Well about a hundred years after the rest of the world (I have a little girl after all and the cinema is but a distant memory), I have finally managed to watch Pride & Prejudice on DVD.

And I wasn’t terribly impressed.

First of all there was the not-insignificant matter of the spectacularly irritating Keira Knightley to contend with. The best I can say is that by the end of the film I was feeling less irritated by her than I was at the start (no mean feat when you consider that I couldn’t watch the Oscars coverage without wanting to throw shoes at the screen). Also she is too thin to make it possible to eat a takeaway king prawn dhansak without feeling very guilty indeed.

Second of all was the not-insignificant matter of the unsexiness of Matthew Macfadyen. Yes, he was sweet and very likeable but also came across as being rather slow-witted and I just kept itching to comb his hair. And no, it’s not because I’m in love with Colin Firth. Unlike every other woman in the UK I can categorically state that I have never been in love with Mr Firth – my ideal Darcy has not yet been cast. (I think Jennifer Ehle may well have been my ideal Lizzie B though).

Other quibbles. The short length meant that Messrs Wickham and Collins were reduced to bit parts – a great shame in the case of the former, since he was played by the not-unattractive Orlando Bloom-alike Rupert Friend; whereas the latter was not nearly as pompous and objectionable as he should have been, merely a bit short. Judi Dench just phoned in her rendition of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who is obviously a very close relative of Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love, while Donald Sutherland played Mr Bennet as a kindly relative of Santa Claus. (I did like Brenda Blethyn’s Mrs B though). The dialogue was, in parts, atrocious. No, you can’t always use Jane Austen’s exact words (interestingly in her books she describes dialogue more often than actually writing it) but you can at least employ a screenwriter who has a modicum of similar wit and sparkle.

Finally there was altogether too much sunshine. It felt like The Darling Buds of May.

I don’t really like to Madonna-bash as I admire the woman, but I can’t believe she let this photograph see the light of day, let alone make it onto the front cover of a magazine.

THIS IS NOT ANNA WINTOUR

…gone stark staring bonkers?

THE ‘MIRROR MIRROR’ WOMAN?

Two very thought-provoking articles. One on curated shopping (found via Rare Device) and one wondering what makes certain designers successful on the intelligent new design blog Designer’s Library. The curated shopping article is talking about the rise of the indie shop – shops which carry a carefully edited collection of pieces which reflect a certain lifestyle aesthetic. The blog post on designer brands asks how some designers have successfully created a personality or culture around their business which can be translated across a wide range of products.

I suppose what both articles are talking about is branding.

I know that at mirror mirror I am trying to create a brand rather than just a collection of products. People might come to mirror mirror the first time because they’ve seen a particular product in the Press or something, but the only reason they’ll keep coming back again and again and recommend us to their friends is because they like the personality of the brand and think they’ll find more products they like in future.

Which makes it rather scary for me, the shop ‘curator’. I have a clear vision of the personality which I want the mirror mirror brand to project and to an extent that brand reflects my own personality. There’s a little bit of me in everything we do – the product selection, packaging, customer service, blog-writing, website etc. etc. – which means I lay a little bit of me on the line everytime someone interacts with the company. What I don’t know as yet is whether that brand personality resonates strongly enough with enough people, ie. has that brand ‘X Factor’, which will underpin a truly successful company.

In fact, dear reader, what sort of personality does the mirror mirror brand convey to you ? I’m really interested to find out.

Have just skimmed through my most recent posts and realise that I use the words ‘stunning’ and ‘beautiful’ far too often. I need to find me some new adjectives…