The curved leg on NETTLE STUDIOS’ Balloon Pants depends on extra room at the hip. The brand’s size guide treats that space as part of the shape, so choosing the fit also means choosing how the pants will hang.
Nettle’s design notes describe repeated fittings as its patterns develop: somebody has to decide where the room belongs and see what happens when a person wears it.
The people behind the pattern
In the studio’s account of its beginnings, owner and designer Alex started making clothes after college with her friend Lili. They worked in very small runs. Some fabric was left over from college.
Alex’s current work includes buying fabric, fit modeling and visits to production partners, according to Nettle’s team page. Kursten describes another part of that process: she models plus-size fits and identifies her own size as 4XL.
The company says its clothing is designed in Brisbane, California, handmade in San Francisco and custom dyed in Novato.
Room can make different shapes
The Recycle Bin Balloon Pants use a blend of 56% lyocell and 44% linen. The listing describes it as prewashed and preshrunk, with extra volume through the hip giving the leg its rounded outline.
Nettle’s Black Everywear Pants use the same stated fiber blend with a straight, wide leg. That offers a different shape to compare if you like room in your clothes but aren’t drawn to the balloon outline.
The SK8R GRL Mushroom Dress takes volume into puff sleeves and a slight high-low hem. Its fabric is sheer polyester organza with opaque black dots.
Nettle suggests layering that dress over a slip dress or jeans and a tee. What goes underneath becomes part of the outfit, so the transparency asks for a different plan from an opaque dress.
Give the room a measurement
For pieces in its OS range, Nettle uses OS−, OS, OS+ and OS++; OS means oversized. Other pieces use lettered sizes, so check the particular garment’s chart.
Its size charts recommend measuring a comparable garment you already like wearing. They also explain the extra space allowed between a body measurement and a garment, with greater hip room recommended for the Balloon Pants to preserve their shape.
A size label names the category, the measurements show where the room is. Compare the waist and hip space separately rather than expecting one familiar size to describe every cut.
The material deserves the same attention. Nettle’s fabric-sourcing notes say it uses deadstock when available, but not every piece is deadstock and some of that fabric is synthetic.
The organza dress and the linen-blend pants need separate decisions about material, so read the composition and care information for the particular garment before choosing the feel and maintenance you want.
The print can catch your eye; the shape and fabric need to give it a place in your everyday clothes.
Editorial spotlight based on the brand’s published information; not a hands-on product review.