What Is Sizing Like at Sandy Liang?

Here’s the honest headline: Sandy Liang is a tale of two fits. The cult fleeces and outerwear run generously oversized – size down if you want them neat – while the dresses, tops and the dainty, balletcore pieces sit much closer to true to size. So there’s no single rule here, and anyone telling you to blanket size up or down hasn’t actually worn the range.

First, the bit everyone forgets: it’s a US brand

Sandy Liang is a New York label (founded 2014, inspired by the Lower East Side and, charmingly, stylish grandmothers), so the website sizes in US numbers. That trips up UK shoppers constantly. As a rough guide, a US 4 is a UK 8, a US 6 is a UK 10, and so on – add four. I’m deliberately not giving you a giant conversion table, because the two things that actually matter are simpler than that:

Returns are exchange or store credit only – no cash refunds, and sale pieces are final. Order carefully.
You’ll pay UK customs and duty on import. Factor that in before you fall in love with the checkout total.

I learned the second one the hard way years ago with a different US brand – a gorgeous parcel held hostage by a duty bill that nearly matched the dress. Now I always pad the budget by a third for anything shipping from the States.

The fleeces and jackets: size down (usually)

The fleeces are the hero piece – the thing Sandy Liang genuinely changed the game with – and they are cut roomy on purpose. That early-2000s, borrowed-from-a-bigger-sibling slouch is the whole point.

Want that intended cosy, blanket-y look? Take your normal size.
Want it neater, or you’re between two sizes? Size down one – there’s plenty of room to spare.
Planning to layer a chunky knit underneath for proper winter? Stay true to size.

My own confession: my first fleece I took in my “safe” size and swam in it – lovely on the sofa, less lovely when I wanted to actually wear it out. The replacement, one size down, is the one I’ve genuinely lived in. Learn from my over-cautious first go.

Dresses, tops and the pretty bits: true to size

This is where people get caught out going the other way. The dresses, blouses, the bow-trimmed and balletcore styles are cut on the daintier, more fitted side – they are not oversized like the fleeces. A few honest notes from fitting them:

Take your usual size in dresses and tops; don’t reflexively size down the way you would for a fleece.
If you’re busty or broader across the shoulders, the delicate cuts and narrow straps can read small – size up rather than squeezing in.
Anything with smocking, ties or elastic detailing is forgiving and runs true.

The trap I see most often: someone buys a fleece a size down, loves it, then orders a dress a size down too on the same logic – and it’s a battle to zip. Treat the two categories as different brands almost. It’ll save you a no-refund headache.

Shoes and the little ballet flats

The Mary Janes and ballet flats are sized in Italian/EU numbers and run fairly true, though, as with most ballet styles, they’re a little snug across the top of the foot at first and soften with wear. If you’re a half size or have a higher instep, go up – don’t expect them to give much.

If you love Sandy Liang, you’ll love these

Sandy Liang sits in that sweet spot of playful, nostalgic, ballet-and-bows femininity with a downtown edge. If you can’t get the size you want, or the import faff puts you off, here’s where I’d send you instead – all with their own fit quirks worth knowing.

On the high street & mid-market:

& Other Stories – the closest mainstream match for that pretty, considered aesthetic; runs slightly small, so size up in tailoring.
Damson Madder – bows, prints and playful volume; generous and true to size.
Sister Jane – whimsical, romantic, very on-brief; tends to run small, size up.
Nobody’s Child – affordable, sweet dresses; reliably true to size.
Free People – the easy, slouchy-feminine cousin; cut roomy, often size down.

Premium & contemporary:

Ganni – the Scandi answer to playful cool-girl dressing; broadly true to size, relaxed.
RIXO – dreamy prints and proper occasion dresses; generous, often size down one.
Holzweiler – if it’s specifically the elevated fleece energy you’re after; relaxed, true to size.

Luxury & designer:

Simone Rocha – the queen of balletcore tulle and bows; cuts small and delicate, size up.
Cecilie Bahnsen – voluminous, romantic dresses; oversized by design, take your usual size.

Two left-field independents worth a look:

Selkie – the puff-sleeve, fairytale-dress label; very forgiving, size by the size chart not the label.
Sleeper – Ukrainian feather-trim “party pyjamas” and feminine separates; relaxed and true to size.

My honest bottom line

Buy the fleeces and jackets a size down for a neat fit (true to size if you want the slouch), buy the dresses and pretty pieces in your usual size, and budget for the customs bill. Get those three things right and Sandy Liang is one of the most joyful labels in your wardrobe. Get them wrong and the no-refund policy makes it an expensive lesson – so check before you buy.

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