Dear Marc Jacobs: Your Knitwear Sucks
November 4, 2007 by maggiefox
I bought this very pouffy Marc by Marc Jacobs red wool cardigan (with an almost Elizabethan raised collar and cropped sleeves) in San Francisco while I was supposed to be attending the Office 2.0 Conference this past September. I haven’t really spent that much time in SF, so the whole sunny/freezing/foggy/sunny/freezing thing was a bit new to me. Therefore I was (at times) under-dressed on this particular trip and legitimately needed something warm to wear. Of course I went to Neiman Marcus rather than the Gap, in keeping with my tradition of buying really expensive stuff while on business trips. Because I am an idiot.
I ended up spending about three hours in NM, finally settling on this sweater and a few other things, which necessitated the additional purchase of two ties for my husband as a guilt gift. Do you see how these things snowball? (More to come on the ties - and tie-tying in general - in a future post).
Did I mention that I bought this sweater about eight weeks ago? I believe I’ve worn it approximately six times - most recently to the October Toronto Girl Geek Dinner.
Exhibit A
Please note the pilling. The PILLING (sorry for the blurry snap - it’s surprisingly hard to take a picture of your own arm). I hate this so much I can’t even speak - I would take it as my due if I’d paid $13 for this at Old Navy or somewhere similar. “Serves you right,” I’d say to myself, “For buying cheap crap clothing made by sweatshop slaves. You deserve pilling - and worse.” And then I’d sprint to the nearest luxury goods store to wash the cheap feeling off my skin. BUT - wait a minute, I paid the equivalent of a weeks’ rent for this cardigan. At Neiman Marcus. Which translates into a cost-per-wear that is completely unacceptable.
So here’s what I have to say to you, Marc Jacobs - your knitwear sucks. No amount of delicious styling can cover up garbage quality, and therefore I’m done with you. It’s over. Don’t call, don’t write - we’re DONE.
That is so sad because it’s a damn nice sweater. I declare myself over with Marc Jacobs too, in solidarity.
Thanks, Charlotte. It’s cool that we used the Internet to break up with Marc Jacobs. He’s going to be really upset when he finds out.
[...] in an update to a previous post in which I broke up with designer Marc Jacobs because of his crap knitwear, here’s a picture of his store in the Forum Shopping [...]
[...] word from our fashion correspondent Maggie, writing as a Dedicated Follower of Fashion who is up to here with expensive knitwear that doesn’t last. Marc Jacobs, look out, [...]
Found you through Charlotte. Love, love this post. I’m totally with you. I’m fine with the cheap summer clothes I buy. I don’t expect it to last more than one summer. (Payless sandals, Old Navy tank tops) Winter clothes are a whole different story. Shame on you M.J.
Marc Jacobs is going to be noticing a dip in sales, I tell ya!
Ok let’s think a little. You bought a wool sweater. Wool pills no matter what the cost. That’s what wool does. Know your fibers before going off in a rage. Look it up in a textiles book if you don’t believe me, I’ll let you borrow mine.
Maybe I should re-title this post, “Dear Sheep: Your Wool SUCKS!”
Maggie, Im sorry but if the problem is the pilling of the sweater , it`s a reallity you have to live, because when you buy some thing 100% wool theres gonna to be pilling!
It`s one of the thing with wool!
I work in the knitwear industry. If you buy wool or cashmere it will pill to some extent. Remove the pills and after a bit of time they will stop apearing. Don’t just throw the garment in a corner and forget about it. With cashmere the garment can actually improve after a few very careful hand washes. Oh and by the way the washing process will remove many of these pills. try it and see.