How to Find Your Perfect Fit at Acne Studios

By Ella Blake | Tellar Fashion Hub Honest & Unbiased, Unsponsered

Acne Studios sizes small, runs slim, and is cut for a lean Scandinavian silhouette — but once you crack the code, it's honestly one of the most wearable, beautifully made brands you'll ever own. I say this as someone who stood in the Acne Studios store on Regent Street for a mortifyingly long time clutching both a size Small and a Medium, absolutely convinced one of them would fit, and then bought neither. It was a low moment. But I've since done my homework, and I'm here to save you from the same fate.

Why Acne Studios Sizing Can Feel Confusing

Acne Studios is a Swedish brand, and like many Scandinavian labels, it's designed for a naturally narrow, angular frame. This isn't a criticism — it's just useful context. The cuts tend to be close to the body on tailored pieces, and even their "oversized" styles are cut in a way that's deliberately considered rather than generously roomy.

The other thing to know: Acne Studios uses European sizing across most of its ranges, which means you'll see sizes like 34, 36, 38, 40 rather than UK 8, 10, 12, 14. This trips people up constantly. A size 38 in Acne Studios corresponds roughly to a UK 10, but the slim cut means many women find they need to size up from their usual.

The Golden Rule: Size Up, Especially on the Upper Body

This is the single most consistent piece of advice I can give you about Acne Studios, and it comes from both personal experience and a lot of reading of customer reviews across stockists like Net-a-Porter and Selfridges. If you're a UK 10, start with a size 40. If you're a UK 12, start with a 42. Then adjust from there.

• Blazers and tailoring: These run particularly narrow across the shoulders and chest. Size up at least one, sometimes two. The sleeves on Acne's tailoring are designed to be slightly long — this is intentional, very Scandi-cool — so don't be put off by that.

• Knitwear: This is actually where the brand is more forgiving. Many of their knits are intentionally oversized or relaxed, so you can often stay true to size. Their Face Logo mohair jumpers in particular have generous dimensions.

• Denim: Acne Studios denim (especially the Max, Melk, and Blå Konst styles) runs small in the waist. I'd recommend sizing up one, and always check the rise — their low-rise cuts in particular are genuinely low.

• Dresses and skirts: If you carry weight in the hips or thighs, go up. These are cut slim through the hip and there's not a lot of ease built in.

• Outerwear: Relatively more generous than tailoring, but still — size up if you want to layer underneath comfortably.

Understanding the Acne Studios Size Chart

Acne Studios publishes a size guide, but honestly, it's the starting point rather than the gospel. Here's a rough breakdown for women's ready-to-wear:

• Size 34 — UK 6 (XS)

• Size 36 — UK 8 (S)

• Size 38 — UK 10 (S/M)

• Size 40 — UK 12 (M)

• Size 42 — UK 14 (L)

• Size 44 — UK 16 (XL)

That said, I'd encourage you to treat these as approximate. The cut of individual pieces matters enormously — a structured wool blazer in a 40 will fit very differently to a slouchy knit in a 40. Always read the product notes on length and fit, and if you're shopping online, check the model's height and the garment measurements if they're listed.

Where Else to Shop the Same Aesthetic (With Easier Sizing)

If Acne Studios is your aesthetic but the sizing — or the price point — isn't working for you right now, there are brilliant alternatives on the high street and beyond that speak the same minimalist, thoughtful language.

• COS — The most obvious Scandi-adjacent high street option. COS sizing is also slim but slightly more consistent, and the aesthetic overlap with Acne is real. Great for clean-line basics.

• Massimo Dutti — For tailoring that has a similar structured, European sensibility. Sizing runs similarly narrow but the quality is genuinely excellent for the price.

• Whistles — Quietly one of the best brands on the UK high street for minimalist dressing. Their tailoring is excellent and sizing tends to be more accommodating than Acne's.

• Me&Em — If you love Acne's knitwear and outerwear but want something that fits a more standard UK frame, Me&Em is your answer. Brilliant quality, great proportions.

• Jigsaw — Always underrated, always worth a look. Jigsaw does the understated European thing beautifully and tends to have a more inclusive range of fits.

• Reiss — For sharp tailoring with Scandi-adjacent cuts. Sizing is fairly standard UK, which makes the whole process a lot less stressful.

• Arket — H&M Group's premium Scandi label, and genuinely one of the best value-for-money options if you love the Acne Studios world. Sizing is more accessible than Acne's and the quality punches above its price.

And for two brands slightly off the beaten track that I think deserve more attention: Toteme (Swedish, beautifully made, and now easier to shop in the UK via Matches and Net-a-Porter — their sizing is slightly more generous than Acne's) and Aeron (a Budapest-based label with genuine Scandi minimalist credentials, quietly brilliant knitwear, and sizing that runs more true-to-European-standard).

My Honest Tips for Shopping Acne Studios

• If you can, try before you buy. The Acne Studios stores in London are beautiful and the staff are knowledgeable — use them.

• When shopping online, prioritise stockists with free returns: Net-a-Porter, Selfridges, and the Acne Studios site itself all make it relatively painless to send things back.

• Take your measurements before you shop. Bust, waist, hip — the full picture. You'll be comparing them against the size chart rather than guessing.

• Be open to a different size than you'd normally wear. I know it can feel weird to go up two sizes from your "usual" number, but the number on the label is genuinely irrelevant. How it looks is what matters.

• Pay attention to fabric composition. Acne's pieces in stiffer, structured fabrics (wool twill, heavy cotton) have very little give. Pieces in softer materials are more forgiving.

Never Guess Your Size Again — Try Tellar

Here's what I wish I'd had before that Regent Street ordeal: Tellar.co.uk, the UK's leading free clothing sizing tool. You input your measurements once — bust, waist, hip, or even just your size in a brand you already know well — and it instantly matches you to your correct size across 1,500+ brands. No more size guide rabbit holes. No more guesswork.

It's completely free, works in-browser with no download needed, and it covers premium and designer brands like Acne Studios alongside high street labels. It is, genuinely, one of the most useful fashion tools I've come across.

• Step 1: Measure once — bust, waist, hip, or use your size in a brand you already trust.

• Step 2: Use the Store Size Lookup tool to get your precise size in any brand — Acne Studios, COS, Reiss, Arket, and hundreds more.

• Step 3: Shop with confidence. Always free. No account needed.

Tellar also has a brilliant Fashion Hub — a library of honest, unsponsored style guides written by real stylists covering everything from brand sizing comparisons to occasion dressing. No ads, no affiliate bias, no fluff. Just genuinely useful fashion content.

Some posts worth bookmarking from the Fashion Hub:

• The Ultimate Clothing Sizing Guide — essential reading if you shop across multiple brands

• Jeans Trends 2026 — denim guidance with real brand sizing intel

• Ultimate Guide to Dresses & Best Buys

• Ultimate Guide to Jackets & Best Buys

The Bottom Line on Acne Studios Sizing

Acne Studios is genuinely worth the effort to get right. The quality of construction, the longevity of the pieces, and the way they work together as a wardrobe is hard to match. But you do need to go in prepared — size up, know your measurements, and try things on if at all possible. Once you've cracked it, you'll find your Acne Studios pieces are the ones you reach for again and again, season after season. And that, for me, is the best possible argument for investing the time to get the fit right.