Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi guys, my name is
Miranda Black and this is what's
this Place Behind the Clicksand Mortar?
And I have some news from thisweek.
So I made my first online sale.
But wait, before you crack thechampagne for me.
I just want to talk about well,how do I, how do I?
(00:47):
You see, this episode started asa completely different episode
and wella was the rare one tofind.
You know how, when they dothese collectibles, you buy the
cereal and you keep getting thePooh, bear or the piglet, but
finally she got Kanga.
It was a big deal, but somehowI can't remember how long she'd
had it.
In my memory it's the samemorning, but it could have been
(01:07):
a week or a month later.
We were heading out on anerrand and between the house and
getting into the car, kanga wasgone, and I think this might
have been my first experience ofloss, because it is such a
flashbulb memory and I couldn'tunderstand where it had gone.
She had it and then she didn't.
(01:30):
It had disappeared and it shookme that we couldn't just find
it because it was theresomewhere.
But it was fall and there weredeep leaves everywhere and Kanga
was bright yellow, but so weresome of the leaves.
We had to leave on the errand,but even when we got back we
looked and looked and we neverfound it.
(01:51):
My sister was heartbroken andwe all remember Kanga going
missing, even though it was thislittle plastic toy.
We just all wonder where Kangawent.
And the thing I didn't realizethen was that that feeling of
loss, of wondering where couldthat have gone, how did it slip
(02:12):
through my fingers?
That's something that's auniversal feeling that we all
face at one point or another indifferent degrees, and it's as
familiar to us as, like deathand taxes, loss sucks.
It's unfair and random, and theonly thing that heals it is
time.
So that sets you up for thestory about my first sale on
(02:37):
Poshmark, and it's why we're notopening the champagne just yet.
So, okay, well, I got to startthe piece itself, because that's
super important to the story.
Sometimes I buy a piece ofclothing that I barely ever wear
or even never wear.
Can you feel me on that?
(02:58):
I think you can, because I'veseen closets out there.
I know I'm not the only one tohave brand new, with tags pieces
hanging in my closet.
Well, maybe you don't, maybeyou're more of a practical
shopper, but I I've done it manytimes in my life I buy a piece
because it's just gorgeous.
(03:19):
It might not be practical, itmight not fit properly, but God,
I just I want it.
And that's what happened to mewhen I bought this blouse.
I thought I would wear it, butit was just a little too big in
the shoulders.
So every time I take it out andtry it on, I'd end up putting
it back in my closet because itdidn't make me feel as good on
(03:41):
as it did just looking at it,because man, as good on as it
did, just looking at it, becauseman, was she ever beautiful?
And the funny thing is, Igenuinely believed when I bought
it that it was true vintage.
There's this line betweenvintage and true vintage because
these days on resale sites,anything that's 20 years old or
(04:02):
more is quote unquote a vintage.
So something that you bought in2004 is now vintage, but true
vintage is anything that's 40years old or more.
So I thought this piece wastrue vintage, like 1970s disco
vintage, in mint condition,never been worn, and there's
(04:25):
this woven design on theshoulders.
So it's 100% silk and thedesigner took silk strips and
wove them into these basketweave shoulder pieces and then
the woven pieces they drape downunder the arms and back up to
the back of the shoulders tomake up the other side of the
basket weave.
(04:45):
It's almost impossible todescribe it, but you can find it
on my Poshmark.
Even though it's sold, I'mgoing to keep it up there
because, well, because of howthe story ends, it's now like a
memorial and it should be seen,and I'd love to hear your
comments on it if you do stop by.
So it didn't fit me properly,but I bought it anyway, thinking
(05:07):
I could transform it with abelt or I don't know.
I was just so in awe of it.
My 1970s, true vintage blouse.
But when I started my researchon the tag, that's my jam Love
researching tags.
You can hear more about my lovefor researching clothing in
episode one of this season.
(05:28):
So I looked at the name, lou deBeauregard, and my first thought
was what's this place?
Who is Lou de Beauregard?
But I could barely findanything on the brand, which
actually intensified my beliefthat this was true vintage,
because it is really hard tofind internet proof on anything
pre-2000s.
(05:49):
So maybe true vintage.
But then I discovered this tinyarticle about the designer
Florence Dupin.
She started Lude de Beauregardin 2010.
Lude de Beauregard in 2010.
(06:09):
So not true vintage, not evenresale vintage.
So why is it so hard to find aninternet presence?
