Edge O' Beyond

I really don't want to have to write this post, in fact it's eating away at me. I know lingerie bloggers have this secret code of conduct where nothing is ever negative and nothing hurts, etc but i've always been 100% honest in my reviews. And so i know i'm going to face endless shit for being 100% honest in this instance but really, i just want to make sure that if you do spend your hard earned money, you are satisfied with the fit and quality of the garment you receive and you don't end up making the same mistakes as me. This is going to be a long one, but i hope you persevere if you are considering purchasing from Edge O' Beyond at any point.

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For christmas my beau got me this lingerie set, the Edge O' Beyond Louisa bra and High Waist Brief. It was at the top of my wishlist and i had noted what sizes i would take. He spent the entire of November and December working overtime in his minimum wage, retail job to buy me this set. As a result he spent January (retail workers don't get paid for a 6 week period because of early holiday pay) completely skint, i know this because i was supporting him and feeding him all month. I was so over the moon that he'd got me the set i wanted, that i'd also be able to share Edge O' Beyond as a brand for small busts with you guys and that he'd picked it out himself (from my very extensive wishlist) because he thought it would look great on me. I tried it on, over knickers, the first time. Spending a solid 5 minutes trying to take a mirror selfie in which i didn't look terrible to send to Vicky to confirm that yes, i really did love the set (just not on me). A week later, whilst visiting my family homes, i decided to take some photographs for a review of my new set. I put the lingerie on, not over knickers because the man i loved had bought me this set, of course i wasn't sending it back. I took maybe 6 photos, before bursting into tears and removing the lingerie. The episode of Adventure Time i had put on as background noise hadn't finished so this all took around 10 minutes (an Adventure Time episode usually works out around 12 minutes just incase you weren't a fan).
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eob-1-1I immediately downloaded the photos (completely in the buff, thank god no one else was home) and sent them to my lingerie bloggers group chat. Something was off about this set, it sat about 2 inches lower on me than the model. On me it sat on my hips, stretching the cage detail and buckling the mesh. This was not a "high waist brief". We all agreed on this. Not only that but the cage detail on the bra, wouldn't sit flat... even when it was laid flat, in fact it was sewn in such a way that it was never going to sit flat. And on top of that, the cherub applique on one of the cups was coming away. There was about a 2cm gap that wasn't sewn on and a large loose thread. I checked the size chart on the website, I was within 0.5" for all of the measurements for an XS and i knew i fluctuated approx 0.5" during the month anyway and was at my largest right then (if you'd like to confirm yourselves, then the the time my waist was 24", my hips were 32.5" and my arse was 35.5", they're now 0.5" smaller a month on). I contacted another blogger who had recently reviewed the same set and had similar measurements to me, she confirmed that the brief didn't sit on her waist either, the cage detail on her bra wouldn't lie flat and the cherub applique wasn't sewn on all the way around the edge, but no loose threads. I then went to instagram to look at other customer photos, no one but the models in Edge O' Beyonds own product shots had the briefs hitting the right part of their waist.
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 I consulted my lingerie blogging friends and we decided the best course of action was to email my feedback to Edge O' Beyond directly, explain my situation and offer constructive criticism. I'd much rather post a review where i could say that the brand had offered solutions or taken it on board so that there was a positive spin than just outright review something as having a bad fit. 
In my initial email i stated (emphasis mine),
"I've had the set for a week now, tried it on twice for no longer than 10 minutes each time and honestly, i'm genuinely disappointed. Unfortunately the fit of the briefs seems to be very different from the ones in the professional shots on the product page (with these being a major selling point for me), they seem to come up a lot higher on the model, hitting her waist whereas on myself they fall on my hips and unfortunately this causes the tulle to wrinkle and is really unflattering. I also find the gusset to be quite thin. With the bra, one of the cherub appliques is coming away with a large loose thread and the cage detail seems a lot smaller and does not sit flat at all, it's almost as if maybe in the smaller sizes the straps are just too short for this or the design has been altered since the product shots were taken.  
I always want to support the brands i write about 100% with positive reviews and whilst the fit in the band and cups is spot on (a big positive in my books) i'm torn on how to share Edge O' Beyond with my readers without also being 100% truthful about the issues i've had with the construction and fit in other regards. I have a lot of respect for smaller indie brands and i'd honestly rather come to you first to explain the issues i've had than outright publish them to my readers.It's really paining me that not only do i have to explain to my partner why i don't feel comfortable in my body wearing the lingerie he bought me, but also the thought of writing a less than positive review about a brand that i genuinely love for their designs, campaigns and size inclusivity, but a brand that i unfortunately had a less than positive first experience with.  
I hope you can appreciate where i'm coming from and understand that i'd rather support an indie label and voice my concerns directly as opposed to going straight to a blog post. I'm not entirely sure what i expect to get out of this, but would like to hear back from you as i would always rather work with brands as opposed to causing unnecessary grief."
 Edge O' Beyond responded to this and asked for my measurements; underbust, overbust, waist, top of hip, fullest part of bottom, underbust to waist, waist to gusset, height. I remeasured and sent all of these back. My measurements were still either spot on or only 0.5" out for an XS according to the Edge O' Beyond size chart. I received this response (emphasis mine):
"After comparing these to our fit model who we have used across all of our ranges, you would be a size Small in the Louisa high waist brief. We would be happy to exchange this for you and this would also sit higher on your waistline. The model in the photo shoot is 5'7" and is wearing a Small HW brief... 
The cradle on the bra has only be changed minimally since the photo shoot, which is an in-house sample, and this has been to resolve issues with construction when it came to production. For the bunching on the elastic we have reviewed our production and noticed that the diagonal cage strapping has been inserted at slightly the wrong angle...  
Thank you so much for getting back to us with these issues you have encountered and I would like to apologise. We are always happy to receive feedback on our designs and the fit of our garments. "

