How to Find Your Perfect Fit at Angels

By Ella Blake | Tellar Fashion Hub

Finding your perfect fit at Angels — the legendary London costumiers founded in 1840 — means understanding one crucial thing upfront: theatrical sizing bears almost no resemblance to modern UK clothing sizes. Angels works predominantly from vintage and period-based measurements, which tend to be smaller, more structured, and far more precise than anything you'll find on a contemporary high street label. Come armed with your exact measurements, not your usual size label, and you'll be absolutely fine.

I visited Angels for the first time a few years ago, hunting for a 1940s-style dress for a Gatsby-themed event. I waltzed in announcing I was a size 12. The lovely assistant looked at me patiently, handed me a tape measure, and said, "Let's start again, shall we?" She was right. The dress I ended up hiring was labelled something I'd never worn in my life — but it fitted like it had been made for me. Lesson permanently absorbed.

Who Are Angels, Exactly?

If you haven't had the pleasure, Angels The Costumiers is one of the world's most celebrated theatrical costume houses, with roots going back over 180 years. Based in Hendon, North London, they supply costumes for major film and television productions — think The Crown, Downton Abbey, blockbuster films — as well as theatre companies, opera houses, and individual customers hiring or buying for parties, events, and performances.

Their stock spans centuries of fashion history: Victorian corsets, Edwardian walking suits, 1920s flapper dresses, wartime utility frocks, 1970s disco glam — quite literally, anything you could imagine. Which means their sizing system is similarly eclectic, drawing on patterns and conventions from across multiple eras of dressmaking. It's extraordinary and occasionally baffling in equal measure.

Why Theatrical Sizing Is So Different

Modern UK sizing is already inconsistent enough between brands — but theatrical sizing introduces a whole new layer of complexity. Here's why:

Vintage patterns run smaller: Garments made from historical patterns reflect the average body measurements of their era. A 1950s size 14, for example, corresponds to a much smaller bust and waist than a contemporary UK 14.
Fit is precise, not forgiving: Stage and screen costumes are built to fit correctly under lighting and on camera. They're not designed with stretch fabric or relaxed ease — they're meant to sit exactly right.
The labelling system is theatrical, not retail: You may see costumes labelled with measurements in inches, or with internal production labels that mean nothing to a modern shopper. Don't be thrown by them.
Alterations are factored in: Many hire costumes have been adjusted multiple times. The label may reflect an original size, not the current adjusted fit.

The Measurements You Need Before You Go

This is genuinely the single most useful thing you can do before visiting or enquiring with Angels. Take your measurements properly at home, write them down, and bring them with you. The team at Angels will work from these rather than a size label.

The key measurements to have ready:

Bust: Measured around the fullest part of your chest, keeping the tape parallel to the floor
Natural waist: The narrowest part of your torso, usually a few inches above your navel — not where you wear your waistband
Hips: Around the fullest part of your hips, usually around 8–9 inches below your natural waist
Height: Without shoes
Inside leg: Especially important if you're hiring trousers or full-length gowns
Shoulder width: From the tip of one shoulder to the other across your back — this is often overlooked but critical for structured jackets and period bodices

💡 Pro tip: If you're unsure how to measure yourself accurately, the Tellar Ultimate Clothing Sizing Guide walks you through exactly how to do it — and once you have your measurements recorded, you can use them everywhere, not just at Angels.

How to Communicate With the Angels Team

Angels is not a self-service shop where you browse rails and grab things to try. It's a proper costume house with a team of knowledgeable specialists who will work with you to find the right piece. This is actually one of the great pleasures of visiting — but it does mean coming prepared.

A few things that will make the experience smoother:

Know your event and its dress code: "1920s party" is a starting point; "Great Gatsby-themed black tie dinner, I'd love a beaded drop-waist dress in gold or champagne" is much more useful
Have your measurements ready to share: Don't rely on memory — write them down or have them in your phone
Be honest about alterations: If you know you're difficult to fit in the shoulders, or you have a longer back, say so upfront — it saves a lot of time
Book an appointment: Angels is not a walk-in boutique. Contact them in advance, especially for major events or bespoke hire requests

If You're Buying Rather Than Hiring

Angels does sell as well as hire, particularly for theatrical and period pieces. If you're buying, the same measurement principles apply, but you'll also want to think about whether the garment can be altered after purchase. Many vintage and theatrical pieces have very little seam allowance — meaning there's limited room to let out or take in. Ask specifically about this before committing.

