What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “vintage fragrances“? You may instantly expel such wicked ideas from your head if they are anything that is musty, dusty, or even a tiny bit fusty, or, god forbid, that very repulsive (and thoroughly sexist/ageist) word “old woman-like.” What we now consider classics were originally completely stunning in their day—the punk rock of scents, completely upsetting olfactory traditions. These odors became a part of our fragrant surroundings and something we all became somewhat accustomed to with time (something, not all perfumes, regrettably, are afforded nowadays). If we haven’t worn them ourselves, we know someone who has, or at the absolute least, we are familiar with the names and bottles.
With the annual Goodwood Revival vintage festival about to get underway, we thought it was the ideal time to reflect on some of these incredible perfumes and encourage you to seek them out to try on your own skin. All of these fragrances were first introduced in the 1920s and are still (fabulously) appropriate to wear in 2022. Do you think you know vintage? Rethink this.
Chanel No.5 – launched 1921
For the fresh, contemporary woman she represented, Coco Chanel wanted to introduce a smell. Chanel’s mother worked as a laundress and had a market stall, but after her death, the young Gabrielle was transferred to live with Cistercian nuns in Aubazine. She adored the smell of soap and freshly washed skin. But freshness was everything when it came to crafting her unique smell. She learned about Grasse-based Ernest Beaux, the Russian royal family’s favorite perfumer, while on vacation with her boyfriend, Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich. He created a set of ten samples over the course of many months to present to “Mademoiselle.” They had numbers ranging from 1 to 5 and 20 to 24. She chose No. 5, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Why it’s still wearable:
After that notorious aldehydic surge akin to Champagne, notes of jasmine, rose, vanilla, and sandalwood soothe the foam. Despite this, the scent is still highly “abstract,” with no clear-cut main note that the user can identify. It is classic and seductive in a very French style while being clean. Maybe this year you’ll give in to its allure?
From £65 for 35ml eau de parfum chanel.com
Molinard Habanita – launched 1921
The French flappers known as garçonnes enthusiastically embraced Habanita’s innovative style, which quickly made it Molinard‘s runaway success and an icon in the history of French perfume. According to Molinard, Habanita was the first women’s fragrance to heavily feature vetiver as an ingredient, something that was previously only used in men’s fragrances. Molinard later offered it as a personal fragrance. Originally intended as a perfume for cigarettes—inserted via glass rods or to sprinkle from a sachet—women had started sprinkling themselves with it instead.
Why it’s still wearable:
Honeyed tobacco notes and the aforementioned vetiver, along with supremely supple leather, manage to distinctly butch up the orange blossom and fruits of the opening, with a floral heart that further ruffles the feathers of gender stereotypes – jasmine and heliotrope saucily winking atop a softly powdered amber base. Truly delightful and thrillingly illicit, it’s a crime not to have tried this at least once in your life, no matter your gender.
£85 for 75ml eau de parfum bloomperfume.co.uk
Lanvin Arpège – launched 1924
Chanel‘s contemporary Jeanne Lanvin started out as a milliner and seamstress and later established her own millinery fashion shop on Rue du Marché Saint-Honoré. She was inspired to create the scent Arpège by Lanvin’s daughter. It was developed by perfumers André Fraysse and Paul Vacher as a gift for her daughter Marie-30th Blanche’s birthday and got its name from a statement Marie-Blanche made after smelling the first sample: “It smells as an arpeggio might.” The spherical black-and-gold container, which was created by Paul Iribe and had the figure of a mother clothing her daughter, was also a homage to their love.
Why it’s still wearable:
A melody of florals – rose, iris, lily, lily of the valley, jasmine, ylang ylang , camellia and geranium – the lasting impression is of being wrapped in warm, white, fluffy towels, a veritable hug in a bottle. As blogger The Candy Perfume Boy observes: The truth is that Arpège has aged rather well and its supple aldehydic floral tones feel strikingly genderless today, making for a throwback floral that would feel perfectly comfortable on any perfume lover (male or female) who may be looking for something with a bit of a vintage edge.’
£27.60 for 100ml eau de parfum allbeauty.com
Guerlain Shalimar – first launched 1921, re-launched 1925
With this now-famous fragrance by Jacques Guerlain, the Champs-Élysées-based perfume firm had continued its practice of releasing opulent, luxurious scents, complete with copious amounts of the recently fashionable synthetic vanillin. Ernest Beaux himself made the following remark in response: “When I do vanilla, I get crème Anglaise; when Guerlain does it, he gets Shalimar!” A portion of the Shalimar Gardens in Srinagar, which were created in 1619 for the enjoyment of Shah Jehan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal (meaning “Jewel of the Palace”), is thought to have served as inspiration. Shah Jehan built the Taj Mahal in Agra in her honor after she passed away during delivery three years after he ascended to the throne. At the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in 1925, it was reintroduced.
Why it’s still wearable:
Oodles of uplifting lemon and bergamot are swirled with night-blooming flowers of heliotrope and jasmine and iris over other famously velvety base notes, including patchouli, benzoin, ambergris, tonka bean, incense, vetiver, sandalwood and musk. Jacques passed that love on to his great-grandson Jean-Paul Guerlain, who’s said: ‘He taught me how to love vanilla, as it adds something wonderfully erotic to a perfume. It turned Shalimar into an evening gown with an outrageously plunging neckline.’ To wear it, at any time, is to add some serious va-va-voom to your presence.
£87 for 50ml eau de parfum selfridges.com
Coty L’aimant – launched 1927
Coty L’Aimant, which translates to “magnet” in French, was first created by Master Perfumer François Coty in 1927 and is said to have been inspired by the love of his life. It has since gained popularity for its distinctive, enduring, and delicate scent, which combines rose, orchid, and golden jasmine softly embraced with sandalwood and vanilla. By fragrance blogger Sam from I Scent You a Day, the fragrance is described as “peachy and soapy, with the neroli offering a touch of fragrant white flowers,” with “a creamy and warm end with a flourish of powder puff.”
Why it’s still wearable:
It undoubtedly has a nostalgic scent, yet those aldehydes somehow manage to remain lively through the centuries and avoid being dated. Sam laments, “I would love to smell more people wearing it,” and says, “What never fails to astonish me is that a long-lasting perfume of this caliber can still be had for a song.” And you can’t go wrong at that price. If you decide it’s not exactly you, simply spray it over all of your paper (or the curtains in your bedroom) and call it good, darling!
Coty L’aimant £9.99 for 50ml parfum de toilette boots.com
It’s not surprising that an increasing number of cologne enthusiasts are gravitating toward vintage scents with misty eyes given the current state of the planet, which seems to be either on fire or underwater and the tumultuous political environment. But as these very wearable smells demonstrate, they don’t all have to be wacky museum pieces. As we move closer to 2023, we’d want to see more males experimenting with what was once thought of as “female” perfumes as well. Fragrant substances do not have a gender, and they should once again be worn by bright young (or older) people, stockings rolled down or otherwise.
