Everything we sell runs true to size. If you're normally a medium, take the medium. That covers most people, most of the time — but linen behaves differently from jersey or stretch fabric, and there are two or three things worth knowing before you order.
The most reliable method takes two minutes
Don't measure yourself. Measure something you already own that fits the way you want this piece to fit.
Lay it flat, smooth out the wrinkles, and measure straight across:
- Chest or bust — across, one inch below where the armhole meets the body. Double it.
- Waist — across the narrowest point. Double it.
- Length — from the highest point of the shoulder straight down to the hem.
- Inseam, for trousers — from the crotch seam down the inside leg.
Compare those numbers to the size guide on the product page. Every piece on this site has its own, in centimetres and inches. This method beats measuring your body because it accounts for how much room you actually like, which no body measurement can tell you.
Linen has no stretch
This is the part that catches people out. A cotton-elastane shirt gives you two or three centimetres of forgiveness across the chest; pure linen gives you none. It doesn't shrink onto you and it doesn't stretch away from you.
That's not a reason to size up as a rule — our patterns are cut with that in mind. But it does mean the measurements on the size guide are the real measurements, not a starting point.
Where the piece is a linen blend with viscose or lyocell in it, there's slightly more give. It's on the product page under fabric.
Between sizes? Size up
In linen, the larger size is almost always the better call. Linen looks right with room in it and looks wrong under tension — and a piece that's slightly loose creases less, because fabric only folds where it's being pulled.
The exception is anything described as an oversized or relaxed fit. Those already have the room built in; take your usual size or you'll be swimming.
Read the fit description, not just the size
Every product page names the fit, and the same size behaves differently across them:
- Tailored — closest to the body. Take your usual size.
- Regular — room to move without being loose. Usual size.
- Relaxed — deliberately generous. Usual size; size down if you want it closer.
- Oversized — a size or more of extra room by design. Usual size unless you want it enormous.
Trousers: check the rise
For linen trousers, the rise matters more than the waist measurement. A high rise sits at the natural waist, a mid rise sits below it, and the same waist number will feel completely different depending on which one it is. The rise is listed on the product page — compare it against a pair you already like.
If you get it wrong
You have 60 days. Message us with your order number and the size you'd like instead and we'll arrange the exchange — details in our returns policy. But it's a slow business posting things back and forth, and two minutes with a tape measure over a shirt you already own usually saves it.
Still unsure between two sizes? Message us with your measurements and what you're looking at. We'll tell you which one to take.