Me + EM quality and value question for the experts!

[reversegear]

I haven’t ever ordered before but due to the try before you buy I have just received this dress and the white version in sizes 10 & 12.

https://www.meandem.com/jacquard-cottage-garden-print-maxi-shirt-dress-belt-navy-multi

It fits like a glove size 12 and is a snug but perfect fit, I now have to decide to return and at £325 full price I’m just on the fence if it was maybe £150-200 I wouldn’t be hesitant but does this brand wash and wear well, is there any give over time? Do they last well?

it’s a perfect (now) for but if I did put on any weight it wouldn’t fit? So do I size up, is there much between sizes with this brand.

arhhh I have 3 days left to decide.

Oh and do they sell out or do I hold fire for reductions and sales?

For me at 5’2 this is a fab smart ankle boots for meetings and then trainers and leather jacket Sunday dinner kind of dress. I could even throw a cardy over and wear chunky biker boots.

Help!!

I have just one dress from them that I pushed the boat and bought for work this Summer.
I feel great in it, and when I wear it I ALWAYS get compliments about it. It was £100 less than yours though!

The quality is wonderful.
I also ordered some trousers in their sale and the quality and tailoring was first class, unfortunately the style just didn't suit me. I've never been more disappointed! I would have bought both pairs in a heartbeat.

£325 is an awful lot of money for a dress. Only you know if you can justify that amount.

It's a gorgeous dress.
(Fortunately for my bank balance the dress you linked has long sleeves which just don't suit me!)

They is a gorgeous dress. If it suits you, it’s perfect for Autumn. It is unlikely to be reduced until the Winter sale, so you’d miss out on wearing it now. If you are concerned about shrinkage (it’s not an issue I’ve had.l with the brand), either send to the dry cleaners or wash on a cool wool cycle.

I’ve bought a few things from Me and Em and have generally been pleased with the quality. I am very careful with how I wash it as it is expensive, but the designs and fabrics are worth it IMO. TBH, even moderately decent quality clothing is expensive nowadays. Me and Em is comparable in price to other brands I rate such as Poetry, Brora Cefinn and Toast, and head and shoulders above brands used to be reliable but are now much poorer (looking at you, Boden.) I think the secret might be to buy less and look after it well.

But in short, keep the dress, it’s bloody lovely!

for me to find a lovely fitting dress, that is a perfect length at 5’2 is like the holy grail, I’m just debating ordering the next size, I think I’m nervous as I’ve just lost 6kg so worried my weight will magically reappear and my dress won’t fit..

Im glad to hear about the quality, oh and it has pockets!!

I only buy a few new things every year, a few pieces of cashmere, maybe a new cut of jeans and a dress and roll neck. I’m a jeans and jumper mostly and I’m dog walking or gym gear most of the other days, so this feels a bit special.

I have quite a few pieces from Me&Em. I like the quality of the pieces I have bought. I do think their prices are getting a bit silly now though, but everything is ridiculous at the moment! That’s a lovely dress that you will be able to wear to many different places, dressed up or down, it looks very versatile. And you say it has pockets! Case closed, lol. Look after it well and you’ll have it for years. Keep it.

Size up. With this cut, it won't look baggy and there's room if you gain weight.

its my only hesitation, I’ve spend most of my life at a 10-12 and gradually gained when I started HRT and have just managed to drop back to a nice curvy size 12, but I do worry at 50 I’ve got lots of body changes to ride out.

Oh poo I’ve just gone online to order the 14 and it’s 4 weeks pre order.. so do I keep the 12 that fits and that’s my motivation to keep weight off.

I have a few dresses and tops, generally the quality is good. I would avoid anything in the sweat shirting fabric as that bobbles within a couple of washes

Agree with pp over pricing, I bought mine when the dresses were still around £150, now they are easily double that

If you want to be wearing it through winter I’d go for the next size up. And (don’t hate me,) if that size is a little too roomy, get it altered. I say this because you may find you want to add a layer or two beneath, and you won’t have that flexibility if it’s already snug.

Also, given that it’s viscose you’ll want to avoid cleaning it too often, so a bit of space between dress and skin might be a good thing.

(There is also the small matter of one of my all time favourite dresses loitering unworn in my wardrobe for years, because I bought the only one available in a size that I could just about squeeze into at my smallest.)

The Me and Em frock is not my own style, but if I saw someone wearing it I’d probably think they were well dressed and able to buy nice clothes.

