What "the mid-nineteenth-century look" has in common with 1940s?

I would call the look nostalgic and feminine. By the time the war was in full force, there was no way this amount of fabric was possible, but c. 1939-40, you could see this style. After the war we got The New Look and lots of nostalgia again by way of very full and longer skirts, cinched waists. Uber-feminine looks.

I'm getting a dress ready to list, and it even has a padded bit in back which implies a Victorian bustle.



I'm really curious what style the author is calling "infantalizing" which is so different from the pervasive looks. And yes, do you know the year we are talking about? The 1940s went many directions in fashion.