 In this email Edge O' Beyond offered to exchange my Louisa Brief and restitch parts of my Louisa bra. I sent the garments back to the Edge O' Beyond offices, tracked. It cost me around £7 of my own money. When they had arrived i received this email:
"Unfortunately, the brief is stained and is not in a resale able condition, therefore we are unable to make an exchange. "
Which not only is mildly humiliating that the damp cloth i took to the gusset of the brief has either left a stain or not removed something i myself didn't pick up on but also at no point was i told in any of my email exchanges that the briefs needed to be in resalable condition or that they would be resold. I would NEVER ever send something back to be resold that had touched my genitals. I'm a clean person but i'm damn considerate and I wore those knickers for at least 10 minutes without any buffer between my bits and that gusset and no one else should ever have to come into contact with that. I responded like so:
 "I checked the briefs over before I sent them and saw no staining myself but they have been tried on once over knickers and worn (for about 10 minutes) without knickers. As I stated in my original email, I was not trying to return the item, I knew it was no longer in resalable condition due to my wearing it (and since I was not the original purchaser of the item anyway) but making you aware of the fit issues I was experiencing, and which according to the size charts on your website, I should not be. 
Your offer of exchanging the garment for a size up was not given under the condition that the garments were in resalable condition and I certainly would not ever send something back that I had worn if this was the case. I was under the impression that your gesture of goodwill was in response to my fit issues and not just being treated as a straight exchange. I would not have spent £7 sending the items back tracked if I had been informed they needed to still be in resalable condition beforehand." 
I was then contacted by the Director and Designer of Edge O' Beyond who told me that there had been some "confusion", they had been "under the impression that you had tried the garments on with your own bottoms underneath" and that " We can offer you a new pair of high waist's in a size Small at wholesale price." So i responded urging that i had mentioned the briefs had been worn twice, and gave no impression that this was over knickers and that really should have been clarified on their end. I asked to be reimbursed for my shipping charges since i had sent back a pair of knickers unnecessarily and considering the bra was faulty. I concluded by saying:
"If you are unwilling to take this any further then I'd like my briefs to be returned to me and I do hope you make a note on the product page that customers who are average height or taller must size up. In the meantime I will be posting a review of the Louisa set as is, in the hopes that at least I can relay the message to any potential customers as to what sizes they should be purchasing in this style."
and this came back (emphasis is mine):
"When you previously spoke about wearing the briefs before (tried it on twice for no longer than 10 minutes each time) we assumed that they had been tried on with briefs underneath, which is different to being worn. If we were aware of this we would have notified you of our terms, which can be found on our site, as it is a general store policy that we cannot accept returns that are not in their original condition. When we offered an exchange you could have told us the garments were not in a returnable condition.
The high waist brief you have previously spoken about with our team would have sat higher on your waist in a size small which matches the measurements we were given. 

As stated you previously only wore the garments for a few minutes at each time, which I assume is not long enough to photograph the garments in a manner which will match the standard seen throughout your blog."
So here we are. Honestly i was not expecting such a snippy, rude response blaming me for not understanding their gesture and clarifying the garments couldn't be resold and also questioning how long it takes me to photograph my blog posts (either accusing me of wearing the garments for longer than i stated or somehow acting like i'd rather put my blog aesthetic over making sure my readers know what size to order in a particular set...). As you can probably tell i am not happy with the photos in this blog post, they make me cry but that's not what is important to me. As i replied to the director and designer of Edge O' Beyond:
"I certainly feel it is my responsibility to share any fit issues and apparently customer service issues I have with the people who are thinking of purchasing from your company so they don't end up in this situation and are happy with their purchases, if that means putting out photos in not 100% happy with then I will, my integrity comes before aesthetics, always. As a paying customer (or rather my poor boyfriend), I feel I have been misled in a number of instances, sold a faulty product and now I'm being treated rather rudely by the director and designer of said company over a misunderstanding that I am certainly not at fault for."
Overall i'm pretty shocked and upset over this whole thing and i'm dreading office hours tomorrow when i'm sure another unpleasant response will be thrown my way. If they'd have turned around after my first email and said they'd taken it all on board but could do nothing for me, i'd have walked away far happier than i am now. Instead i'm out of pocket and wondering how on earth i tell my Beau that the lingerie he bought me, even though it was the right size according to the size chart, doesn't fit the way it should and as a result wearing it makes me cry. He's a lot more out of pocket than i am and now knowing how the director of the company acts towards customers, i'm not sure i'll ever look at their lingerie the same way.