What is going on with thisdesigner and her credits?
My God, get this.
She worked at Jean-PaulGaultier, isabelle Marant, sonia
Riquel and Paul Smith and Iknow I murder the names.
I don't have a great accent, myCanadianism comes out but in
(06:30):
the fashion world these namesare top shelf, like top shelf of
the top shelf.
You know, everyone knows thehuge blockbusters like the Gucci
and Versace and the BladdityBlatchy, but these are
designers' designers.
Florence Dupin after paying herdues at these incredible fashion
(06:51):
houses, she goes out on her ownand creates L'Eau de Beauregard
in 2010.
And she uses, like real stuff,real silk, not polyester, with
technology to make it feel likesilk to save money.
Real leathers, not spiffed upvinyl to look like leather that
(07:11):
starts peeling away after twoyears.
Her pieces are like littleworks of art.
It is designed with perfectionand I can imagine it probably
cost a lot to make and maybethat our margins weren't great.
I don't know, I'm just guessing.
Who knows what happened?
But by 2012, the brand is gone.
(07:34):
There's just no trace of it onthe Internet and there's very,
very little in the online resaleworld.
I found three pieces availableto buy total around the world,
including European and Asianresale world.
I found three pieces availableto buy total around the world,
including European and Asianresale sites Three available.
Compare that to like Lululemonor Zara, which have tens of
(07:55):
thousands of pieces on Poshmarkalone.
Whatever units were created forLou de Beauregard in those two
years, that's it.
It's a unicorn.
It's like finding the Kanga inyour cereal box as a
six-year-old.
Are you starting to ask me whyI sold this?
Am I crazy?
(08:15):
Well, it's because my closet isnot a museum.
Yeah, it was lovely, it was aunicorn.
But fashion, it should live outin the world.
There is so much fashionlanguishing in closets and
donation bins in the back roomsof Goodwills and charity shop
(08:36):
and storage units.
The more we get circulating,the less we're going to feel
this need to produce more.
And another big reason, maybethe main reason I don't have
museum money.
You know what I mean Museummoney, generational money,
philanthropy money, money thatmakes you talk like this with a
(08:57):
long cigarette holder and adriver.
I don't have that.
I don't have a zero degreestorage unit to keep a gorgeous
piece of clothing safe forever.
So what am I going to do?
Keep my Lou de Beauregard thatdoesn't quite fit me in my
closet forever.
Never let the unicorn out intothe world.
Well, hindsight is 20-20, asthey say, and if I knew then
(09:24):
what I know now?
When I started writing thisepisode, it was about my first
sale on Poshmark.
I was packaging it up andshipping it off to Winnipeg and
I was having feelings about myfirst sale.
It was a different plan for anepisode, but this is this is
what I wrote before I knew theending.
(09:45):
It's a little cheesy.
So my Lou de Beauregard is gone.
She's been shipped off toWinnipeg, off on her journey,
which may have started inEngland as a sketch and then
probably went to China to bemade because that's where even
luxury garments are made in 2012, and then to New York and, worn
by somebody fabulous, to a gala, and then to my house, where
(10:09):
she only ever saw the light ofday once, to a dinner party.
That's all she got to see ofToronto.
But now she's off to Winnipegand maybe I'll get an update
from the buyer, or maybe I won't, but I'm happy that she's
getting a new life and a newexperience.
And then I waited.
I watched as the tracking wentfrom downtown Toronto to
(10:32):
Mississauga to Winnipeg, but thewhole time I just had this bad
feeling like dread, like whathave I done?
Will this be the only Lou deBeauregard I ever find?
Did I charge enough?
Will this be the only Lou deBeauregard I ever find?
Did I charge enough?
Will the buyer accept thepackage?
I started to read nightmares onReddit where buyers receive
(10:53):
something and then take apicture of a completely
different blouse and tellPoshmark that what they bought
was falsely advertised.
This is probably either anurban myth or it's so rare it's
not worth worrying about.
But it was my first sale and Iidentify as Rabbit in Winnie the
Pooh.
Rabbit's the anxious one whotalks too fast and thinks too
much and worries abouteverything.
(11:14):
So I watched as it sat inWinnipeg for six days every day
saying it was out for deliverybut by end of day not being
delivered.
The buyer and I startedmessaging I was a noob, maybe
this happens.
The buyer said calm down,degrowth, diva.
Post in Canada is slow,sometimes by day 12,.