If a costume or period piece is too small across the bust or shoulders, it's usually not worth forcing. These are the two hardest areas to alter successfully without compromising the garment's structure. If it's slightly too large in the waist or hips, that's generally a much more manageable alteration.

Channelling the Angels Aesthetic on the High Street

Not everyone's hiring from a theatrical costumier, of course — but Angels has had a huge influence on fashion more broadly. The appetite for vintage-inspired dressing, period silhouettes, and dramatically beautiful occasion wear is very much alive on the high street. Here's where I'd look:

Monsoon — perennially brilliant for vintage-adjacent dresses with rich fabrics, embellishment, and romantic silhouettes. Their sizing is fairly generous and consistent, and they cater well to different body shapes.
Phase Eight — for beautifully constructed occasion dresses with a slightly more grown-up, polished feel. Consistently well-reviewed for fit, particularly in the bodice area.
Ted Baker — excellent for glamorous, fashion-forward occasion pieces. Their sizing uses their own numerical system (0–5 rather than 6–16) so always cross-reference with their size guide before ordering.
Hobbs — understated elegance with brilliant tailoring. If you love the structured, nipped-in silhouettes of the 1950s, Hobbs does them beautifully and their sizing is reliably true to UK standard.
Coast — particularly strong for evening and occasion wear. A go-to for dramatic necklines, interesting fabrics, and event-ready dresses that don't feel costume-y in the wrong way.
LK Bennett — the queen of occasion dressing on the British high street. Beautiful fabrics, considered fit, and a cut that genuinely flatters. Their sizing runs fairly true but tends to be cut for a slimmer frame through the hips, so check measurements if you're curvier.
Jigsaw — for the person who wants something dramatic but wearable; effortlessly elegant pieces that could feel period-inspired without looking like fancy dress.

For something a little more unexpected, two independent brands worth knowing: Vivien of Holloway — a brilliant British label specialising in authentic vintage reproduction dresses made in gorgeous cotton and novelty prints, with a proper size range and incredibly detailed fit; and What Katie Did — a London-based lingerie and vintage fashion label with stunning 1940s–1960s inspired pieces, beloved by vintage fashion enthusiasts and burlesque performers alike. Both understand their own fit deeply and have brilliant customer service if you need sizing help.

A Final Word on Getting It Right

Whether you're hiring from Angels for a once-in-a-lifetime event or building a vintage-inspired wardrobe from the high street, the principle is the same: your measurements matter infinitely more than your size label. Know your numbers, be honest about your shape, and you'll always leave with something that actually fits — and that, frankly, is the whole game.

Find Your Size in 1,500+ Brands — Instantly, For Free

If sizing confusion is a recurring frustration (and after reading this, you can see why it is), Tellar.co.uk is the tool that solves it. It's the UK's leading free sizing platform — enter your measurements once and get your correct size matched across 1,500+ brands immediately. No more guessing, no more returns pile of shame.

Here's how simple it is:

Measure once — bust, waist, hips, or use a brand you already know fits you well as your starting point
Use the Store Size Lookup tool to get your precise size across brands like Hobbs, LK Bennett, Phase Eight, Ted Baker, and hundreds more
Completely free — no downloads, no subscription, works instantly in your browser

The Tellar Fashion Hub is also home to a growing library of free, honest, unbiased style guides — written by real stylists with no brand sponsorship or agenda. Just genuinely useful advice.

A few posts that pair well with this one:

The Ultimate Clothing Sizing Guide — everything you need to know about taking your measurements and navigating brand sizing
The Ultimate Guide to Dresses — the definitive resource for occasion dressing, whatever your shape
The Ultimate Guide to Jackets — because outerwear sizing is its own special kind of chaos
Jeans Trends 2026 — if you want something more casual in the wardrobe mix

Angels is one of those places that reminds you that clothes, at their best, are about transformation — and that fit is everything. Go prepared, go with your measurements, and let the team do what they do brilliantly. And for everything else? Tellar has your size covered.

Happy dressing — and may your zip always go up on the first try.