little round band-aids on two parts of his ankle before battle*

Thetis *knitting fingertip oven mitts for her thumb and forefinger*