What Is Sizing Like at Ellesse? Your Complete Women's Fit Guide

By Ella Blake – Fashion Stylist | Tellar Fashion Hub – Always honest, unbiased & unsponsored

Ellesse runs on the smaller side — it's a tailored, European athletic fit, and if you're used to more relaxed high street sizing, you'll likely want to size up, especially in anything structured or cropped. I'll be upfront: I had a bit of a sizing wobble with Ellesse myself a few years back when I was building a capsule athleisure wardrobe. Grabbed a medium hoodie, which is my usual, and it was absolutely fine through the shoulders but annoyingly tight across the bust. Swapped to a large and it was perfect. Lesson learned — and it's one I've passed on to clients many times since. Ellesse is a brilliant brand, but you need to know how it fits before you buy.

A Bit of Ellesse History (Because It Actually Matters for Sizing)

Ellesse isn't some fast-fashion brand that happened to put a logo on a tracksuit. It was founded in Italy in 1959 by Leonardo Servadio — originally making precision-cut ski trousers, then expanding into tennis. The brand's heritage is rooted in performance sportswear, which explains a lot about its sizing philosophy: everything is cut with an athletic body in mind. Narrower through the chest and shoulders, with a more defined waist than you'd typically find on a casual high street label.

The brand became a massive cultural touchstone in the UK during the 80s and 90s — think Chris Evert winning Wimbledon in Ellesse, terraces full of it, and every girl in a shell suit on a Saturday morning. It never really went away, but its current resurgence is on a different level. The retro logo pieces, the cropped hoodies, the velour tracksuits — they're everywhere right now, and they're actually genuinely good. But sizing, as with anything heritage-athletic, comes with its own rules.

So — Does Ellesse Run Small?

Generally, yes. Ellesse describes its own fit as "tailored" — and what that translates to in practice is a slimmer, more body-conscious cut than you'd get from a lot of UK high street brands. This is particularly noticeable in:

T-shirts and tops: The fit tends to be slim through the chest and shoulders. If you're fuller in the bust, definitely size up. Cropped styles are cut to sit at the natural waist, which is flattering if that's what you're going for — but there's not a lot of ease built in.
Hoodies and sweatshirts: These can feel snug through the body even when the shoulders and arms fit well. I'd advise going up a size if you want that relaxed, slightly oversized look that works so well with the Ellesse aesthetic. True to size if you prefer something more fitted.
Track jackets and shell tops: The heritage track tops are where you'll feel the slim European cut most. Size up if you're layering over anything, or if you're broad across the shoulders.
Joggers and track bottoms: The waist can feel snug, particularly on elastic-waistband styles. Go up a size if you're between sizes or carry weight through the hips. The leg is usually fairly tapered too — fine if that's your preferred silhouette, but worth knowing.
Dresses and skirts: Ellesse does a small range of sporty dresses and skirt styles, and these tend to behave more like true-to-size, especially where there's stretch fabric involved. Jersey and stretch-polyester pieces are much more forgiving than the woven styles.

💡 Stylist tip: Ellesse's women's size chart maps to standard UK sizing (UK 6 = XXS through to UK 16 = XXL), but given the tailored cut, treat those numbers as a starting point rather than a guarantee. If you're between two sizes — always go up. And if you're buying a matching co-ord set, buy both pieces in the same size rather than mixing, even if one part feels a fraction generous. The proportions are designed to work together.

How to Wear Ellesse Well — Style Notes

One of the things I genuinely love about the Ellesse revival is how well the pieces style up beyond the gym. The logo taping, the colour-block heritage designs, the velour textures — they have a real fashion-editorial quality when worn right. Here's how I'd approach it:

The oversized hoodie moment: Size up one — or even two — sizes in the hoodies for that deliberately relaxed, street-style silhouette. Pair with straight-leg jeans or wide-leg trousers and a chunky trainer. It's a genuinely easy, stylish outfit that takes zero effort.
The co-ord tracksuit: This is Ellesse's strongest suit, literally and figuratively. Match the hoodie or zip-up with the joggers in the same colourway and it's an effortlessly put-together look. Dress it up with gold jewellery and a structured bag — it absolutely works.
The polo shirt: Ellesse's tennis heritage means their polo shirts are excellent. Tuck into a midi skirt or wear with tailored shorts for a smart-casual look that nods to the brand's history without looking like you're about to serve an ace at Wimbledon.
Layering the track jacket: One of my favourite ways to wear Ellesse. Take a cropped track jacket over a slip dress or midi skirt — the contrast between the sporty top and the feminine bottom half is brilliant, and it works far better than it sounds.

