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Telly addicts

where's the mary portas thread

82 replies

grumpypants · 04/10/2011 21:47

Can't stand her, but still, nice to chat

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WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 11/10/2011 23:46

It was when she was meeting Liz Jones. Now, not sure if I have missed something, but have the prices for this stuff been mentioned at all yet?

GrendelsMum · 11/10/2011 23:49

this may not work for other people, but I am very petite and curvy (by which I mean I am very short with large hips, thighs and breasts compared to how small my frame is, not that I am plump). I find that Italian and Spanish clothes shops are much more likely to fit me than UK shops. Adolfo Dominguez is good for work.

MelinaM · 11/10/2011 23:58

No, no mention of price points yet ...not unless I've gone deaf that it!

I've no idea who Liz Jones is, what am I missing?!

kitya · 11/10/2011 23:58

Fair play to Liz, there was no love lost there Smile

MelinaM · 11/10/2011 23:58

I do feel that her collection is aimed at 'her shape' tall, skinny etc...

stance · 12/10/2011 10:01

Well, that was interesting! They edited out most of the 'debate', but I really didn't like the collection - especially given how much effort I'd put in to explain my tastes and needs.

That's nothing special, of course - there are thousands of collections I don't like, and when I go into a boutique I don't usually have to defend myself for not liking them...

I know exactly what I do like, and it's out there - probably not cut right, or in my size, but it's there. When designers start to get excited by real women, then we'll see some change, but Portas's evident dislike of my figure (and by extension all those like it) suggests she won't be one of them.

You can read my take on the fashion industry and older women here:
penelopeelse.com/2011/10/fashion-and-the-visible-woman/

Tigresswoods · 12/10/2011 10:04

I loved what MP did before but for some reason am rapidly going off her. Dildos? Why?

daenerysstormborn · 12/10/2011 10:52

stance, i loved your duct tape body cast and think the no-brainer dress is very aptly named as it's obviously been designer by someone with no brain Wink

kitya · 12/10/2011 13:28

Dildos in boutiques has already been done. Is she suggesting that her target group (me) arent having enough sex? That maybe true for some (me) but, I would not buy my toys with my tights. I believe she said they make great "accessories" wtf?????

I suspect this collection is already reduced.

Its a shame, because there is a market.

tillytips · 12/10/2011 14:43

i like her. I don't like all of her stuff, just as i don't like everything in any other shop. The No brainer dress has some excellent reviews. I am thinking of buying it myself. I'm a bit younger than her target group,perhaps i'll be banned from buying it!!

dingdongthewitchisdead3 · 12/10/2011 17:18

stance loved how you dealt with her in yesterday's show...was that you who said about the body under the dress being much better than it looked with her dress on? (haven't got the actual words right - they were better than that!) Fab line. If that was you, I loved how you stood up to her in a non shouty but straight talking way. It really ruffled her and made her think.

For the record, I am a huge MP fan and love what she's done to challenge Retail and how it should operate. However, her strongest talent lies in turning existing brands around and she should stick to that. There is endless mileage in going out helping all kinds of retail outlets that are struggling. She's too strong a character to develop a fashion range for the masses...and the PRICES!!! I am fairly straight up and down and it would probably all look ok on me but I simply could not afford any of it. It's absolutely not mainstream affordable fashion and that's where she went wrong. There is plenty of wearable stuff for women in that price range already IMO.

Her life story is incredible - inspirational actually. Read about it in Marie Claire this week. Just hope she can get back on the track she was on before this HOF carry on.

stance · 12/10/2011 18:39

Ah, thanks dingdongthewitchisdead3!

I actually thought it was a nuts thing to say - you know when your mouth says something completely at odds with what your brain is thinking...? I was trying to be tactful, but the dress felt like I was squashed into a tight tube of thick hot felt (I'd said I hate bodycon!), and Portas wanted an answer...

I've had many "arrogant rude b!tch, she's delusional" comments for it, which is nice Sisterhood stuff! God forbid any woman should be relaxed about her body. Why do people think we have an obligation to conform to some image they have of beauty? Their opinion of my figure simply doesn't matter! All that matters is that I like what I see in the mirror, and I didn't in that black dress. In any other shop the shopkeeper wouldn't be demanding that I justify not liking the dress... And for "I/my" in this rant, substitute "you/your" - this is about all of us.

They edited the scenes so that I was just a stream of complaints, but I did say plenty of complimentary things. I thought the blouse was beautiful, for example, but it just wasn't me, wasn't my life. I thought it looked great on Genevieve, though, and I would kill for a roll of the fabric. By the time Portas was trying to put me into hyperheels (I'd said I hate hyperheels!), though, I'd had a skinful of her sniping at me, and said so. Part of the design process is to accept that people may not like the thing you created. Tough.

All in all, I think it was a terrible missed-opportunity for several things: for young designers to be brought in and introduced to the whole older-woman concept, for us to co-create some outfits, for a nationwide older-woman-fashion competition to be initiated. I was quite depressed by the end of that day.

dingdongthewitchisdead3 · 12/10/2011 19:36

Lol stance...normally I'm just dingdong3 but have changed for Halloween...you can call me ding!

It was interesting how stuff that would look good on MP herself was tragic looking on curves. Just shows how important it is to dress for your shape - not for trend.

