What Is Sizing Like at Costarellos?

Costarellos runs small and uses European numerical sizing — 36, 38, 40 rather than UK 8, 10, 12 — so for most of us the safe move is to size up, especially in the corseted gowns and bridal pieces this Greek house is famous for. If you normally take a UK 10, a Costarellos 38 will often feel closer to a UK 8 once it's on, and the more structured styles can feel smaller still.

I've spent a good chunk of my career dressing women for exactly the moments Costarellos was made for — weddings, galas, the "everyone will photograph this" evenings. And I'll be honest: this is a label where getting the size right genuinely changes how the dress moves and how you feel walking into a room. I once let a client talk me into ordering her usual size in a boned Costarellos gown "to be safe" — we ended up paying for fairly serious alterations to let the waist out. Lesson learned, and one I'm passing straight to you.

The quick answer on Costarellos fit

A few things worth knowing before you fall for a gown:

Sizing is European and numerical. Expect 34, 36, 38, 40 rather than UK dress sizes. The brand's own guide is built on body measurements, not the number you'd reach for on the high street.
It runs small. This is consistent across reviews and resale listings — the narrow, body-skimming cut is part of the romantic aesthetic.
Structured styles run smallest. Corset bodices, boning and fitted waists feel the most snug. Size up here without overthinking it.
Bridal is a different game entirely. Like most designer bridal, Costarellos bridal runs much smaller than ready-to-wear — it's completely normal to order two to three sizes above your everyday size, then alter down.

Why measurements beat guessing

Costarellos publish a body-measurement chart rather than a tidy UK conversion, and that's deliberate. These are dresses designed around bust, waist and hip with very little give, so the honest answer to "what's my size?" is always going to come from a tape measure, not a hunch. The label also offers bespoke and made-to-measure services, which tells you everything about how precision-led the fit is. My advice: measure yourself properly (or get measured), compare against their chart, and if you fall between two numbers, take the larger one. Letting a seam out is far easier than wishing you had more fabric to play with.

Styling a Costarellos piece

The beauty of Costarellos is the drama — tulle, three-dimensional floral lace, sweeping skirts. So I keep everything else quiet:

Let the dress lead. One hero piece, minimal jewellery, a sleek updo or soft waves. Anything competing for attention is doing too much.
Mind the foundations. Boned bodices want seamless, well-fitted underwear — the right base smooths the whole silhouette.
Budget for alterations. With designer occasionwear, a tailor is not optional; it's the difference between "lovely dress" and "made for her."
Shoes set the proportion. A full skirt usually needs a little height to keep the line elegant — check your hem length in your actual heels.

Where to find the Costarellos look at every price

Not every occasion calls for designer spend, so here's where I'd shop the same romantic, embellished mood across the price spectrum.

On the high street, Coast is my first stop for occasion dresses with proper structure and a flattering line. Monsoon does embellishment and bohemian-romantic florals beautifully, while Phase Eight nails elegant, grown-up occasionwear that photographs well. Hobbs is the one for polished, refined gowns (and a brilliant shout for mother-of-the-bride), Anthropologie brings the whimsical, textured, floral side, Ted Baker delivers feminine prints with a bit of drama, and Whistles offers a cleaner, modern take if all that lace isn't your language.

For premium, Reiss has elevated tailoring and sleek occasion dresses with a real sense of quality. LK Bennett is my reliable wedding-guest hero — refined, ladylike and never trying too hard. And Me&Em is worth it for cut and fabric, with pieces you'll genuinely re-wear long after the event.

For luxury and designer in the same world as Costarellos, Self-Portrait is the obvious sister act — guipure lace and romance at a (slightly) gentler price. Needle & Thread is gorgeous for tulle, sequins and that fairy-tale embellishment if you love the Costarellos sparkle.

And because I always like to send you somewhere a little less obvious, two independents to seek out: Halfpenny London, a wonderful independent London bridal designer with a soft, modern-romantic signature that sits beautifully alongside Costarellos; and Beulah London, an independent occasionwear label with a genuine ethical mission and dresses made for exactly this kind of evening.

How Tellar takes the guesswork out

Designer sizing like this is precisely why I built Tellar. It's the UK's leading sizing tool — your body matched to over 1,500 brands in real time, so you never squint at a confusing conversion chart again.

Measure once using your bust, waist and hip, or simply your usual size in a brand you already know.
Use the Store Size Lookup tool to get your precise size in any brand — COS, Reiss, Everlane, Arket and many more.
Always free, no downloads, works straight in your browser.

There's also the Tellar Fashion Hub: a library stacked with free posts from our stylists. Honest, unbiased, independent and always free — style advice, top picks and the best brands for every query.