What is Sizing Like at Patou Clothing?

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

Patou sizes small — this is a French luxury house cutting for a slim, narrow Parisian frame, and as a UK shopper you should size up by one, and quite possibly two sizes if you have any curves to speak of through the bust, hip, or shoulder.

Let me be upfront: spending serious money on a designer piece and getting the size wrong is one of the most deflating experiences in fashion. I’ve seen it happen to clients more times than I can count, and I’ve lived it myself. A few seasons ago, I was styling a shoot and had the most beautiful Patou wool blazer on the rail — that iconic camel shade, perfect lapels, the kind of blazer that makes you stand up straighter just looking at it. I tried it on between shots in what I thought was my correct French size. It didn’t budge past my shoulders. Mortifying. The size up was an absolute dream. That’s Patou sizing in a nutshell: extraordinary clothes, but you have to go in with your eyes open and your tape measure to hand.

A Brief History of Patou — and Why It’s Having a Moment

Jean Patou is one of the great names of French couture — the house was founded in Paris in 1914 and is credited with inventing the concept of sportswear-as-fashion in the 1920s, dressing tennis champion Suzanne Lenglen and pioneering the jersey suit. After decades in relative dormancy, the house was spectacularly relaunched in 2019 under creative director Guillaume Henry, who has brought it into the modern era with an aesthetic that is joyful, graphic, and deeply, unapologetically French.

The revived Patou is beloved by the fashion press — Vogue, Grazia, and Elle have all championed it enthusiastically — for its use of bold colour blocking, its relaxed-yet-precise tailoring, and its sense of humour. The logo knitwear, the sculpted dresses, the wide-leg trousers: it all feels thoroughly current while carrying the weight of a century of Parisian craft. It is not cheap, but it is genuinely special. Just get the size right, and it will reward you magnificently.

Patou Size Guide: French & EU to UK Conversion

Patou / FR SizeEU SizeUK SizeUS SizeBust (cm)Waist (cm)34346280–8262–6436368484–8666–68383810688–9070–72404012892–9474–764242141096–9878–8044441612100–10282–84

Ella’s tip: At this price point, please measure yourself properly in centimetres before ordering. Even half a size out can make a beautifully engineered garment look wrong. If your measurements sit at the top of one size bracket, always go to the next. Patou’s structured pieces in particular have very little ease built in — they are cut to fit, not to forgive.

How Patou Sizing Works Across Categories

Tailoring — Blazers, Jackets & Coats

This is Patou’s strongest suit, quite literally. The tailoring is exceptional — structured shoulders, clean lines, beautifully finished interiors — and the cuts are slim and precise. The shoulder width is consistently the tightest point: if you have broad or even average-width shoulders for a UK woman, size up without question. Their coats, particularly the double-breasted styles, have a little more room but still run narrow through the upper body. Fitted jackets should be sized up by one as a baseline; if you have a fuller bust (C cup or above) go up two.

Dresses

Patou dresses are among the most photographed pieces on the fashion circuit for good reason — the proportions are extraordinary, the colour work is exceptional, and the construction is couture-level for ready-to-wear. They are also cut for a very specific body: slim, with a relatively narrow hip-to-waist ratio and a smaller bust. If you have a fuller figure, the dress you’re coveting may simply not be cut for your shape at any size — and that is the brand’s limitation, not yours. For straighter frames, size up by one as standard. For curvier shapes, try to find the piece in a boutique before committing online.

Knitwear — The Logo Sweaters

Arguably the most accessible entry point into Patou, and the sizing here is marginally more forgiving thanks to the nature of knitted fabric. That said, the logo sweaters — the ones you’ve seen everywhere from Paris Fashion Week street style to every fashion editor’s Instagram — still run slim. True to size if you like a fitted look; size up if you want the relaxed, slightly oversized Parisian styling that makes them look so effortlessly cool. I always recommend the latter. It just looks better.

Trousers & Skirts

Patou’s wide-leg and tailored trousers are genuinely beautiful — high-waisted, long in the leg (ideal for tall frames; shorter women may need to hem), and cut with that easy Parisian authority. The waistband is typically the limiting factor. If you carry weight on your hips or have a fuller bottom, size up generously here — the waistband on Patou trousers is not structured to accommodate much more than the stated measurement. Their skirts, particularly the midi A-line styles, are slightly more accommodating around the hip but still size up if in any doubt.