Who Does Ellesse Work Best For?

Honestly? Ellesse suits an athletic or straighter body shape best in its more structured pieces — the performance of the cut is optimised for narrower shoulders and a less defined bust-hip differential. That said, the hoodies, sweatshirts, and joggers are much more inclusive in practice once you've sized up, and the stretch in a lot of the jersey pieces is genuinely helpful. If you're curvier, just factor in a size up from your usual and check the bust and hip measurements against the size chart. It's absolutely wearable — it just requires a little more thought than a stretchy Gymshark legging, say.

Into the Ellesse Vibe? These Brands Are Worth Knowing

Whether you're after something at a similar sporty-casual price point, a step up in quality, or a genuine designer hit, here's where I'd send you:

High Street & Mid-Market:

ASOS — Has a huge range of own-brand and third-party sporty pieces in the same heritage-athletic space as Ellesse. Great for trying different fits and price points in one place, especially if you're working out your Ellesse size for the first time.
New Look — Consistently underrated for sporty-casual pieces. Good quality logo basics and tracksuit separates at very accessible prices. Sizing tends to be more generous than Ellesse, so a useful reference point.
River Island — Does the retro athletic trend really well, with some great co-ord sets and logo pieces at a competitive price. Sizing is fairly generous and consistent — a good shout if you find Ellesse runs small for you.
Superdry — Another heritage-sportswear brand with a strong athleisure aesthetic. Cut similarly slim in places but very good quality. Their hoodies and zip-ups are excellent and wear well season after season.
Tommy Hilfiger — If you love the Ellesse heritage logo aesthetic but want something with a slightly more elevated feel, Tommy's sport and casual lines are brilliant. The classic logo pieces are timeless.
Calvin Klein — For a cleaner, more minimal take on the sporty aesthetic. Excellent quality basics — the logo waistband joggers and monochrome hoodies are genuinely wardrobe workhorses.

Premium Activewear:

Sweaty Betty — A brilliant British activewear brand that bridges the gap between gym-ready and street-stylish. If you love the idea of Ellesse but want something with a more technical performance spec and better fit across body types, Sweaty Betty is the one.
Lululemon — The gold standard for premium athleisure. Cut beautifully, wears incredibly well, and sizes more generously than Ellesse. If you want to invest in pieces you'll wear for years, this is where I'd point you.

Two independent brands I'd genuinely recommend:

Castore — A British premium performance brand that's quietly become one of the most exciting sportswear labels in the UK. Exceptional fabric quality, considered cuts, and a sleek aesthetic that rivals anything at twice the price. Worth knowing about.
P.E Nation — An Australian cult label that's big in the UK fashion scene right now. Bold, graphic, retro-athletic energy — very much in the Ellesse spirit but with a more premium finish and slightly more inclusive sizing. If you want to push the sporty-fashion crossover further, this is your brand.

Stop Guessing Your Ellesse Size — Use Tellar

Given that Ellesse runs slim and sizing can vary between their different lines and fabric types, getting it wrong when shopping online is really easy — and really annoying. This is exactly why Tellar.co.uk exists.

Tellar is the UK's leading free sizing tool — it matches your actual body measurements to real fit data from 1,500+ brands instantly, including Ellesse. No charts to squint at, no crossed fingers, no expensive returns waiting to happen.

Measure once — just your bust, waist, and hips — and your profile is set up for life.
Use the Tellar Store Size Lookup tool to get your precise size in Ellesse instantly — and any of the 1,500+ other brands in the database.
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And while you're there, explore the Tellar Fashion Hub — thousands of honest, independent, stylist-written posts on brands, trends, and style advice. No ads, no brand deals, no sponsored content. Just genuinely useful fashion guidance, completely free.

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