Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, July 25, and I did indeed go see the exhibit of couture by Mme. Jeanne Lanvin, as I mentioned last week.

“On another topic, I’m eagerly looking forward to a fashion exhibit that I plan to go see with friends next week. It is the first ever American retrospective exhibit of the work of the French couturiere Madame Jeanne Lanvin.”

As I wrote last week, Madame Lanvin launched a legendary fragrance, Arpège, in 1927, so it is almost 100 years old! It is a floral aldehyde, like its contemporary Chanel No. 5, and it is a complex bouquet of notes that include aldehydes, lily of the valley, peach, honeysuckle, neroli, bergamot, jasmine, ylang ylang, iris, coriander, rose, lily, geranium, camellia, sandalwood, amber, vetiver, musk, benzoin, vanilla, and patchouli. It has been reformulated over the years, but as recently as 2008, perfume critic Luca Turin gave it four stars, calling it a “unisex classic”, and “an elegant, nutty, woody floral with an overall cashmere beige tonality that would be very dowdy on all but a guy.”

The beautiful classic Arpège bottle of black with gold shows a stylized Art Deco figure of a mother and daughter, which is supposed to represent Mme. Lanvin and her daughter, who chose the fragrance’s name. I have a miniature bottle of the eau de parfum:

I’ve dabbed it on my wrist a couple of times this week to get reacquainted, and it’s really very nice. Loads of aldehydes, of course, but to me it smells more floral than No.5. I smell the peach, the honeysuckle, the ylang ylang, a bit of the jasmine, a little rose and lily, and the wonderful, warm base notes. Turin is right, the dry down does smell the way cashmere feels, but I don’t find it dowdy. The base is really marvelous, though a little goes a long way in the current heatwave! It’s really more of a formal scent for cooler weather.

Speaking of not dowdy, the outfits and sketches in the exhibit it were wonderful, and many were surprisingly modern.

The workmanship on all the garments was extraordinary. All were hand sewn and hand embroidered. The fabrics were exquisite, even the ones that dated to before World War II. You can find out more about the exhibit at Jeanne Lanvin exhibit.

Have you rediscovered any classic vintage fragrances recently?