Bags & Accessories

Patou’s accessories — particularly the Le Petit Patou bag and the logo scarves — are a brilliant way into the house if the RTW sizing is proving tricky. Accessories are one size, obviously, and the quality is impeccable. If budget allows and you love the aesthetic, a Patou bag or scarf is a genuinely considered purchase that will last for years.

Who Does Patou Suit Best?

In my professional experience, Patou works best on slim-to-average UK frames with relatively narrow shoulders — a UK 8 to 12 will find the range most accessible. Taller women (5’7” and above) will find the trouser lengths and dress proportions especially flattering. If you’re petite, the dramatic silhouettes can overwhelm — stick to their simpler knitwear and blouse pieces rather than the voluminous dresses. And if you’re curvier, the knitwear and accessories are genuinely the better investment than the fitted tailoring.

If Patou’s Sizing Doesn’t Work for You — My Best Alternatives

The Parisian, polished, graphic aesthetic that Patou does so well is very much replicable at other price points. Here are my picks, from high street to luxury:

High Street

COS — The single closest high street match to Patou’s precise, architectural sensibility. Clean lines, strong shapes, considered colour palettes — and crucially, sizing that is far more consistent for UK bodies. Their tailoring and knitwear in particular are excellent.
Mango — Has made enormous strides in recent years with its higher-end Mango Committed and premium lines. Their tailored blazers and wide-leg trousers capture much of the Patou energy at a fraction of the price, and sizing is reliable.
Whistles — A perennial recommendation for the Patou customer who wants refined British tailoring without the French price tag. Their blazers and structured dresses are genuinely well cut and sizing runs true for UK women.
Claudie Pierlot — French brand, similar price bracket to an accessible designer, and an aesthetic that shares much of Patou’s Parisian DNA. Florals, tailoring, feminine cuts — and sizing that maps more predictably to UK bodies than Patou itself.
Anthropologie — For the more eclectic, print-led side of Patou’s personality. Anthropologie does colour and pattern with genuine confidence and their sizing is far more generous and inclusive across the range.
Reiss — Brilliant for the clean, structured tailoring that Patou executes at couture level. Reiss does it well at a high street premium price, and their sizing is exceptionally reliable for UK shoppers.
LK Bennett — For the Patou customer who loves a beautifully cut dress or a sharp blazer for a real occasion. LK Bennett’s fit is designed for UK bodies, the quality is solid, and they do polished occasion dressing as well as anyone on the high street.

Premium

Me&Em — A British brand that has quietly become one of the most consistently excellent labels for polished, grown-up dressing. Their tailoring is well-made, their colour palette is considered, and sizing is honest and true.

Two Independent Picks Worth Knowing

Rouje — A Paris-born independent label founded by Jeanne Damas that captures everything Patou is reaching for in terms of Parisian femininity — but in a slightly more relaxed, wearable register. Their dresses and blouses are utterly gorgeous, the sizing is still French-small so you’ll still need to size up, but the price point is considerably more accessible and the aesthetic is every bit as considered. A genuine find if you don’t already know them.
Musier Paris — Another small Parisian label, founded by influencer-turned-designer Louise Follain, making beautifully feminine pieces — wrap dresses, tailored separates, elegant knitwear — in a very similar spirit to Patou but at a far more forgiving price. The quality is excellent for the cost and the design sensibility is genuinely lovely. Another French-small sizing situation, so measure up carefully, but absolutely worth exploring.

Don’t Guess Your Size in Patou — Get It Right First Time

At Patou’s price point, getting the size wrong is an expensive mistake. Tellar is the UK’s leading clothing size tool — match your exact measurements to over 1,500 brands instantly and never have to second-guess a size guide again.

Measure once — bust, waist, and hips in centimetres, or enter your size in a brand you already know fits you well.
Use the Store Size Lookup tool to get your precise size in Patou and 1,500+ other brands — from COS and Reiss to the most niche designer labels.
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And explore the Tellar Fashion Hub — a growing library of free, unsponsored posts from our top stylists. Honest. Unbiased. Independent. Always free.

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