What Is Sizing Like at Percival?

Percival fits true to size with a slightly tailored cut, so if you take a medium everywhere else, a medium is your starting point. The asterisk is that it's cut to British proportions, which run a touch leaner than American or high-street sizing across the board. If your frame is broad through the shoulders or you carry muscle on the legs, that "true to size" can feel snug.

A quick war story: I once styled a rugby-built client for a wedding and put him in a Percival tailored shirt in his "normal" large. Lovely across the chest, but he couldn't lift a champagne flute without the shoulder seam threatening mutiny. We went XL, took the body in slightly at the tailor, and it was perfect. Lesson learned — with Percival, buy for your widest point and adjust down, not the other way round.

The quick fit cheat sheet

Regular-fit tees & shirts: true to size. Take your usual.
Boxy & cropped tees: deliberately roomy and short in the body — size down if you want it neater, keep your size if you like the relaxed look.
Oversized styles: exactly what they say — no need to go up.
Knitwear & overshirts (the Sherlock, the Blanket Overshirt): true to size but built for layering, so your normal size leaves room for a tee underneath.
Tailored trousers: the slimmest thing they make. If you're between sizes or thigh-heavy, size up.
Suits & blazers: a genuine tailored cut — buy for the shoulders, everything else can be nipped by a tailor.

The pieces worth your money

Percival's outerwear is where it truly earns its keep. The overshirts are the gateway drug — a Casentino wool or brushed-cotton overshirt sits somewhere between a shirt and a jacket, and it's the single most useful thing you can own for that "smart but not trying" register. I'd steer most men there first. The knitted shirts and Cuban collars are the other standout; they've got personality without shouting, which is a harder trick than it looks.

Trousers are the one area I'd handle with care. The tailored cut is genuinely slim through the thigh and taper, so if your legs do any actual work in the gym, look at their relaxed and wider fits instead — Percival has quietly broadened its trouser range, and the roomier cuts are far more forgiving without losing the sharp line.

What to wear alongside Percival

Percival plays beautifully with other labels, and knowing how each one fits relative to Percival saves you a lot of returns. Here's where I send clients across the price ladder.

HIGH STREET

COS

The natural companion to Percival at an accessible price. Where Percival is trim and tailored, COS leans architectural and boxy — so if you love Percival's regular fit but want something roomier for weekend layering, COS delivers. Take your usual size; their oversized pieces are properly generous, so size down there if you want it cleaner.

Arket

Scandinavian, understated, and cut a fraction more relaxed than Percival through the body. Brilliant for the plain merino jumpers and chinos that live underneath your Percival overshirt. True to size, with a slightly longer body length than Percival — handy if you're tall and find British brands cropping short.

INDEPENDENT / BOUTIQUE

Wax London

If you like Percival's textured, print-forward take on British menswear, Wax London is your next stop. The famous Dinton overshirt is a rival to Percival's Sherlock, cut a touch more relaxed and boxy — so where Percival's is trim, Wax gives you room. Take your normal size; it's honest and true.

Community Clothing

Patrick Grant's Blackburn-made label is the antidote if Percival ever feels too slim. Everything is cut for real bodies with a classic, generous fit and made to last. True to size and often a full step roomier than Percival — my go-to recommendation for broader men who want quality without the squeeze.

Kestin

An Edinburgh brand blending technical fabrics with heritage cuts. Their regular fit sits right alongside Percival's — clean, considered, true to size — but the outerwear runs a hair more relaxed, which makes it a great layering partner. Buy your usual and you'll be spot on.

DESIGNER / LUXURY

Officine Générale

French, softly tailored, and the grown-up upgrade from Percival's tailoring. The cut is relaxed-tailored rather than slim, so if you love a Percival blazer but want more ease and finer cloth, this is the move. Runs true to size but with more room through the chest — you may not need to size up as you would in Percival's slimmest pieces.

Margaret Howell

British luxury at its most quietly brilliant. Howell cuts generously and drapes rather than clings — the polar opposite of Percival's trim line, and a lovely contrast when you want understated luxury. If you're a Percival medium, don't be surprised to sit comfortably in a small here; try before you commit.

A.P.C.

The one designer name that fits like Percival — lean, minimal and cut close, especially the denim and knits. If Percival's slim tailored trousers suit you, A.P.C. will too. Genuinely runs small, so this is the rare brand where I'd tell a Percival fan to consider sizing up rather than down.

My honest verdict

Percival is true to size until you're broad, at which point it's the shoulders and thighs that'll catch you out. Buy for your widest point, lean on the overshirts and knits, treat the tailored trousers with respect, and you'll build a wardrobe that looks expensive and lasts. Get the size right first, though — because the best jacket in the world does nothing for you if it's pinching.

Nail your size before you buy — free, with Tellar

Percival runs slim, sizing shifts between brands, and returns are a faff. Tellar is the UK's leading sizing tool: measure yourself just once, then get your exact size matched instantly across 1,500+ brands — COS, Reiss, Arket, Everlane and the rest — so you never squint at a size guide again.

It's all part of the Tellar Fashion Hub, a free library of honest, unbiased, independent style guides from our stylists. No sponsors, no nonsense, always free — works right in your browser with nothing to download.

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