Mary Queen of Shops

Hands up if you've seen this show! Mary Queen of Shops is a BBC2 program (so it should air on BBC America/ has aired on BBC Canada) starring retail guru Mary Portas as a savior to failing shops all over the UK. Mary started out just doing window displays in a shop called Harrods, and she now has a fashion marketing company called Yellowdoor, travels the world as a famous and successful retail consultant, has a television show (well, two. Mary Queen of Frocks airing next month of Channel 4. edit:// there's also Secret Shopper, so lets just say that Mary has a shit ton of shows), a book, as of August has her own STORE, and is currently touring with her shoe collection from UK brand Clarks Shoes. Jeeze, anything this woman can't do? If you are aware of her show, you know that Mary is on a mission to pump some much needed life back into the British high street ("With consumer confidence weakening for the third straight month in August, economists caution that retail sales will continue to wane in coming months." via Wall Street Journal), and she's giving it her all.

Mary's own line is on the 3rd floor of House of Fraser on Oxford street, and has a niche audience of women around their 40's to cater  to the disappearing venues for older women to shop for classic pieces at affordable prices and in a wonderful setting (from the sounds of it, its going to be closer to a lifestyle shop then a clothing store. Everything from housewares to wine will be available for purchase. I highly recommend checking out the telegraph article linked below for the details and her vision.)

Alright alright, enough of the talky talky, here are some pics of her first collection. Do you think she hit the nail on the head?

And now Mary's Autumn/Winter 2011 Clarks shoe collaboration!

nice to thick sturdy heel-- will be more comfortable then a thinner heel and will keep you steady on ice and other A/W weather surprises.

colour blocking is a huge trend.

gorgeous colour, loving the jewel tones. haha i think my nails are that colour right now actually.

texture completely ruined these for me, and wedged booties are my favourites. le sigh

relatively low and thick heel, tiny bit of a platform. everyday glam for the practical woman.

oh that colour again, and doesn't that fabric just scream autumn. 

these are wonderful, I'd love them for myself.

So, do you guys think its all age appropriate? Is this step in the right direction for the high street? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

I'll leave you guys with some rules from Mary making getting dressed in the morning easy as pie. (via telegraph)

1) Avoid dressing like a teenager; 2) Edit your trends; 3) Work with your proportions; 4) Keep it low maintenance; 5) Don't buy crap

<333

-Raghda

All photos from the Mary Portas facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/maryportas

Telegraph article on shop and vision: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/columns/tamsin-blanchard/TMG8691189/Mary-Portas-the-Queen-of-Shops-opens-her-own-fashion-store.html

Todays Wall Street Journal article on the British high street's financial woes here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204138204576598723856557188.html