What Is Sizing Like at Danielle Frankel?

The short answer: Danielle Frankel runs to true bridal sizing, which means it sits roughly one to two sizes smaller than your everyday high-street number — and because every gown is cut to order in New York, your final fit comes down to your actual measurements, not the digit on the label. If you take a UK 10 in your weekday wardrobe, don't panic when the salon talks you through a Danielle Frankel 6 or 8. That's bridal sizing doing exactly what it always does, and it's nothing to read into.

I'm Ella Blake, Senior Fashion Stylist and Founder of Tellar, and bridal is the one category where I see brides spiral over a number more than any other. So let me walk you through it properly.

How Danielle Frankel sizing actually works

Danielle Frankel is a contemporary bridal house — architectural, pared-back, deconstructed in the best way — made to order in the Garment District of New York, with showrooms in New York and Los Angeles. The brand works to a US bridal size scale that runs from a 0 through to a 12, labelled XS to XL. It's a close, considered fit rather than a generous one, which is exactly what you want from gowns this sculptural.

The headline you need: bridal sizing is its own world. Designer bridal grades smaller than ready-to-wear across the board, so the size you order here will almost always be one or two up from your high-street size — not because anything has changed about your body, but because the size charts were drawn up differently. I've had a bride in tears in a fitting room over this exact thing, and ten minutes later she was glowing because the gown fit like it was painted on. The number genuinely does not matter.

Made to order — and why that's good news for fit

Here's the part that takes the pressure off entirely: because your gown is cut to order, you're not squeezing into a fixed garment off a rail. You try a sample in the showroom (salon samples tend to sit around a US 8–10), the team takes your measurements, and your dress is then made to the closest size and tailored from there. The label becomes almost irrelevant — your bust, waist and hip measurements lead the whole process.

A few things I'd flag from experience:

Order to your largest measurement. If your hips say one size and your waist says another, go to the bigger number and let alterations bring it in. Letting fabric out is a nightmare; taking it in is routine.
Allow real time. Made-to-order means months, not weeks. Book your appointment early — ideally eight to twelve months before the day.
Budget for final alterations. Even a made-to-order gown needs a seamstress's hand at the end. Build it into your costings from the start.
Trust the showroom team. They measure brides in this exact cut every week. Their size call will beat any guess you make at home.

A quick word on the cut

So much of Danielle Frankel's signature is bias-cut and bias-adjacent — slip silhouettes, draped crepe, bias satin that skims rather than clings. Bias fabric moves and stretches with you, so it reads close to the body but rarely feels restrictive. The trade-off is that it shows everything, so getting the measurements spot-on matters far more than the size on the tag. My one styling fail early in my career was under-fitting a bias slip on a client — it looked beautiful standing still and pooled the second she moved. Lesson learned: with bias, precision is everything.

Where to shop the look — at every budget

Not every bride has a Danielle Frankel budget, and that's completely fine. The clean, modern, slip-led aesthetic is very shoppable elsewhere. Here's where I'd send brides depending on spend.

On the high street

Whistles — their dedicated bridal edit is brilliant for minimal, modern brides who want clean lines without fuss.
Coast — strong on sleek column and occasion gowns at a genuinely accessible price.
Phase Eight — a proper bridal range with grown-up, elegant shapes that suit a registry-office or city wedding.
Reiss — unbeatable for a pared-back, tailored slip or a slim satin dress for the rehearsal or second look.
LK Bennett — polished, ladylike occasionwear that photographs beautifully.
ASOS — the ASOS bridal edit punches well above its price for modern, low-key brides.
Monsoon — reliably romantic for a softer, more relaxed wedding look.
Anthropologie — their wedding range leans whimsical and textured, lovely for a non-traditional bride.

Premium

Ghost — the masters of the slip dress; their bias crepe gowns are the closest high-street-adjacent cousin to the Danielle Frankel feel.
Self-Portrait — sharp, fashion-led occasion and bridal pieces with real design credibility.
Needle & Thread — for the bride who wants delicate embellishment and a more decorative finish.

Luxury & designer

Galvan London — minimal, liquid, architectural eveningwear and bridal that sits right in Danielle Frankel territory.
Jenny Packham — a British couture name for glamour and impeccable craftsmanship.
Vivienne Westwood — for a bride who wants sculptural drama and corsetry with a designer pedigree.

Independent labels worth knowing

Halfpenny London — a London independent making relaxed, separates-led bridal for the cool, understated bride. A genuine left-field gem.
Rime Arodaky — a Parisian indie label loved for modern, sexy, unconventional gowns with serious fashion edge.

The honest bottom line

Danielle Frankel sizes small, like all designer bridal, and that's a complete non-issue once you understand it. Order to your measurements, go up rather than down, lean on the showroom team, and let your seamstress finish the job. Ignore the number entirely — with a made-to-order, bias-cut gown, fit is the only thing that matters.

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