Anthropologie and reality

So just as Anthropologie opens a store in my new hometown of London, England,  it seems to be getting a lot of press here and not too much mention of what is going on with the store stateside.  First of all, I hear from friends in NYC that a new show has debuted in which the buyer for Anthropologie stores takes us all on reality show adventure as he purchases goods for the stores. It’s called “Man Shops Globe” and the star is Keith Johnson, head buyer for the chain. I decided to do a little research of my own on this show and was surprised to see that I certainly wasn’t hearing just horrible things from my friends…but from every news source in North America!  The first major complaint was the fact that Johnson never mentions how much he is paying for things. Probably a good idea as I certainly don’t want to hear that the mirror I just paid $700 for cost Anthropologie a fiver (and although we know this is always the case you certainly don’t want to be reminded of it on national television as your husband looks across the room, sees the mirror, points at the television set and says “we could have flown over there, had a week’s long vacation, bought ten of those mirrors and shipped the damn things home for what you just paid.”)
The New York Observer had this to say:
Anthropologie is boring. Anthropologie is thinking that France is pretty. Anthropopologie is a knee-length floral-print skirt paired with embellished flats. Anthropologie is naming your baby “Emma.” “
The Washington Post took a step further and attacked the host:
“Man Shops Globe” tries to come off with “Amazing Race” urgency tempered by the cool style of a Tim Gunn type, but Johnson’s suitcase (an old-fashioned hard-sided piece of luggage with leather straps) is more interesting than he is.”

I always say watch the show for yourself and form your own opinions. The critics are exactly that – critics. They are paid to be critical.  So if you live in the US, have access to the Sundance channel and a free afternoon, catch up on the past few episodes and write to me and let me know what you think. 

On a slightly different note, Anthropologie is adding another string to their bow with the launch of a new website – The Anthropologist.  It is set to be launched on November 2nd and apparently it is a website created to inspire us all. Let’s keep an open mind and wait to see what they come up with.
Here are some screen shots cropped from the current homepage:


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