(11:35):
I was done.
I emailed Poshmark and theywrote back to say hi, miranda,
unfortunately, it looks likeyour order has stopped tracking
and has likely been lost by theshipping carrier.
Lost that familiar feeling ofwhat do you mean?
There is no lost on this planet.
(11:57):
It hasn't stopped existing.
It's just not existing in theplace.
We want it to be in the placewe want it to be Well, that's
actually the definition of lost.
So they processed it as a lostpackage and compensated us both.
The buyer gets the money back,I get paid out in full.
There's no financial loss.
But the blouse the indescribableblouse with the woven shoulders
(12:22):
and the drape that goes underthe arms one of three lewd
Beauregards that exist in theonline reselling world is gone.
I really hope it hasn't beenopened by someone who just threw
it in the trash when they sawthat it wasn't Lulu or Zara,
which are the top sellers inresale.
(12:43):
Who's going to put the researchin to discover that this is a
unicorn?
My best hope is that it's justfallen behind a bin at the
Winnipeg post office and someonehears this podcast, takes a
little look around, picks it upand delivers it to BB underscore
GG in Winnipeg, manitoba, andshe gets to love it even better
(13:06):
than I did.
But more likely, I'm alwaysgoing to wonder what happened to
that blouse?
Will I see it one day onanother resale site?
Is it just gone forever?
It's been a few days since Igot that email.
Already, the gut punch.
It's not quite as bad as itfirst was.
Time's going to do its thing onthe disappointment and sadness
(13:28):
of the loss, but I will neverforget it.
I'll always wonder how thestory for my Lou DeBeau regard
ended.
I want to thank Poshmark forcovering the sale.
That is a blessing.
It would have been far harderif I'd lost the blouse and the
sale and this is why I chose tostart my online selling with
(13:49):
Poshmark, because I knowmistakes are bound to happen.
But, as BBGG wrote to me whenwe were commiserating on the
loss, why this one?
Why the unicorn?
So I want tob underscore gg forbeing my first customer and for
all the open communication wehad during the epic flight this
(14:11):
blouse took across canada.
You can follow her at b-i-b-iunderscore g-i-g-i on poshmark
and and listen, I'm notadvertising anything on the
podcast right now.
I realize I'd rather justadvertise for myself and write
stories that I want to write andinstead of you having to sit
(14:32):
through two minutes of ads, justtake 15 seconds.
Give me a written review, notjust stars.
I mean, if all you can manageis stars, I will take them, but
they don't do as much for mystreet cred as a just a little
written review.
So if you can take 15 seconds,write something that expresses
how this podcast makes you feelor what you've learned.
(14:55):
It would really help me out.
Or follow me on Poshmark.
You can find me by searchingdgrowth underscore diva.
I want to end my episodes thisseason by sharing something that
inspired me during the week,and this one it's not really a
fashion story, as hard as Itried to tie it to fashion.
It's the story of a girl inOttawa who can instantly recall
(15:20):
memories from any date in herlife, down to what she wore and
had for lunch that day.
You can tell her a date and shecan tell you what happened on
that day.
It's called HSAM, which standsfor Highly Superior
Autobiographical Memory.
There's only 100 known casesaround the world and maybe you
(15:43):
think, like I did wow, that is agreat superpower.
I would love to remember withsuch accuracy, and I'm sure it
is amazing to ace all your testsand remember events so vividly.
But as with all superpowers,there's a catch, and her catch
(16:04):
is that she also remembers allthe bad days, all the loss, in
as vivid detail as when it firsthappened.
For Emily Nash that's her name,local Ottawa girl.
For Emily, time doesn't heal allwounds.
If Emily was there the day welost Kanga, she would be able to
(16:24):
remember which cereal it was mysister won the prize, from
where we were going that day,what we were wearing, and she
would remember the sadness mysister felt as if it happened
today.
Her mother well, emily's only18, and, as we all know, life
can deal you some doozies.
So her mother is helping hercope with her loss through
(16:49):
forgiveness, because there isonly forgive, no forget for
Emily.
So, in that spirit, if someonedid steal my Lou de Beauregard,
well, I forgive you.
Times are tough and money moneyis thin and it probably seemed
like a victimless crime.
So I forgive you and I hope youwear that gorgeous flowing silk
(17:14):
, like the 1970s are alive invivid detail.
This is what's this Place.
I'm Miranda Black.
I will see you next time, thankyou, thank you.