(I don’t think it’s overpriced, at all, assuming it’s well finished inside as well as outside. Have you checked the seams?)

If you buy the larger size it may be a smidgen longer. I do know that the brand try to make dresses that can be easily shortened.

@OffToSeaInABlizzard seams are all lovely and the zippers are running well and nicely finished, even the internals in the pockets feel good.

i can take a tiny bit more length it’s midi almost on the model but maxi on me but would show the top of ankle boots at the 12.

Ive taken advice and ordered the 14 it’s on a 4 week delay now but its just safer to get that taken in if i keep loosing weight.

My weight loss was recent and fast due to surgery and being unwell but it’s been a real blessing as it’s shifted a good stone that had crept on so I feel so much better, pretty helm bend on staying at this size now.

Thank for the tip..

I have quite a lot of me and em clothing and generally it is good quality. I haven’t liked their last 2-3 season designs as much so most of my clothes are older, but they all look as good as new. Sales are good.

The quality is good but I still think their stuff is overpriced nowadays. It used not to be.

I may have a trawl of Vinted and look at older seasons if the fit is as nice as this dress.

I think you always know if you want a thing to wear now - whatever the cost - as opposed to waiting three or six months to get it at a reduced price. I love sales, and have happily stalked things for years sometimes, but there’s an unquantifiable value in having something at the start of the season.

Hope you’ll enjoy your (pre-ordered) dress when it arrives!

Another thought - related to the price rise - there’s always a danger, with the brand’s new found high exposure, that buyers might see their item being modelled by someone on the front bench during PMQs. (Which I would not like.) But this dress is quite … quiet, so any duplication will be much less noticeable than if it were bright orange or green.

Gorgeous dress, but I'm not fussed about the material. Viscose tends to shrink and crease easily.

@reversegear If you are gaining weight on HRT, then the dosage isn't quite right for you. If correctly prescribed, HRT should not cause any weight gain.

If you can afford to take the view that this dress is a well deserved treat after you’ve been ill, and provided you’re going to get lots of wear out of it over the next few months - no saving for best - then personally I’d go with the one that fits you now. It’s a risk - especially viscose which can shrink - but you’ve had a shit time and deserve something lovely.

I’m not a big Vinted customer but Me and Em seems to hold it’s value reasonably well so you might be able to recoup some of the money if the worst came to the worst.

Lovely dress, enjoy it.

Sorry I hadn’t seen your update when I posted

I’m private it’s /small patches and continuing progesterone as I have endometriosis, my own weight gain coincided with being 45+ HRT and general tiredness so lower exercise, but there is now evidence that HRT alone can cause gain mostly water retention but it’s not been researched fully. (Surprise!)

but I’m much happier with that pesky stone gone.

Definitely worth a look on Vinted. Me+Em often do the same dress in different prints year on year.

I was a private patient too, seeing a HRT specialist. It still took her a few goes to get the balance of oestrogen right as I am super-sensitive to it. I also used creams and lozenges rather than patches as the latter are harder to control the dosage with on a day-to-day basis. Oestrogen attracts weight gain, and makes one hold excess water too. It's no wonder HRT can, and often does cause some kind of weight gain (if not correctly dosed).

Once we hit the correct balance (for me), the weight around 5 kilos and two cup sizes fell off effortlessly.

Anyway, so glad you managed to lose that pesky stone. It' super hard when your hormones aren't in alignment. (Went into perimenopause at 40. Now at 50, am almost 6 years post-menopause. HRT was miraculous).

Will keep everything crossed you stay on top of this.

Re. the dress. Buy the dress if you love it. It would also be a useful gauge of your weight! Used to quite like Me+Em in the early days. More mixed about it now the prices have risen hugely. Quality still pretty decent though.

I only have one outfit, that I fell in love with, purchased a year or so back now, but I notice that a comparable version is much more, so I would not have purchased at that price. I wonder if the increase in pricing is to.push who can buy their clothing, so paying more and less chance of seeing someone else in the outfit, that ploy of some brands to add cache to their clothing. I like it, just not sure the fabric compositions of some items justify the cost. Now out of my price range, previously just in it.

I love ME & EM, I have quite a lot of things from them. Their styles tend to be quite classic so can be worn for years.
I have brought a couple of dresses & tops in the sale. IMO The quality is excellent.