In this note we introduce a notion of essentially-Euclidean normed spaces (and convex bodies). Roughly speaking, an n-dimensional space is λ-essentially-Euclidean (with 0 < λ < 1) if it has a [λn]-dimensional subspace which has further proportional-dimensional Euclidean subspaces of any proportion. We consider a space X₁ = (ℝⁿ,||·||₁) with the property that if a space X₂ = (ℝⁿ,||·||₂) is "not too far" from X₁ then there exists a [λn]-dimensional subspace E⊂ ℝⁿ such that E₁ = (E,||·||₁) and...

We study the way in which the Euclidean subspaces of a Banach space fit together, somewhat in the spirit of the Kashin decomposition. The main tool that we introduce is an estimate regarding the convex hull of a convex body in John's position with a Euclidean ball of a given radius, which leads to a new and simplified proof of the randomized isomorphic Dvoretzky theorem. Our results also include a characterization of spaces with nontrivial cotype in terms of arrangements of Euclidean subspaces.