What Is Sizing Like at Tagliatore Menswear?

Tagliatore runs slim, short and small — plan on sizing up. It uses Italian sizing (48, 50, 52 rather than UK 38, 40, 42), and the cut is trim through the chest and waist with higher armholes and a shorter jacket length than you'll be used to on the British high street. If you take a UK 40 chest, that's roughly a Tagliatore 50, but I'd almost always try the size above.

How Tagliatore sizing actually works

Tagliatore is a southern Italian tailoring house built around the eye of Pino Lerario — the name literally means "the cutter" — and it's known for soft, unstructured jackets with barely any padding and a natural shoulder. Beautiful stuff. But it's cut for a lean, modern frame, and the numbers on the label are Italian, which trips a lot of British shoppers up.

Here's the rough translation from a UK chest measurement to a Tagliatore size:

UK 36 chest → Tagliatore 46 (roughly a 37" chest)
UK 38 chest → Tagliatore 48 (roughly a 39" chest)
UK 40 chest → Tagliatore 50 (roughly a 41" chest)
UK 42 chest → Tagliatore 52 (roughly a 43" chest)
UK 44 chest → Tagliatore 54 (roughly a 45" chest)

The quick rule: add roughly 10 to your UK chest size to land on the Italian one. But three things to keep front of mind before you buy:

The chest is snug. Even guys who fit the size on paper often find Tagliatore a touch tight across the chest. If you're between sizes, go up.
The length runs short. These jackets are designed to sit high — flattering if you're average height or under, but if you're 6ft-plus the hem can look cropped. Factor that in rather than being caught out.
The trousers are slim, not skinny. A tapered leg with a mid rise. Fine for most, but if you carry any weight on the thigh you'll want the next size up.

A quick word from experience

My own Tagliatore lesson was an expensive one. I bought an unlined navy hopsack jacket in my "usual" 50 off the back of how gorgeous it looked on the hanger, didn't try the 52, and spent the next year unable to close the button without it pulling. Lovely jacket, wrong size, entirely my fault. Contrast that with a client I sized into a 52 the same season — same height as me, slightly broader — who got a perfect, clean drape because we ignored the number and trusted the measurements. That's the whole game with Italian tailoring: buy the fit, not the label.

Where to buy soft Italian tailoring — across every budget

If Tagliatore's cut suits you, brilliant. If it's a shade too slim or too short, here's where I'd send you instead, from the high street up to designer, with a note on how each one fits so you're not guessing.

High street

Reiss — the closest thing on the high street to a slim Italian blazer, and it's in honest UK sizing so there's no conversion headache. A safe starting point if Tagliatore's numbers put you off.
COS — relaxed, minimalist unstructured jackets with a softer shoulder. Cut more generously than Tagliatore, so a good shout if you found the Italian chest too tight.
Arket — easy, unfussy tailoring with a roomier body. The move for anyone who loves the soft-shoulder look but wants breathing space through the middle.

Independent & boutique

Boglioli — the spiritual cousin of Tagliatore. Same unlined, taped-seam softness, similar Italian sizing, but often a hair more forgiving through the chest. If you love the Tagliatore feel, try this alongside it.
Lardini — modern Italian tailoring with slightly cleaner proportions and a marginally longer length. Worth a look if the Tagliatore hem sits too high on you.
Oliver Spencer — British, relaxed and generous. Unstructured jackets that fit nothing like an Italian cut, which is exactly the point if you want the casual-blazer look without the slim squeeze.

Designer & luxury

Canali — Italian, but cut with a fuller, more regular fit than Tagliatore. My go-to recommendation for a broader chest that struggles with the slimmer houses.
Brunello Cucinelli — the softest, most luxurious take on unstructured tailoring, with a slightly more relaxed body. Investment pieces, but the drape is faultless.
Corneliani — Italian luxury with a more classic, less cropped silhouette. The one to reach for if you want Italian craft but a grown-up, standard-length jacket.

Stop guessing your size — match your body to Tagliatore in seconds

Italian sizing is exactly the sort of thing Tellar is built to solve. We're the UK's leading free sizing tool — measure once and your body is matched instantly to 1,500+ brands, so you'll never squint at a size chart again.

Measure once using your chest, waist, hip or an existing brand size.
Look up your exact size in Tagliatore — and COS, Reiss, Arket and more.
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