An unlikely pairing

I like Mary Portas. Mostly, I think she talks a lot of sense.

I also like the fact that she's teamed up with Clarks to launch a shoe range (available at House of Fraser, along with her new clothing range.) It's a brave move. Clarks isn't the coolest of brands - and not exactly what you'd call 'aspirational', (which isn't a word I like but one that would doubtless have been flung around by Portas' team as they mulled this one over).

But someone has recognised that Clarks and Mary Portas both have a little of what the other one needs: Portas the high fashion edge which Clarks has tried (and largely failed) in recent years to inject into its range and Clarks, downright practicality and the trust of British women. We all know Portas knows fashion. But she's actually in danger of being a little too inaccessible for the masses - that impossibly sharp bob, those impractically high heels and a wardrobe full of top designers are not within the grasp of most women.

But in roping in brands like Clarks, Radley and Charnos as partners, Portas assures her target market that she's got their back. Not to mention reducing her own risk. Yep, I reckon she might actually be as sharp as her own hairdo.

Mary Queen of Frocks is available on 4oD.