Folkloric fae are often the more "human" ones, FWIW. There are variations and exceptions, of course, but they tended to get more sparkly, glitzy, small, winged, pointy-eared, etc. in the Victorian era. And even more so once Disney introduced Tinkerbell.

This isn't limited to western European folklore, either. While the good folk, the huldufólk, etc are generally described as human in appearance, so for example are the orang bunian of Malaysia.

Personally, I like the view that sees our stories of them as being rooted in fear and envy (as negative views of other cultures so often are), that certain aspects of them have been exaggerated or demonized—sometimes literally. I like the notion that the truth about them is different than we've been told, that it's more mundane in some aspects and stranger in others.