Product Review - My First Haul (and shopping experience) with Poshmark.

 After getting my new Nike Trail Running shoes, I felt a little bit bland with the limitations I have on my change-of-clothes options in my wardrobe, particularly in the hot Southern California middle of the summer. I’ve been opting for golf shorts and moisture-wicking, antibacterial fabric tank tops that I got to sample, first, through Amazon Vine. I bought a second set of these, in other words. The clothing purchase and the shoes purchase coincided on one day, mostly, so the colors match, but still, I felt it was a little bland. I wanted some neon pink, of something, and my mind wandered back over to my most recent high-end jacket and long sleeve purchases that I had made, during the pandemic. 

A Nike Trail sticker, featuring the Nike Trail series graphic, in pink.

I started out searching for a neon pink Windrunner, which is the name of a Nike athletic sort of windbreaker, with a special 26° trim coming down the front of the jacket. It’s made of polyester, and it’s lightweight, but Nike makes them with cool designs, every now and then. I went with Google Shopping, to begin my search, like I do with most of my online purchases, when I want to comparison shop. I came up with several neon pink windbreakers, some of them notable second-place mentions, a couple of them Windrunners, but they were not my size, and I became attached to the notion of having a real Windrunner jacket again, since I’d lost mine, somewhere along the way. I got a cigarette hole in that one, anyways. I felt more confident that I could preserve and maintain my clothing better now, at this point. I felt like I’d made a good decision, in picking out nice shoes for me to wear. 

I had considered this pink kangaroo pocket windbreaker, but in the end, I guess it wasn’t quite the right pink for me, I was going for a bit more on the fuchsia side of the spectrum.

So, I went comparison shopping, on Google, and I visited a few new-to-me marketplaces, and picked out some of my favorites, and I set them aside, in the tabs of my browser, and kept searching. I found a Nikelab jacket ad that intrigued me, so I clicked on the inventory ad, and it led me to Poshmark, an online marketplace that I had never really visited and shopped at. The jacket was only $30, and supposedly it was marked down from $1,000 (probably an exaggeration, but it made it seem like it was a killer deal, at the time). Since it was affordable, I went ahead and purchased the jacket, despite it being summer. I had been staying out late, on some nights, and it would get a bit chilly, so I recalled wishing that I had a light jacket during those times. 

Once I made the purchase, Poshmark invited me to start a profile with the site, and I could track my order, get deals, etc., so I made an account. I figured that putting my money in to some new clothes was a good move, and I might eventually come back for more. Quite soon after starting my account on Poshmark, I started getting News notices. I was getting a bunch of followers! Poshmark is very much a social buying and selling platform, which you can see from some of their screens. I really got in to the premise of a socially adept, interactive website and app, where users can post and shop for clothing and more, make offers, message each other directly, view more items from seller closets, and comparison shop, with such a fashion-oriented purpose about it.

Poshmark’s home feed splash page, where user-hosted shows are featured.

My Poshmark News feed.

A search for the latest Nike product listings on Poshmark pulls up a feed like this.

Once my shipments arrive, later this week, I’ll update with some photos, and see how they look on me!

Update: The next day.

The Nike Electric Orange Chalk Windrunner Parka Jacket, next to my LED spotlight, featuring the type of neon pink that I like, somewhat a rose/fuchsia tone.

Don’t you love it when mail and packages arrive early? I do, and this oversized jacket/parka from @lazo_co arrived swiftly, and ahead of schedule, from Colorado to Los Angeles (the package was mailed out on Saturday, and arrived on a Tuesday). I liked the bright colors and lightweight material, and it’ll do well for me on days when it rains. It’s the first of three items that I ordered, over the weekend. Check out Hana Z’s store on Poshmark for tons of other cool athleisure fashion finds for men and women at great prices. I found some more bright-colored golf shorts that I like, at a glance.

The sea foam green golf shorts caught my attention.

I love the aqua blue turquoise color of this pair of golf shorts. 

