What Is Sizing Like at Thierry Colson?

Thierry Colson fits true to size, cuts everything with a relaxed, free-flowing silhouette, and uses simple alpha sizing that runs from XXS to XXL — so in the vast majority of cases, your usual size is the one to order, and you really don't need to size up for comfort. As a stylist who has dressed plenty of clients in this gorgeously romantic French label, that's the headline I want you to walk away with before we get into the lovely detail.

Thierry Colson is a fully independent Paris house known for delicate prints, voile blouses and those swishy, holiday-in-Provence dresses that look effortless but are quietly very well made. The cut is the whole point of the brand — and it's also the thing that trips people up when they're shopping online.

The short answer on fit

True to size. The brand states this on most pieces, and in my experience it's accurate — take your normal size.
Relaxed, not fitted. Pieces are generous across the bust, easy over the waist and free-flowing over the legs. This is a forgiving, body-skimming label, not a body-con one.
Adjustable details. Many of the dresses have front ties or drawstrings, which means there's built-in give for waists and busts that fall between sizes.
Per-garment measurements. Rather than one blanket chart, each product lists its own flat measurements (length, shoulder, bust, waist, hip, sleeve) — always worth a glance, as styles do vary.

How the cut actually works

Because so much of the range is loose and floaty, the part of your body that decides your size is usually the shoulders and bust, not your waist or hips — the rest simply skims past. That's a different way of shopping if you're used to high-street dresses that nip in at the middle.

I once styled a client for a summer wedding in Puglia and put her in one of the long tie-front dresses. She'd convinced herself she needed to size up because she "always does in a fitted dress." She didn't — her true size draped beautifully, and the size up would have swamped her shoulders and dropped the hem to the floor. That's the classic Thierry Colson mistake: treating a relaxed cut like a tailored one. A genuine win that day, and a lesson I now give every client before they order.

If you're caught between two sizes

Stay at your usual size if you like a softer, draped finish — that's how the brand intends it to sit.
Don't size up for "comfort" on the floaty styles. The width is already there; going up mostly adds shoulder room and length, which can overwhelm a petite frame.
Mind the length. Many dresses are designed long and full. If you're under 5'4", check the listed length — a beautiful maxi can become a trip hazard.
Blouses (the voile and cotton tops) run relaxed too, but the shoulder is neater, so take your standard size and enjoy the room through the body.

One small confession from the fail column: early on I ordered a voile blouse a size up myself, assuming "floaty equals tiny." It arrived enormous, the shoulders sat halfway down my arms, and it went straight back. Trust the true-to-size guidance — it's there for a reason.

Where to shop for the Thierry Colson look

Thierry Colson sits at the premium-to-designer end on price (blouses from around £190, dresses comfortably into the hundreds), so if you love the romantic, printed, free-flowing aesthetic but want options at every budget, here's where I'd send you.

High street

Monsoon — the high street's go-to for printed, occasion and boho-leaning dresses with real movement.
Seasalt Cornwall — artist-led prints and relaxed, easy shapes in lovely natural cottons.
Nobody's Child — floral, floaty and sustainable, with prairie and tiered styles that echo the TC mood.
Boden — joyful prints and forgiving cuts, brilliant for an everyday version of the look.
Whistles — elevated, painterly prints with a slightly more pared-back, grown-up edge.
Joules — proper English-garden florals and breezy summer dresses.
Phase Eight — occasion florals and tiered midis when you need something a little dressier.

Premium

Sézane — the closest spiritual cousin: French, romantic, beautifully printed and endlessly wearable.
Toast — artisanal, relaxed and texture-led, for the same quiet, lived-in elegance.
Hush — boho-adjacent prints and floaty shapes with a softer price tag.

Luxury / designer

By Malene Birger — bold prints and fluid, statement silhouettes with serious designer polish.
Max Mara — for the timeless, beautifully cut investment piece if you're trading boho for refined.

Two to seek out (independent gems)

Pink City Prints — a British indie label of hand-block-printed, romantic dresses that feels like Thierry Colson's kindred spirit.
D'Ascoli — Jaipur-made block-printed silks and voiles, all painterly pattern and old-world romance.

How Tellar takes the guesswork out

Here's the honest truth: with a relaxed, designer-cut label like Thierry Colson, the difference between "dreamy" and "drowning" is one size — and that's exactly the problem Tellar was built to solve.

Tellar is the UK's leading sizing tool: your body, matched exactly to 1,500-plus brands instantly, so you never have to squint at a size guide again.

Measure once — using bust, waist and hip, or simply your existing size in a brand you already know.
Use the Store Size Lookup tool to get your precise size in any brand — COS, Reiss, Everlane, Arket and more.
Always free, no downloads needed — it works straight in your browser.

There's also the Tellar Fashion Hub: a library stacked with free posts from our top stylists. Honest. Unbiased. Independent. Always free — style advice, top picks and the best brands, all in one place.

Never guess your size again

Match your body to 1,500+ brands in seconds with Tellar — free, unbiased and built for exactly this.

Visit Tellar.co.uk Try the Store Size Lookup

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Written by Ella Blake, Senior Fashion Stylist & Founder of Tellar. Always honest, always unbiased, always free — and never sponsored.