What Is Sizing Like at Nanamica?

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

Nanamica runs small by UK standards — as a Japanese brand, their sizing follows Japanese proportions, which means narrower shoulders, shorter sleeve lengths, and a more compact overall cut than you'd expect from a European equivalent. If you're usually a UK 12, you'll most likely need a size up, sometimes two, depending on the piece.

I came to Nanamica the way most people do — through a rabbit hole of menswear forums and Japanese streetwear blogs, convinced I'd spotted the most perfectly understated Cruiser jacket I'd ever seen. It arrived. I tried it on in what I thought was my correct size. Reader, I could barely zip it up. Lesson learned. Nanamica is glorious, but you absolutely need to size up, and ideally know your measurements in centimetres before you hit checkout.

Founded in 2003 in Tokyo by Eiichiro Homma, Nanamica sits in this brilliant, rare space between serious technical outerwear and genuinely chic everyday dressing. Their signature Gore-Tex pieces, wide-leg trousers, and buttery crewneck sweatshirts have developed a cult following precisely because they look effortless without trying too hard. But you have to understand how they fit to actually wear them well — and that's what this guide is here for.

Nanamica Size Conversion Table

Nanamica uses Japanese sizing labels (XS through XL, sometimes numeric). Here's how those translate to UK women's sizing — but use these as a starting point, not gospel, because fit varies quite a bit by garment category.

Nanamica LabelUK Women's SizeEU SizeBust (cm)Waist (cm)Hips (cm)XSUK 6–834–3680–8462–6686–90SUK 8–1036–3884–8866–7090–94MUK 10–1238–4088–9270–7494–98LUK 12–1440–4292–9674–7898–102XLUK 14–1642–4496–10078–82102–106

General rule: size up at least one from your usual UK size. If you have wider shoulders or a broader bust, size up two. Nanamica's silhouettes are designed to be relaxed and roomy in the body — but the Japanese cut still assumes narrower shoulders than most UK women have.

How Different Nanamica Pieces Fit

Not all Nanamica pieces behave the same way — and this is where knowing the brand really pays off. Here's my garment-by-garment breakdown:

Cruiser Jacket / Gore-Tex Outerwear: This is Nanamica's hero piece, and it's designed with layering in mind — meaning a technical base layer or light midlayer underneath is built into the fit. Size up one from your usual UK size as a baseline, two if you want a more relaxed, over-everything silhouette. Shoulder width is the key measurement here; if it's off, the rest of the jacket won't sit properly.
Knitwear & Sweatshirts: These tend to have a boxy, dropped-shoulder fit that works beautifully — but the arm length can be short by UK standards. I'd suggest measuring your own arm length against the product specs if ordering online, especially if you're taller than 5'6".
Trousers & Wide-Leg Pants: The waist and hip measurements run narrow. Most UK women should size up here. The inseam can also run on the shorter side — not a problem if you're petite, but worth checking if you're longer-limbed.
Shirts & Overshirts: Usually the most forgiving category. Still worth sizing up one, but if you prefer a more fitted look — rather than the oversized streetwear-adjacent silhouette Nanamica leans into — sticking to your UK size can work if you're between sizes.
Bags & Accessories: Truly one-size, no guesswork needed, and honestly some of the best-value pieces in the range.

Styling Nanamica — Ella's Honest Take

The mistake I see most often is people trying to fight the Nanamica silhouette rather than working with it. This is not a brand for tailored precision — it's a brand for relaxed ease with a very quiet kind of cool. The pieces look best when the whole outfit has that same unhurried quality. Think wide-leg trousers with a boxy knit, both in neutral tones. Or a Cruiser jacket over a slim turtleneck and straight-leg denim.

The colour palette is mostly muted — a lot of navy, olive, stone, and charcoal, with occasional quietly bold colourways. This makes everything mix easily, which is genuinely part of the appeal. Nothing screams; everything works together.

If you're petite (under 5'4"), the wider cuts and potentially longer torso lengths can be tricky. I'd suggest gravitating towards the knitwear and shirts first, where the oversized look translates into something covetable rather than overwhelming. And always check the specific product measurements — Nanamica publish full specs and they're reliable.

Brands to Consider If Nanamica Isn't Working for You

Nanamica is an investment — prices reflect the quality of technical fabrication — and the sizing can be genuinely limiting for some body types. Here are my honest recommendations across different budgets:

High Street Options

COS — Arguably the closest high street equivalent to Nanamica's minimal-but-functional aesthetic. Clean construction, relaxed fits that actually translate well to UK sizing, and a neutral palette that overlaps almost entirely with Nanamica's.
Massimo Dutti — For the technical outerwear side, Massimo Dutti's more structured pieces hit a similar note at a more accessible price point. Their sizing is European but far more generous in the shoulders than Japanese brands.
Whistles — Particularly strong for the clean-line separates and quality knitwear that echo Nanamica's aesthetic without the Japanese sizing challenges.
Barbour — If the Cruiser jacket's weather-resistant functionality is what you're after, Barbour's technical outerwear line delivers in UK sizing with a similar heritage-meets-utility feel.
Gant — For the relaxed crewneck sweatshirts and clean casual shirts, Gant sits in a similar headspace and fits UK women far more predictably.
Reiss — Their outerwear has improved enormously in recent years and hits a similar premium-without-logo-branding quality to Nanamica pieces at more accessible entry points.
All Saints — For the darker, utility-edge aesthetic of Nanamica's more graphic pieces, All Saints does this brilliantly in UK sizing with reliable fit data.

Premium Options

Goldwin — Another Japanese technical brand with a very similar ethos to Nanamica, but with slightly more generous sizing. Harder to find in the UK but worth tracking down if you love the Japanese technical aesthetic.
Snow Peak — A favourite of mine, and increasingly available through UK stockists. Brilliant outdoor-meets-urban pieces with a similarly considered approach to fabric and construction.

Independent & Niche Picks

Cayl — A French technical label that flies completely under the radar in the UK. Their outerwear has the same relaxed functionality as Nanamica but European sizing, making it far more accessible. Genuinely worth a look if you've been frustrated by Japanese sizing.
Norrøna — Norwegian outdoor brand with serious technical credibility. Their Svalbard range in particular hits a similar aesthetic note to Nanamica's outerwear, with European sizing and outstanding quality.

Luxury / Designer Options

Lemaire — For the quiet, beautifully made separates that carry Nanamica's spirit in a more fashion-forward direction. Lemaire's relaxed tailoring is a natural step up in both price and aesthetic territory.
Jil Sander — If it's the understated, technical-adjacent minimalism of Nanamica's best pieces you're chasing, Jil Sander does this with unmatched precision at the luxury level.

Never Guess Your Size Again — Try Tellar

Nanamica sizing is exactly the kind of brand where knowing your exact measurements — in centimetres, across bust, waist and hips — makes the difference between an expensive mistake and a perfect purchase. That's precisely what Tellar.co.uk is built for.

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✔ Measure once using bust, waist, and hips (or your existing brand size)
✔ Use the Store Size Lookup to get your precise size in any brand — Nanamica, COS, Reiss, Arket & 1,500+ more
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✔ Honest, unsponsored — we are never paid to recommend a brand

Visit Tellar.co.uk Use the Store Size Lookup