In the days to follow:

The next day, I received my second jacket that I ordered off of Poshmark. This one was the first that I ordered, as it features the shade of pink that I was seeking, along with a giant Nike Swoosh logo, across the chest, in red, with the bottom portion in orange, to contrast. There were some things that I hadn’t considered, in ordering off of Poshmark, such as Chinese counterfeit Nike gear, which, I believe, this piece is, and it says “Made in China,” on the tags, yet it features YKK zippers, and there’s no mesh lining to the jacket, which I’ve known Nike to do. It ends up being a little bit messy, when wearing it, during the summertime, when I’ll be sweating a lot, since the jacket is 100% polyester. It wasn’t labeled as a Windrunner, just a windbreaker, but I still expected the same quality I’d known before, in their other jackets. 

The Nikelab windbreaker I purchased. 

I like the colors on this piece. 

The next day, my third piece arrived. It’s a sweater, and I bought it with cooler weather in mind, or nighttime outings, during warmer months. It features colorful sleeves and flanks that go with my shoes; that was the attraction to this piece. 

This sweater seems like it’s vintage, with old school fonts on the tags. 

I deposited some more money in to my bank account, and I ended up buying the seafoam green shorts that I liked, as well as some shorts that matched the color on the bluer shorts that I also liked, since the original pair of shorts had gone missing. 

Product Review - Maison Margiela “Replica:” Jazz Club - Eau de Toilette.

This time, I tried out an unexpected “newcomer” fragrance. 

I hadn’t heard of Maison Margiela, prior to showing up at Nordstrom, out at the Del Amo Fashion Center, where I’d intended to show up to purchase Jo Malone’s Myrrh and Tonka - Cologne Intense (currently $160-$220 USD), as a departure from men’s fragrances I’d already tried, and loved, such as Dior Homme ($95-$175 USD - 1.7-6.7 oz.) or Viktor and Rolf Spicebomb ($134, 3.04 oz.). Prior to showing up, I’d tried to pore over exactly what I was trying to get at, here and there, in maintaining a fragranced personal profile, for people (not really) - the thought had come up, in my mind, as a suggestion, after all. Sure, Myrrh and Tonka smells great, but was it beyond something I could reasonably mix up, myself, somewhat, if I’d just purchased various component ingredients, myself? On one hand, Tonka bean is a bit of a contentious ingredient, being that it is potentially toxic. After the fact (of my purchase), I got some feedback on things. Supposedly, the toxins had been painstakingly researched and studied, as far as the end product fragrance composition, in question, and they’d duly been removed, from the consumer fragrance product - not all that far-fetched, to suppose. 

Then, at the men’s fragrance rack, at Nordstrom, the merchandising display winds up being a different story. I chose to do retail, at a department store, for one thing, for the sake of the fact that they have an on-site testing and auditioning space and capability, as far as product offerings, in fragrance - it’s something that e-commerce solutions, as far as branching out, in to something new, can - at times, be lacking in, resulting in purchases that lead to buyer’s remorse, perhaps, or a lack of diversification, which can wear down on things; concepts such as innovation. On the bottom of the fragrance rack, there were these products, named Replica, as a brand, which I had never heard of, before. I figured - “hmm… Replica? As though they might, somewhat, be fairly high-end aiming, (somewhat) bargain alternatives (at $150 USD, for 3.4 fl. oz.) to the more high-end and more well-established luxury lines, such as Jo Malone - in this case, I’d say that this brand is a bit of a newcomer, at Nordstrom, out here, whereas Creed products, far more expensive, which were placed at the top of the same section, on the same part of the fragrance rack, Jo Malone, right below, and some other brand, next one down, with Replica products seated at the bottom of the rack. My analytical mind had me supposing that perhaps these ones were a viable knock-off sort of thing, or otherwise cheaper alternative product, leading me astray from fulfilling my initial intention, in procuring a new fragrance for myself - so I don’t smell, while I’m out and about, in public, feeding the birds, and such. I do routinely become sweaty, and oh - what a travesty, if I end up smelling bad, as a known pigeon-feeding bum.

