Asymmetric Poncho: How to Wear It, Style It, Size It

Where The Long Point Sits Decides Everything

With an asymmetric poncho, how to wear it comes down to one decision made before any other: where the long point sits. Forward, it draws a vertical line down your front. On the hip, it breaks up a straight silhouette. At the back, it stands in for a light coat. Place the point deliberately, then keep whatever still shows underneath lean.

We've designed womenswear in Melbourne since 2014, and the Asymmetric Poncho is one of our own cuts, so the rules below are about the diagonal hem rather than the even one. If your piece falls the same length all the way round, these placement rules won't do much for you. It sits in a knitwear range built on premium Australian and New Zealand Merino, including our Merino Air-Knit technique, and across the collection we prioritise GOTS-certified organic cotton and RWS (Responsible Wool Standard) Australian Merino. The shape sits with the rest of our Knitwear.

Front, Hip And Back Do Different Jobs

• Point forward. The longest fall runs down your centre front, which reads as one unbroken vertical. This is the placement for a day when you want length rather than width.
• Point on the hip. The diagonal crosses your body and lands to one side, which puts a curve into an otherwise straight line from shoulder to hem.
• Point to the back. The front sits at its shortest, so your hands and your bottom half stay clear. It's the version that works when you're in and out of the car all day.

1. Put the base layer on first and smooth it down. A slippery top is the reason a poncho creeps sideways by lunchtime.
2. Drop the poncho on and set the point where you want it before you look in the mirror, not after.
3. Even the weight across both shoulders with your palms flat, working outward from your neck.
4. Check it seated. Sitting is where the drape re-settles, and a fold you've already smoothed while seated tends to stay put.

Keep What Goes Underneath Lean

On an asymmetric poncho, how to wear it well is mostly a question of the layer underneath. The poncho supplies all the volume the outfit needs, so the layer beneath it should be fine and close. A jersey tee in a cotton blend is the reliable choice. Our 3/4 Sleeve Swing Tee at $89.95 is 97% cotton with 3% elastane, which is enough stretch to sit flat and enough cotton to stop the knit sliding around on top of it. Anything ribbed or chunky underneath fights the drape and adds width at the ribs where you least want it. There are more of them in our Tops.

Because one side is shorter, that side is the one setting your proportions, and it's the side to dress to. A slim or straight leg under the short side keeps the whole line reading vertically. Our Signature Straight Pant is 73% viscose, 23% nylon and 4% elastane, and our signature Mullet waistband pairs a flat front with an elasticated back. Every trouser, pant and lounge bottom in our collection is carefully cut, measured and styled to flatter curves in all the right places rather than scaled up from a smaller pattern. The rest of the range is in Bottoms.

One layer does go over the top. On a genuinely cold day the poncho becomes a mid-layer, and two features of the coat decide whether it works. The first is armhole room, which is why our outerwear features generous armholes. The second is what the coat does at its own hem: our outerwear features zip sides and hem, so the bottom of the coat isn't a closed tube compressing the poncho's long point inside it. Our Longline Zip Hem Winter Coat has a main fabrication of polyester and nylon. Wear the point to the back under a coat, since a front point pushed against a closed placket is where the diagonal creases. Everything with those details sits in Jackets & Outerwear.

Belting Works Against The Diagonal

It's tempting to belt it. Skip that here. A belt pulls the hem into a horizontal ring and flattens the one feature you bought the piece for, and the diagonal doesn't come back once you've squashed it. If you want waist definition, get it from underneath instead. A fitted bottom half and a lean base layer define the shape without touching the hem.

Three Registers From One Piece

The same poncho reads as three different outfits, and which one you get is mostly a question of what you put with it. For weekends, a jersey tee, a straight leg and flat shoes. For work, a slim trouser with everything under the knit kept plain, which is the quietest way to wear it if your office runs conservative. Tonal is also how the colour tends to work hardest, keeping the eye on the line of the hem rather than on the contrast.

For evening, put a column underneath. A long-sleeved midi in a single colour gives the poncho a clean vertical to sit against, and letting a straight dress hem show below the long point is the version of uneven layering that tends to look deliberate rather than accidental. Our Dresses are where to find that column.

Sizing, Price And Buying It Online

The Asymmetric Poncho is $149.95, style code 25K3598. TIRELLI garments are true to the standard Australian women's size, so if you usually size up because you like things loose, we recommend buying your true size with us rather than sizing up. Our size guide runs XS (8) through to 3XL (20) with the measurements listed for each, starting at a bust circumference of 83 to 88 cm at XS. Measure yourself against our 'how to measure' guide, then choose your size from the size chart on our size guide before you order. We ship to Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and when it arrives, follow the care label attached to the garment.

Plus Sizes Are Cut, Not Scaled

In our Plus Size knitwear we never simply scale up smaller garment patterns, so every curve, sweep, neck drop and hemline is carefully measured to flatter natural frames while ensuring true ease of movement. That matters more on a diagonal hem than on a straight one, because a scaled pattern moves the point as well as the width. Our Plus Size Edits are where those pieces are gathered, and if you want to talk it through before you order, Contact Us on 03 9088 3339.

Returns And Exchanges If The Fit Is Wrong

If the fit isn't right, we handle returns and exchanges through our Return or Exchange an Order page, and you can talk it through with us first at contact@tirelli.com.au.

Frequently Asked Questions

Petite Frames Do Better With The Point Forward

Point forward gives you one long vertical instead of a diagonal cutting across a shorter torso. Keep the base layer and the trouser in the same colour family, and check where the short side lands on you before you settle the drape. Our product pages publish the model's height and the size they are wearing, for instance that Katya is 178 cm tall and is wearing a size S, so you can take the difference between that height and yours and move the hem you see in the photo up or down to suit.

Broad Shoulders Suit The Point On The Hip

Moving the point to one hip sends the weight of the fabric down and across rather than square across your shoulders. Pair it with a fine base layer so nothing adds bulk at the top, and let a straight or slim leg carry the line down.

Driving And Eating Need The Point At The Back

Point back is the practical placement. It keeps the fabric off your lap and away from your hands, which matters at a table and behind the wheel. Push the fabric back off both forearms before you sit rather than after, and it stays where you put it.

Choosing Between Our Three Asymmetric Pieces

Everything above is about how to wear an asymmetric poncho, which is to say a diagonal hem, so it applies to the poncho rather than to the two knits beside it.

• Asymmetric Poncho. 70% cotton and 30% merino wool. The layering piece, worn over what you already have on, and the one all the placement advice here is about.
• Asymmetric Wrap Knit. 65% acrylic, 20% nylon and 15% merino wool, and priced at $149.95, the same as the poncho. The lightest touch of merino of the three.
• Asymmetric Zip Detail Knit. $139.95, in the same 70% cotton and 30% merino wool blend as the poncho.

If you're deciding between the three, Contact Us on 03 9088 3339 or at contact@tirelli.com.au.

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