As some of you may know, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease a couple of years ago and as a result, have been on many aggressive medications, including high doses of steroids which made me put on weight 😦 I’ve been really struggling to find Disney clothing in plus sizes so I was really excited when I came across EMP as they have a “plus size” range; and so I decided to order some items to try.
Its important to note that EMP do not do free returns unless you join their “Backstage Club” for £9.95 a year which gives you free delivery, free returns and various exclusive discounts from time to time. I decided that since they do a plus size range, I’d probably order more from them in future so I paid to become a Backstage member.
I ordered last Friday (12th May) and my items arrived today (18th May). Something I wasn’t aware of when I ordered (as I don’t believe its very clear on their website) is that all the items ship from Germany. Not a big issue, just something to be aware of if you want anything in a hurry from them, because it could take some time to arrive. I actually emailed them yesterday to ask if my order had shipped yet as I hadn’t had a dispatch email and they said it had shipped yesterday and could take 3-5 days to arrive, so I was quite surprised when it turned up today. Incidentally, I still haven’t had a dispatch email from them and my order status on the website still says its in the packing phase so they don’t appear to be great at updating their records.
Anyway, so my order came today. I got a “free” pen with it, and there was a sticker of the EMP logo in the box too. When you join the backstage club, you can get “free” gifts with your orders and you can choose what it is depending on the value of your order. To be honest, I didn’t want any of it as it was all stuff like a pen, or a keyring, or a drawstring bag etc. with the EMP logo on. There were a couple of t-shirts you could choose but you had to spend a lot to get those and they weren’t to my taste either, all a bit gothic. So I chose the pen as it at least would be useful!
I ordered two ladies t-shirts, one dress, and one man’s t-shirt. I fully intended to model the clothes for you but frankly, I couldn’t as none of it fits. I did check myself against the measurements given at the time I ordered but something clearly went amiss so all I can do is tell you how they fit me being the size I am in the sizes that I ordered. The first ladies t-shirt I ordered was this Zootopia t-shirt.
I am a size 18 in tops (UK sizing), but getting closer to a 16. I ordered this in a size XXL which should have been fine according to the measurements with room to spare to be safe, and when I have ordered this size on other sites the items have fitted fine and in fact been roomy. Unfortunately, this top is not! I would say its more like a small 16. I could get it on, but it looked bloody awful XD
After that disaster, I wasn’t holding out much hope for the next t-shirt I ordered which was this Guardians of the Galaxy one:
Again, I ordered it in a size XXL and again, it was much too small and more like a small 16 as the Zootopia one was. Very disappointing!
Next to try was the dress I ordered. Naturally by now, I was wondering if I should even bother trying it on after the t-shirt fiasco; but I thought I might as well so I knew for sure. The dress was this Lady & the Tramp one:
Once again, I ordered it in an XXL. As soon as I took it out the bag, I knew it wasn’t going to be great but not because it looked small; but because of the material. Its made of that horrible stretchy, clingy polyester type stuff, which it did say on the website and I normally would avoid stuff made of this; but it was really cute and I thought if I ordered it big enough, it would be ok. Well. It was just horrid. It was too big and loose, but at the same time, still clung to every bit of you so was incredibly and utterly unflattering! So that makes three out of the three items I ordered for myself going back.
The final item I ordered was this Guardians of the Galaxy t-shirt for my brother:
He is normally an XL so that’s what I ordered. I could already tell when I got it out the packet that it didn’t look as big as his usual t-shirts so I decided to try it on myself to get an idea. I know I’m a woman and therefore a different shape, it still would give me an idea as I have worn his other tops before and they have been large on me. Well this one fitted me fine, which means it won’t fit him! So unfortunately, four out of the four items I ordered will all be going back!
Now with regards to the “free” returns you get with an EMP backstage club membership; there was nothing in the box or on the paperwork about it. It just had general info about returns where it stated you had to cover the cost yourself. I emailed them straight away to ask about it and they haven’t actually responded to my email, but I just received one from Royal Mail telling me its my returns label for my EMP order to print off.
In general, I am pretty damn disappointed, especially as I forked out to join their backstage club too. However, they do sell Funko Pop’s and bags and stuff on their website so I’m sure I’ll order something like that from them in future to make it worthwhile (I hope!!). Definitely won’t be ordering any more clothes from them though!
LucysRoomToys 