This is the product, similarly, as I’d encountered it, as a sample bottle, in-store, at Nordstrom. Maison Margiela’s Replica fragrance line touts itself as a rendition, if you would, upon a notable theme, or experience, per se. I found “Jazz Club” to be a suitable attention-grabbing alternative, given my initial intention to purchase Jo Malone’s Myrrh and Tonka cologne, for a fair sum of money more, on this instance of purchasing a bottle of cologne.

As it turns out, the general field of relevance, contextually - in a sensory sort of consideration, given the two top competitors, here - Myrrh and Tonka versus Jazz Club, I found my choice to wind up being reasonably within a similar olfactory ballpark, with Myrrh and Tonka’s lavender top notes becoming a citrusy and floral theme, with primofiore lemon and neroli, in Jazz Club. In addition, I’d also recently - by turn of fate, been interested in Rum, as a fragrance ingredient - quite expensive, as it turns out, and I feel that it’s a sophisticated ode to myrrh, on one hand, with its complexity and breadth, in a fragrance composition. The unifying features, between either one of them, were the sweet base notes of either one - Tonka bean versus vanilla bean: similar, in an olfactory sense, yet, upon sampling both fragrances in the store, I found Myrrh and Tonka to have a bit, perhaps, too much richness, in the bottom notes, and I felt that I would, at some point, measuring out a use-case scenario, of me being out and about, and sweating, and stuff - of that I’d develop a viciously rich musk about myself - easily offensive, if I ever got lazy, and I’d wind up “not realizing,” so to speak, how I smell, to other people, whereas I found Jazz Club’s features to accommodate the same general aesthetic, while remaining a bit bright, I’d say, as far as the overall effect, of the fragrance, whereas I could layer it with some still-there citrus and woodsy fragrances I have, in small amounts - Eau d’orange verte, by Hermes, and Dior Homme. Together, the trio of the three fragrances is deliciously elegant, like a luxuriantly-enveloped citrus rind, upon close examination, with the middle and base notes becoming more evident, with diffusion, starting at a slight distance, perhaps, with a slighter sniff of the nose. In my fragrance-wearing oeuvre and repertoire, of purchases-past, I’d enjoyed having what I’d say, would amount to a similar citrus-led layering of colognes, such as that the Hermes botanicals line of products would be most suitable - for instance: Eau de Citron Noir had been a recent favorite, with Dior Homme and Spicebomb as my layering choices - quite complex, in that instance. 

After purchasing, I tried on some of my choice, in purchasing, and I found it to have a delightful olfactory sense of that the fragrance imparted a notion of having taken a shower - ostensibly due to an addition of C-12 (I’d sensed - both Lauric Alcohol, as well as Aldehyde C-12; fairly bitter), with Alcohol C-12 (Lauric Alcohol) being the characteristic “just-showered” scent, of all scents, I’d say, and C-12 Aldehyde being a bit controversial for me, since I’m allergic to drinking alcohol, and overall, I found that this fragrance easily affects me with a notable depressive and sedated effect. It was my choice, though, in trying this one out, and perhaps it’s not all that much, to my detriment, overall. I’m trying to do life as representatively (as much as possible) not overly, or obviously, stimulated - it’s simply too cheaply and easily a topic of controversy, and I strive to be an honest role model of sustainability in my enterprise model, so I don’t get thrown out of town - quite literally, that, which could wind up, being the case, for me. I figure - if I take the bottle out, with me, on a walk, and with my ionic mineral carry-along profile, and with my travels equating to some form of milling, further, of the product, the fragrance would, ostensibly, mill out the aldehyde, or I could throw some other stuff in there, since the bottle actually allows for the entire spray top, and “cap” of the bottle, to be removed - allowing for additions, or refills, for example, another ingredient, or entire fragrance, could be put in to this bottle of Jazz Club, thus transforming the presence of this contentious (for me, being allergic to “drinking” alcohol) Aldehyde C-12 ingredient in to something altogether unexpected, and far-removed, sensory-wise, in the fragrance composition, in my experience with aldehyde C-12.

