My better half stumbled upon this show on BBC America earlier this week and was thoughtful enough to DVR it for me. I must say this show is right up my alley, and I'll keep it as a series recording. Think Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares and The Hotel Inspector: just change the expert to some woman named Mary Portas and the the business in distress from a restaurant/hotel to a clothing store.

Of course they had a stubborn, know-it-all owner who initially refused to change but came around afterwards. Even though it's so formulaic in a way, I was still hooked from the beginning and really wanted to find out how the makeover turned out.

I understand that they wanted to create a social space in the boutique, but if I were the store owner, I'd be so paranoid about the free booze spilling onto the merchandise. I can't wait to see the next episode.

BBC America link

The best episode I've seen of this is the lady with the plus-size store who hates fat people.

I like that she takes them to meet designers and sort of prove themselves.

I had a hard time watching Calvin only because every time he appeared on camera, my mind wandered to, "I hope he has a doctor looking at that Saturn-shaped mole on his forehead."

I really enjoyed this show, agree that it's basically Kitchen Nightmares + Hotel Inspector but then that's what I love...really stubborn/idiotic people forced to face some basic facts about their failing businesses.



I *know* - I was thinking the exact same thing. It looked pretty pre-cancerous to me, but then I'm not watching in HD. It probably looked 10 times worse!

I've watched one episode so far (JuJu) and found it to be kind of meh. But then I hate shopping and think spending oodles of money on trendy and poorly made clothes is a waste of time.

I'm going to keep watching if only because I love the Hotel Inspector and Kitchen Nightmares (UK version only please!) and will eat it up as soon as some clueless owner hates everything Mary suggests. The JuJu people were too easy and cooperative.

Finally watched the first episode. Enjoyed it except for staring at Moley McMole. When they sent his wife off for a makeover I was hoping for an emergency mole removal.

This week we have another easygoing shop owner who goes with everything Mary suggests. The drama is practically non-existent, but I'm really enjoying how much I'm learning about the boutique business. This show can easily fit under the How-to Reality section. I think the show is even more instructional and eye-opening than Kitchen Nightmares and The Hotel Inspector, since I know next to nothing about the retail clothing industry.

One thing that is somewhat unexpected (although in no way surprising) is that all the female owners are given a makeover to match the new look of the shop. At first glance, I don't think the women are trendsetters, but once they were given the opportunity to approach their work with a new perspective, they are able to coax their sense of style from within.

Another thing I learn: a cluttered shop with no focus is a mortal sin. That reflects the going-nowhere style and mentality of the owners.

And I want to incorporate the word naff in my everyday vocabulary.

I've seen 3 episodes ... and I'm still on the fence.
So far, the store owners seem to be a bit two-dimensional (I'm not criticizing, I appreciate that they aren't actors).
They are either super defensive, like Calvin (which I found contrived because nobody ever just pointed to the elephant in the room and said "So Calvin, if you have all the answers why is your store spiraling the drain?")
Or, the owners are pretty compliant and grateful for the pro guidance, which is more understandable, but also rather boring.

I'll watch another time or two, mostly because (as ritalinsmoothie said) I'm kinda fascinated by the insight into the buiz. But I'm really not sure yet if Mary Portas has the personality to carry it once that info has been repeated often enough to start to sound familiar.

Yep, I'm on the fence.

This show is hit or miss for me. I finally saw the Kelvin the Mole episode and he was definitely playing it up. I think that was the first ep so they probably told him to be an asshole.

My favorite ep so far is Comfort and Joy with the divorced couple still running the business together. I really liked the designer side of the business and found it really interesting. Funny that most of the women in these eps are the ones with the real talent but they defer to their clueless male partners and things spiral down.

Dree:


The first twenty minutes or so of the episode when the owner/part-time aerobics instructor just went on and on about "bouncy castles" and big girls who should hide every inch of their bodies with tent clothes were so appallingly grating yet hilarious. You'd think that someone whose business depends on the plus-size market will value her customer base a bit more highly. And what's up with hanging a glamor shot of herself on the wall of your store?! I was totally flabbergasted by the level of her cluelessness and disdain for her clients. I almost wished that Mary would fail to turn her thinking and business around because she was the stereotypical skinny blond bitch who looked down on the fuller-figured gals.

I've only seen a few episodes but find the biz end is fascinating and anything with English scenery does it for me anyway. The parallels with KN/HI are interesting with the usual "If I try to appeal to a younger clientelle what about the blue hairs that have been my basic customers for years?" etc. I do wish Mary was a little tougher -- she's so diplomatic when I just want to shake some of these people. But I'll try to catch more episodes ... I like it.

A very creepy glamour shot at that!