If you've ever ordered your usual size from a luxury brand and been baffled by the result, you're in very good company. Designer and high-end brands size with a consistency that can only be described as aspirational. Some run small because they were originally designed for the French market. Some run large because they were made for a particular silhouette. Some are simply inconsistent across categories. Knowing this going in saves both money and the crushing disappointment of something that doesn't fit returning it.
The label number means almost nothing in luxury fashion. A size 40 at Bottega Veneta is different from a size 40 at Chanel, which is different again from a size 40 at The Row. Your actual body measurements are the only number that matters. Measure your bust, waist, and hips in centimeters before buying anything expensive. Most luxury brands publish size guides with actual measurements. Use them.
Brands that run small
Toteme runs small, particularly in the shoulders and upper body. If you have any width in your shoulders or chest, size up at least one size, sometimes two. The brand is cut for a narrow Scandinavian frame and the tailoring is close. Many people who are a consistent size small elsewhere are a size medium or large at Toteme. This is not a reflection on your body. It's a reflection on their fit model.
Chanel runs notoriously small in jackets, often a full two sizes down from what you'd expect. A UK 14 woman may need a Chanel 42 or even 44, where she'd expect a 38. Jacquemus also cuts small, especially in the chest. Reformation is more size-inclusive than it used to be but still cuts close through the hips and thighs for fuller figures. Acne Studios cut varies dramatically by category. Their denim runs smaller than their knitwear.
Brands that run large or generous
Bottega Veneta tends to run generous in ready-to-wear, particularly in their oversized knits and trousers. The Row cuts a relaxed silhouette by design and often runs one size large, though this is intentional. Lemaire's proportion-forward designs mean the clothes are meant to be roomy, so don't automatically size down. Loro Piana cashmere typically fits true-to-size but runs long in the torso for most women under 5'6".
Italian sizing in general tends to run smaller than British or American sizing. A 38 Italian is roughly a UK 10 or US 6, which confuses people who expect the number to mean something universal. French sizing adds 32 to the UK size, so a French 42 is a UK 10. Neither system has any relationship to the other, which is the kind of thing that would make you laugh if it weren't so expensive to get wrong.
How to find your size before buying
Measure your body, not your clothes. Clothes stretch. Your measurements don't lie. For tops and jackets, the chest measurement is the one that matters most for fit. For trousers, it's the hip and the rise. Write down your measurements in both inches and centimeters and keep them somewhere accessible, because you will need them every time you shop luxury.
Read the reviews on whatever platform you're buying from and specifically look for comments on sizing from people with similar measurements to yours. Reviews that say "runs small, sized up" or "very generous, went down" are more useful than the brand's own size guide in many cases. On resale platforms like Vestiaire and The RealReal, other buyers often leave very specific notes about fit that are invaluable.
When to size up vs alter
Sizing up and having something taken in is almost always easier than buying something too small and hoping alterations will fix a structural fit problem. A jacket that pulls across the shoulders cannot be let out. A jacket that is slightly too big through the waist can be taken in cheaply. When in doubt, size up and plan to tailor. This is what well-dressed women do with expensive clothes, and it's why their clothes always look so intentional.
Build a relationship with a good tailor before you start buying expensive pieces. A £20 to £40 alteration on a £300 jacket is still significantly cheaper than buying the wrong size and wearing something that never fits properly. The clothes that look expensive on people are almost always clothes that fit perfectly. Sometimes that's luck. More often it's a visit to the tailor.
