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.
yeah they’re right wool pills no matter and i infact do know the knitwear designer for marc by marc jacobs and this really is not a design or product fault its a fact of life wool pills.
how often and how did you wash it – we have quite a few things from marc and were/are always happy – but i liked your way of telling a lot – this is so much web 2.0
knitwear will pill, one way or another. There’s little way to tell whether knitwear durability is good or not depending on the pill? Although thicker yarns tend to pill less than fine ones, tighter twists tend to pill less, coloureds may bleed, and all else being equal good ones may pill less than inferior ones.
As for my own knitwear experience:
1. A friend’s sportweight cashmere jacket/jumper had to have its pills ‘shaved’ maybe 2-3 times…? It was passed on to me; I wear it on a daily basis and yet since it came to my possession it barely pills at all.
2. A fine secondhand cashmere jumper has been pilling like there’s no tomorrow for a good few years (I only wear it to bed, so it’s kinda tolerable.)
3. A shop-bought fine superwash wool jumper of mine had come out of the washing machine so crinkled it may as well have turned into linen in the wash (multiple heavy steaming eventually got rid of them.)
4. I have a M4MJ cardigan (bought in 2004-05?) with diamante studs ‘scattered’ on its front, which was rather hell to wear if I had to carry a bag on my shoulders as the studs’ metal backing would rub against my skin. Boo boo. Last time I checked (xmas09), though, Marc Jacobs knitwear was lined with silk twill. Maybe a new head of knitwear was involved? Who knows.
it’s kind of sad that you would put one of the best designers in the world on blast when you don’t much about fabric. i dont buy wool for these reasons. and was this a marc by marc jacket or his high end items. oh i see marc by marc…the quality of an item also depends on the cost. it didnt cost you 3 grand, sweaters pull, sorry u didnt know.
Dear Maggie,
Just one more thing….Most of the items one buys at expensive stores are also made in the sweat shops of China, Taiwan, India, etc….
They’re all out to make the biggest return on their money.
But yes, as the others have all stated, natural wool will pill but because the fibers arent stronger than synthetic, they will work their way to the top and eventually fall (break) off.
I also had a horrible experience with the quality of Marc Jackass. I bought a bowtie for 25.00 and wore it out to the premier of James Franco’s new movie Hush a few weeks ago. Not less than two hours,the faux silk started to fuzz up. I immediately took it off and put it inside my coat pocket to keep it from further damage. Mind you all I did was wear it,half the time sitting in a theater. It’s not like I went raving with it.
I took it back the next day and even the employees told me how much the return policy sucks. Not only did they agree that is was a cheap piece of crap but they were embarrassed that they could not take it back due to their sweatshop ethics. I fucking hate Marc Jacobs and will never shop there again.
Howl,not Hush.my bad.
There is a new knitwear company about to launch in London. Look out for Baron De Hezeus.
Do you only complain about quality? Marc Jacobs’ lines suck on all fronts, styling included!