I think what Mary was trying to achieve has been better articulated on this thread. We are looking for stuff to fit us properly. I like the analogy of maternity wear. If mat wear can be built to fit particular curves, why not normal clothes? Isn't one of the greatest inventions of kids clothes, the adjustable waist? A missed opportunity indeed - agree wholeheartedly with you there.

Oblomov · 13/10/2011 10:03

Stance, where are all the clips of Stance ? I watched it and all I saw was the one clip of , saying that the body underneath was better than the dress. And Mary replying that the collection was basically designed for her.
But where is the clip where mary P sees the actual cast and comments thta she had no idea that womans body's actually looked like that - I must have missed that bit. Please link.

Oblomov · 13/10/2011 10:23

sorry. was watching episode 2. will watch 1 now.

stance · 13/10/2011 17:04

daenerysstormborn - thank you! It was a hoot making it!

Ding - ha! Yes, I think I must take after my father (an architect), because I'm far more interested in the 3-D engineering side of fashion. How do you fix it 'just so', so that it drapes beautifully over curves; how do you cunningly design buttons, ties etc so that it can be adjusted for different sizes. I'm seriously trying to work out a modular system, such that different bits can be bolted together as needed, either for an evening or permanently. [I'm a geek...]

Has anyone seen this video? How to Flatter Your Figure with a Dress by Mary Portas - www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=unW8TN8NXxw

Oblomov You found it?! That was two hours' wrapping (and me swearing at poor Jane to stand still...), condensed into a few seconds. I wonder if they'd give me the full footage?!

So, next week is the last show - I don't know if they'll include it, but we were filmed giving the shop and clothes a final verdict. I'm hoping they show me in the Bastyan coat I tried on, because I looked GRRR-E-A-T! Much better than the Bastyan model. [That's a hint to Bastyan to give me the coat]

I'm going to this show - anyone else? www.modelsofdiversity.org/curvesincouture/

ouryve · 13/10/2011 19:01

I'm going to shout out for the opposite problem - no waist and no bum. Anything from M&S that actually fastens is so baggy around the bum and things it looks ridiculous. I have a random pair of Debenhams casual club (gag) jeans which fit me quite nicely and GAP long and lean are made for my shape, but not for my middle aged flabby belly, since they have such a low waist I end up with a muffin top, so the ones I have can only be worn with a flab hiding tent over the top.

BorderBinLiner · 13/10/2011 21:14

Stance- well done for making it through the filming process, it really opens your eyes to the way they can tell many stories through different edits. Sadly tv today loves conflict, emotional break down, over the top celebration - very rarely do we see calm reasonable debate.

I am disappointed with Mary, I applaud the idea that she did n't want just another celeb range and that she used older model types. I hated some of the production elements like flicking through old Vogue copies at 20 years olds rather then just looking at current flesh. Too much was crammed into the show so we saw a focus group but we only learnt they thought Mary was older and should n't be on the ads, they did n't affect or inform the decision making further down the line. It's obvious that part of the deal from the start was Mary's face, they just had to manipulate the story line to make someone else the bad guy.

The panel with Stance in the edited version were really just ignored once 30 seconds of conflict was spliced together. It appears that the panel were for tv rather then any actual influence.

Mary is quite obviously trying to provoke the third floor department managers in the scene showing off the exposed ceiling, it nearly crossed the line into baiting, cruel. The store manager's comment about the dust was practical but dismissed out of hand.

I adore clothes, they make me happy, I have been an hourglass shape since I was seventeen, sometimes a ten, sometimes pregnant, sometimes a fourteen. The current fashion industry cannot cope with three dimensional curves, they are harder to understand then a bean pole so they don't bother. Flat two dimensional shapes are cheap and easy to manufacture with a large profit margin. Gok's answer is to stick a belt on every sack to give it a waist, Mary has created a range for look a likes, not the revolution I was hoping for.

Love clothes - hate fashion.

Katisha · 13/10/2011 21:25

What I was fed up about was that it appeared to be the focus group who told her they wanted the stuff to be like things MP would wear herself.

So therefore it is only going to be wearable for a smallish section of her target group.

Also I fail to understand why she thinks we want her "lifestyle" stuff. I don't care what coffee she drinks. Or what cushions she likes. I really really want a range of clothes in which at least some of them are likely to fit someone with a waist and hips and which don't have stupidly short sleeves or require stacks of layering to work.

As for the armery - well yes it does look like you are wearing tights on your arms IMO. And across your back.

grumpypants · 18/10/2011 21:45

That armery thing was on dragons den recently.

Oh gawd, why is she soooooo stoopid. They are wearing h of f badges because you are a concession! Get a shop if you can't fit in, and waste your own money. Musts stop watching.

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tigerbear · 18/10/2011 22:01

I know grumpy - how horrid was she to her floor manager re the name tags?
Surely it's HOF who are paying their wages, therefore staff have to follow their rules.

mycatsaysach · 18/10/2011 23:36

tonight's show put me off watching anything with her in ever again.

noddyholder · 19/10/2011 09:09

She is jane mcdonald with more contemporary hair

southeastastra · 19/10/2011 09:20

i thought she was right about the name tags, they were nasty!

i really like mary more and more after this programme and want to visit her shop

grumpypants · 19/10/2011 13:31

Wow that is completely the opposite to how I feel! She just irritates me with her hysterical reactions (this was my dream) to stuff that is quite normal. Why be a concession if you want to do it all your own way? Isn't she meant to keep an eye on stock levels?

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