A nice touch, that the bottle’s top is removable, allowing for refills. 

I’ll leave this review, at that, for the time being. Thanks for reading :)

Future Halloween Costume Aspirations - Chimera Sparrow (via Google AI and Vector Q [imaengine])

 What a concept to bring to the out-doo-doo port-a-potty: doing the best costume ever - here, I assert that, as of 2021, that title couldn’t possibly be aught else than the chimera sparrow, rendered through Vector Q (imaengine), brought to life, thanks to: my choice for local fashion and crafting aspirations: Michael Levine. 

The first run print of the chimera sparrow ex imaengine | Vector Q ex Google AI Chimera Maker Tool

Oops, I guess they’ve shuttered their doors. But I’ll remember the guy, and perhaps I’ll catch him at a future 12 Steps meeting, or something. I spilled milk on his floor, over there, once, but I bought something from there, 3 times. For me, I felt that it was the relatable (for me) fabric store and supplier, of the retail shop sort, within the DTLA fashion district locale. It was cool to see the owner of the brand on the showroom floor on any given workday. 

Where can one catch bird-spotting the chimera sparrow, short of future Halloweens-to-come, of my costume making aspirations to-be (I purchased a $200+ sewing machine, off of Amazon, but I don’t know how to use it, just yet. It’s been sitting pretty, and my chimera sparrow [failed print] is guarding the fashion realm closet micro-space modular portion of my room, as et cie cute as can be). 

My micro-space modular closet features an Epson printer, a many-stitching patterns sewing machine, from Amazon, an aquarium pump au jour eau de (… it’s au jour) aerator and percolator, a black light, a lithium ion batteries bass trap ex large fabric roll ex fashion district DTLA discards haul, a (mostly) Nordstrom set of cold-weather clothes (or, for long-sleeves lovers), crumbs, knick-knacks, and some hummingbird juice. A moth had taken a liking to the stuff, and I don’t mind the moths. Oh, and there’s a chimera sparrow standing guard, off in the back, here.

Anyways, 

I need to learn how to use the sewing machine, and my readers get to be the insiders in to future developments and productivity cycles of iPigeon.institute - to come. 

Where can one view the Pigeons and Friends prints collection? 

I am commonly out at Los Angeles State Historic Park, in the late afternoons and early evenings, and from time to time, I can bring out the prints collection so that passers by can view the prints in person, as I sit and do stuff on my iPad Pro, or something. I can also have small samples of my fragrance creations out, once I finish fixing them, to my satisfaction. 

More of the ostensible fashionable pigeons of lé lyçée Françoise.

Le jeunesse - le Bebe petít un

A classic moment of pigeons' socialization habits - the aggressor warns the young one, given the nurturing environment; or perhaps it is a fight over food. The  ravishment of pigeons in being scared of people will take years of presence as a .instiute founding Director to correct in society.

Lé pigeonne avec le sass pour le jeunesse

Old Ironsides broken-legged pigeon.

Le pigeonne-íl c'est ont téntatíf

Grazing pigeons.

Pretty pigeon, fluffy feathers.

Le sass pour le jeunesse.

Lé bébe, uné fruítbat.

Petites pattes! Skeet skeet! - the flattened rat.

Orric (old oak tree), the pig 

A Kathmandu carnival look, with streamers at the sleeve-cuffs.

Last night's haul - some clothes, some recyclables, and a bunch of Jumbo Jacks.

A slight iPigeon clothing haul-stack, from the USC / Harbor Transitway underpass 

Last night I found lots of Jumbo Jack burgers with fries. I figure it'll be good for the pigeons :)