So to summarise;- Even though my measurements match up with those on the size chart, the XS briefs did not fit correctly and the bra was faulty on two accounts. I originally told Edge O' Beyond this and explained i had worn the knickers on two occasions, for no more than ten minutes each time. I was offered an exchange for a size up without being told that the briefs needed to be unworn as they were to be resold. I spent my own money on postage to send the items back. They are now refusing to reimburse me for my postage and blaming me for all accounts: the wrong size, the "confusion" when it came to the conditions of the exchange (which you can clearly see weren't even mentioned by them). Edge O' Beyond have fixed my bra and up until today, correspondence with them was lovely, but their misleading images of their high waisted knickers paired with the inaccurate size guide means it's hard to know where to begin when buying from them and it seems like they will take no blame for this, with my minimum wage earning arse being poorer because of it.

The Louisa set is a hot topic right now, it's definitely high on a lot of people's wishlists so i urge you to size up or email the company directly and ask before purchasing if you want to make sure your brief fits properly. I'm sure if you send them your measurements, and include your height they will be able to advise you correctly. I hope this helps at least one person get the right fit and feel wonderful in their hard earned lingerie. Truly i do.

Updates to this post/situation:
My Louisa set arrived back today. As discussed, EOB had fixed the two faults on the bra (the cage detail does sit flat now and the cherub has been properly sewn on to the high standard i would expect from the price of the bra) but are still disputing any responsibility for the brief and thus (as confirmed in the note in the package) still believe they are under no duress to exchange the brief as this falls outside of their exchange policy.
Before this however, i got to thinking that surely this is some kind of violation of trading standards, since they are knowingly misleading customers into buying an expensive garment that runs a whole lot smaller. After contacting EOB about the fit of the Louisa briefs, they told me i should have bought a size Small with my 32" hips, the size guide on EOB say that 32" hips should buy a size XS, the XS Louisa briefs only just stretch to 30" around the hips. This is selling a product under misleading circumstances right?

So i contacted the Citizens Advice Bureau (COB) seeking some guidance and they confirmed that EOB are in breach of The Consumer Rights Act 2015 wherein all tangible and moveable goods supplied by a trader to a consumer must match the description that was provided by the trader before the purchase. By selling the Louisa Briefs a size smaller than those listed on the website and not notifying consumers before purchase, they are in breach of contract and consumers are entitled to request a suitable form of redress, such as a full refund or a replacement, irregardless of the resalable condition of the goods. So by refusing me an exchange they are actually in violation of the law. Go figure.

I contacted EOB yesterday evening with this information, making a formal written request for an exchange for goods that do match the description (i.e. the sizing) that the Louisa briefs were sold under. So far this has been ignored and honestly i'm not expecting a response because of the terribly unprofessional way they've acted thus far, it doesn't surprise me they don't seem to give two shits about this.

ALSO since i posted this review, a few people have come forward and mentioned issues with the quality and fit of their EOB garments and issues with customer service too. One person described their customer service as, "very poor" and stated that the fit of her suspender belt was a lot shorter than the one in the product shots and that the back straps of the suspender belt and bra were of a different colour (not what you expect for a matching set). Another person mentioned that the fit of her bra was so off she couldn't wear it without her boobs popping out and that EOB only addressed this by telling her to "pull the strap tighter" ignoring the fact that the bra is also sold as one you can wear without the strap (something this customer cannot do).

Oh and considering they're ignoring my emails, this also means they're not reimbursing me for my postage costs of sending back an obviously faulty bra for them to repair. Something they cannot dispute is under their jurisdiction to incur the costs of fixing.

Thank you all for your overwhelming support on this matter. It looks like i'll probably be left with £175 of unwearable lingerie and an upset beau but luckily the CAB are happy to escalate my case to the right authorities so at least, hopefully, EOB will be warned, educated or monitored over their criminal activity (which apparently violating The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is, according to them).

At the time of this post they have not made any updates to the product page or the size guide to advise any customers buying the Louisa about the size inconsistencies (jeez even AP notes when items run exceptionally small) and so are still misleading customers into buying the wrong size.

Really, at this point i can only conclude that Edge O' Beyond don't care about their product quality, don't care about their customers and don't care about complying with UK trading laws.