Mary Portas is my new fashion crush, watching her on Mary Queen of Shops last night I spent as much time eyeing up her outfits and hair as I did surveying the antics of the two shop owners she was there to help. Portas is a renowned creative marketeer who has helped turn around the fortunes of Harvey Nichols and has worked with Oasis, Gossard and Clarks.
Last night however she was helping Soly and Tim, the owners of Brighton shop Ju-Ju which had suffered a downturn in sales after stagnation of their decor and a few misguided stock purchases -baby tees with "All daddy wanted was a blowjob" anyone? I must admit, being a Brighton resident my last purchase from Ju-Ju was a pair of retro jeans in 2000!
Portas did a great job of gently cajoling the pair without any of that clichéd hard-ass routine that you expect to see on celebrity expert shows. One of the quirks of the show was the way she talked to a mystery person off camera the whole time, which I found quite amusing but on the whole I loved the programme. She managed to get them to change the stock, and revamp the interior and by the time they had their preview opening they were back in business. Gemma and I both had our eyes on the fabulous green wrap teadress... We likey! With her red mop of hair and subtly trendy clothes draped over her lean frame Portas is a class act, and we're looking forward to the rest of the series.
