Stylish with Substance

Marc Jacobs reintroduced grunge to our tortured eyes, with his Fall 2006 show. From the beginning of my viewing, the phrase rolling around my tongue was "bag lady." I can hardly comprehend that there is style there, and I wonder if Marc went crazy. Alas, collections can vary like this, they can disappoint, and designers have their sways.

There were some lovely pieces, somewhere in there, and some of that Marc Jacobs I used to love. But no ensemble was layered properly; nothing fit. And that relates to the items matching their partners, being suitable in today's cosmo, and the sheer size of certain items. The layering was long, the pants were wide, and knit and fur hats were big and bigger. It was a bit too familiar, like Jacobs unfortunately took the worst of his Spring show last Fall and ran with a bigger, more disastrous version.

At least "bag lady" doesn't just relate to the apparent homeless need to pile on coats (not that the suited can afford these prices); no, it hints toward the marvelous handbags. Tortoise shell chain straps and more inventive ways of using a push-lock are two of the new things to which we'll be looking forward for the Marc Jacobs Fall handbag collection. (See more soon at Pursed Lips .net!) Still, steep prices and sheer ridiculousness is in the term again, for many of those bags were bigger than my torso ... although not if I were wearing an outfit from the show. Ironically sad.

Glam Watch: GlamMedia + GlamNetwork + GlamFashionWeek

You'll get my Marc Jacobs Fall Collection review soon, but for now, you can guess it is not complimentary. First, it's the shoes. Who could ever predict a high designer, even one who's always made chunky and odd shoes, to create this lace-up boot? (pictured right) I'm shocked to near speechlessness! This is against my very important rules on a deep, deep level. Utter horridness.

Then we have the dutch shoes; the disjointed, thick, high-high heels, stubby, upturned pointy toes. Then a similar shoe in 60s white with a bottom wedge, which we've seen before, but never this ugly. Can these even be given normal names, like pump or d'Orsay? Well, no. Sorry.

These belong 5 times the size of life, in an art exhibit, but still keep them away from me. And the boots? They belong rotting in a trash can from the early 90s.