The Short Answer: Yes, Size Down on Almost Everything

On apparel, usually by a full size. On footwear, half a size, but with a width caveat that matters more than most guides admit.

Rick Owens cuts his clothing generously on purpose. A size 48 jacket sits closer to a 50 or 52 in conventional menswear terms, and that gap isn't a manufacturing irregularity, it's the intended silhouette. Long torso. Dropped shoulders. Volume through the body that pools and drapes rather than fits in any traditional sense. Getting this wrong on a pre-loved piece is costly in a way that buying new isn't, because the error stays with you. Sized too large and you're swamped. Sized too aggressively small and you'll feel it across the shoulder blades in a way no tailor can quietly fix.

Footwear deserves its own section below. Read it separately.

Rick Owens Apparel Runs Generous and Oversized by Design

This is architecture, not tailoring. Since Owens showed his first Paris collection in the late 1990s, the proportions have been the point: extended, draped, constructed to hang from the body like something structural rather than worn over it. A fitted Rick Owens piece, in the way most brands use that word, simply doesn't exist.

Tops, Sweatshirts, and Jackets

One full size down is the standard starting point for tops and outerwear. If L is your usual, try M first. The chest is wide, the body runs long, and even a size down often reads as relaxed rather than close. Sleeve length is generous too, so when you're between sizes, lean smaller. DRKSHDW sweatshirts follow the exact same logic: intentionally boxy, with a dropped shoulder that lands a good two centimetres lower than you'd expect, which is either exactly what you want or precisely what you don't.

Trousers and Bottoms

Strangely, the waist on Rick Owens trousers often runs closer to true size than the rest of the garment suggests it will. What catches people off guard is the rise, which is unusually long, and the leg cut, which is wide in ways that feel almost geological in their scale. You might find your usual waist size fits correctly but the silhouette below it is more extreme than you'd anticipated. That's not a problem with the piece. For slimmer cuts within the range, size down one; for the wider constructions like the pod cut or banana leg, your measured size is often the right call.

Dresses and Layering Pieces

Women's sizing follows the same generous principle throughout. The draped and asymmetric pieces are cut with significant ease built into the pattern, and sizing down one is standard advice across most stockists and resale platforms. Long cardigans and open draped coats are less critical to nail precisely because the volume is the whole point. But if you want any real definition at the shoulder or waist, go smaller than instinct tells you to.

Rick Owens Footwear Runs Long and Often Narrow

Half a size down. Not a full size. This is where a lot of buyers overcorrect after reading the apparel guidance and end up with shoes that bite at the toes instead of fitting well. The footwear does run long, but not with the same generosity as the clothing. A full size down risks uncomfortable tightness rather than a precise fit.

Boots and High-Tops

The Ramones boot is the most discussed piece in every sizing thread, on every platform, going back years. The consensus holds: half a size down. The sole is substantial, the toe box has genuine length, and your foot won't feel cramped at a half size smaller, but the excess room of a true-size fit disappears in a way that improves the whole silhouette. Ankle boots from the main line behave the same way. If you sit between EU 42 and 43, buy 42.

Sneakers and Low-Tops

The Ramones low, the Geobasket, the Megalace: all run half a size long. The Geobasket is worth a specific note here because its wide, structured sole unit creates a visual impression of roominess that can deceive you at the toe while the heel and midfoot are actually fitting correctly. Half a size down still applies. Buyers with wider feet often find the Geobasket more forgiving than the Ramones in terms of overall comfort, but the length guidance is the same for both.

Width Considerations

Most Rick Owens footwear runs narrow through the midfoot. For anyone with a genuinely wide foot, this matters more than the length question does. Sizing up to accommodate width creates too much length, and the heel goes sloppy. If width is your real concern, trying the footwear on in person before committing to a pre-loved pair is worth prioritising. At Bloc Magasin in Zürich, contact us first to arrange a private shopping appointment at Flüelastrasse 16, 8048 Zürich-West, and we can pull specific pieces for you to try before anything is decided.

Why Pre-Loved Rick Owens Requires Careful Sizing

With new stock from a boutique, a sizing error is an inconvenience. With pre-loved stock, it's a piece that lives in your wardrobe not quite working, because there's no exchange waiting to happen. That's the practical reason this guide exists.

Older Rick Owens pieces add a further complication. Apparel from the early-to-mid 2000s, when the sizing system was still being formalised, occasionally used different label conventions than current production. Always cross-reference the label against actual garment measurements: chest, shoulder width, and body length for tops; waist, hip, and inseam for trousers. Any seller of authentic designer pieces should provide these measurements on request, and if they can't, that tells you something.

Condition affects fit perception too. A jacket that's been worn and washed repeatedly can shrink through the shoulders and chest, particularly in structured fabrics. Rick Owens uses materials that age with character but behave differently over time, which is part of the appeal and part of what makes knowing how to spot fake designer items and assess condition accurately as important as knowing the size.

Rick Owens Sizing Chart and Conversion Guide

Rick Owens uses Italian sizing for most apparel. For men's tops and outerwear: IT 44 is roughly XS, IT 46 maps to S, IT 48 to M, IT 50 to L, IT 52 to XL, IT 54 to XXL. If mainstream brands have you reaching for a medium, start at IT 46 and consider IT 44 if you want a closer result. For women's apparel: IT 38 is XS, IT 40 is S, IT 42 is M, IT 44 is L.

Footwear runs on EU sizing consistent with Italian shoe conventions. A EU 42 in Rick Owens footwear generally fits someone whose measured foot length corresponds to EU 42.5 or EU 43 in other brands. Measure your foot in centimetres and compare against the insole length if the seller provides it. A difference of 1 cm or more between your measurement and the insole is worth raising before you buy, not after.

Shop Authentic Rick Owens at Bloc Magasin Zürich

We carry genuine pre-loved Rick Owens at Bloc Magasin, sourced and verified by our team. Stock is limited by nature, and pieces don't wait around.

One piece worth knowing about right now is the Rick Owens Quilted Vest, priced at CHF 350.00 and graded 9.5 out of 10. It's black, with diamond-stitched nylon body panels, contrast leather detailing at the chest and hip, a centre-front zip with a tan leather pull tab, and brass snap hardware at the shoulders. The kind of piece that works over a long-sleeve base or under a heavier coat in equal measure. On sizing: follow the apparel guidance above and go one size down from your usual.