hat Is Sizing Like at S.S.Daley? An Honest Stylist’s Guide

S.S.Daley sizing trips up more of my clients than almost any other British label I work with: it runs on a small designer bracket and the labelling skews smaller than the high street. The womenswear stops at a UK 12, the tailoring is cut deliberately loose and borrowed-from-the-boys, and the jersey and knit sit close to the body. Knowing which of those two worlds your piece belongs to is the whole game.

The quick verdict: S.S.Daley uses XS–XL only, which maps to roughly UK 4–12. Tailoring, shirting and coats run relaxed and roomy — often take your usual size or even size down. Jersey, vests and the close-knit pieces run snug — size up if you’re between sizes or fuller through the bust.

First, who actually is S.S.Daley?

If you’ve not come across the brand, S.S.Daley is the label of Liverpool-born designer Steven Stokey-Daley, who launched in 2020 and shot to attention after Harry Styles wore his pieces in a music video. It’s romantic, scholarly, very British — think Brideshead-on-the-lawn pastoralism, intarsia knits, pleated skirts, silk slips and tailoring with a wink. Steven came up as a menswear designer, and that matters enormously for fit, because he approaches womenswear in reverse: pushing a softer, more masculine energy into the women’s tailoring rather than nipping everything in.

That single design philosophy explains nearly every sizing quirk you’ll meet, so keep it in mind as we go.

How the sizing actually works

S.S.Daley doesn’t use standard UK numerical sizing on its womenswear. It uses lettered sizes, and the bracket is genuinely small:

XS = UK 4 / EU 32 / US 0
S = UK 6 / EU 34 / US 2
M = UK 8 / EU 36 / US 4
L = UK 10 / EU 38 / US 6
XL = UK 12 / EU 40 / US 8

Two honest things to flag here. First, the range is narrow — if you’re above a UK 12, the main line simply won’t stock your size, which is a real limitation I’d rather you heard from me than discovered at checkout. Second, because the top size is an “XL” that’s only a UK 12, the lettering can read smaller than it sounds. Don’t panic-buy an L because the word feels generous; cross-check against the UK number every time.

Fit by garment — this is where it splits in two

Tailoring, blazers & suit trousers

This is the heart of the brand and the most forgiving part of the range. The jackets are cut with a relaxed, slightly masculine line — roomy through the shoulder, generous in the body, often meant to be worn a touch oversized.

If you like a sharp, fitted blazer, you may want to size down for a cleaner shoulder.
If you love the borrowed-from-him look (and that’s rather the point), stay true to size.
Suit trousers tend to sit high and relaxed through the leg — lovely for taller frames, occasionally a puddle on petites.

Shirting

Crisp, school-prefect shirting with room built in. It’s designed to be tucked, knotted or worn loose, so the body is generous. Take your usual size for an easy fit; size down only if you want it sitting close.

Knitwear (including the Made in Scotland pieces)

Here’s where you need to read the description carefully. The chunky cardigans and intarsia sweaters are roomy and cosy — true to size or even relaxed. But the brand also does a deliberately close-fitted jersey line, and those run small and body-skimming.

Cardigans & intarsia knits: true to size, designed with ease.
Fitted/ribbed sweaters and square-neck vests: size up if you’re fuller through the bust or want any breathing room.

Dresses, skirts & silk slips

The pleated skirts sit beautifully at a true waist measurement — check the waist, not the hip. The silk slip dresses are cut on the leaner side and don’t have much give, so if you’re between sizes, the larger one almost always hangs better.

Coats & outerwear

Generous, as you’d hope from a heritage-leaning British label — cut to layer over knits. Stay true to size; there’s no need to go up just for jumpers underneath.

A win and a fail from my own rail

The win: I styled a client for a literary launch last autumn and put her in an S.S.Daley blazer one size down from her usual, worn over a slip. Everyone assumed it was made for her. The relaxed cut, taken down a notch, gave that effortless “I threw this on” tailoring that’s actually impossible to fake — and she’s since lived in it.

The fail: Early on, I ordered one of the fitted ribbed sweaters in my usual M, assuming all the knitwear ran roomy like the cardigans. It arrived snug enough to count my ribs. Lesson learned, and now passed to you: the jersey and the cardigans are two completely different animals at this brand. Never assume one tells you about the other.

If S.S.Daley doesn’t fit — or you want the look for less

Whether you’re outside the size range or simply not ready for designer prices, here’s where I’d send you for that same romantic-British, gently-academic feeling. I’ve deliberately picked brands I’ve not been sending you to in recent guides.

On the high street

Boden — the most natural understudy: heritage Britishness, intarsia knits and a full UK 4–22 range with petite and tall options.
Seasalt Cornwall — pastoral, painterly and beautifully made; perfect for the countryside-romantic side of S.S.Daley.
Marks & Spencer — the Autograph line nails relaxed British tailoring for a fraction of the price, in a generous size spread.
White Stuff — folksy, characterful knits and shirting with that homespun English charm.
Mango — for the loose, masculine suiting; their oversized blazers are the best on the high street right now.
& Other Stories — editorial, slightly scholarly separates and slip dresses with real polish.
Fat Face — understated countryside staples; cords, knits and shirts that layer like S.S.Daley does.
Albaray — a newer British name doing considered, grown-up tailoring and prints worth knowing.

A step up — premium

Toast — craft-led, quietly luxurious, and spiritually the closest thing to S.S.Daley’s artisanal Britishness.
Cefinn — sharp, modern British tailoring with proper structure when you want the polish without the menswear slouch.

Designer & luxury

Margaret Howell — the gold standard for understated British tailoring; relaxed, impeccable, made to last decades.
Bella Freud — scholarly slogan knits and that same literary, slightly bohemian wit S.S.Daley trades in.

Two independent finds

Palava — a small British label doing folk-inspired prints and vintage-cut silhouettes; pure pastoral romance, and barely on anyone’s radar.
L.F.Markey — relaxed, utilitarian women’s tailoring with a masculine edge; if you love the borrowed-from-the-boys cut, this is your label.

A note on Made to Measure

S.S.Daley offers a made-to-measure service on parts of the tailoring, which neatly sidesteps the size-bracket problem if you’re willing to invest. If you fall just outside the standard range or have a frame that standard sizing never quite serves, it’s worth an enquiry — cut to your measurements, the relaxed line becomes genuinely flattering rather than a gamble.

The bottom line

S.S.Daley is one of the most charming British labels going, but it asks you to shop with your eyes open. Read the garment, not just the letter on the label: tailoring and shirting run roomy, jersey and fitted knits run close, and the whole range tops out at a UK 12. Check the UK number against your true bust and waist, decide whether you want the piece relaxed or sharp, and you’ll get it right first time — which, with designer return faff, is the only outcome worth having.

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