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, June 19, and it is Juneteenth in the US. For those who don’t know, June 19, 1865, was the date when Union troops reached Galveston, Texas, after the Civil War had ended, and were able to deliver the news that the Emancipation Proclamation, signed in 1863, had freed all enslaved persons in the Confederacy. It has been celebrated as a holiday in Texas and then other states for many years, and it is now a national holiday.
We had a wonderful trip to London in late May and the first week of June. A true highlight was the exhibit on Queen Elizabeth II’s fashions throughout her life, at The King’s Gallery. it had been sold out online, but I lucked out and found an open time slot that popped up on the website! It is well worth seeing, the clothes are gorgeous and the exhibit notes are very insightful.
As usual, I visited gardens — so many roses! — and museums and my favorite store, Liberty. This time, I also visited Fortnum & Mason, which I hadn’t visited before, and was very impressed by their fragrance department. London is now truly a fragrance lover’s Mecca.
I also saw the Schiaparelli exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum — so much fun! And there was a whole display about her perfumes.
Don’t you love the idea of a perfume named “Zut”? I do! I’m not sure I’ve ever smelled a Schiaparelli perfume, have you?
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 
I’m a Brit so I hope you were there during a temperate time. When it gets over 25c the humidity in our cities makes it feel like a steam oven.
That Coronation dress must weigh a ton. Imagine such a tiny young woman wearing that, the rest of the costume & carrying or wearing the regalia. She was made of stern stuff.
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Yes, it was hot on our first day or two, but then it cooled down. We had the amazing treat of going to see a live filming of the Antiques Roadshow on the weekend, near Dartmouth! It is one of the TV shows we like the most, we find it very calming, so it was really fun to go see it in person. We were visiting our nephew and his family in Dartmouth, and they surprised us with the outing.
And yes, I can’t imagine the weight of that dress and all the accoutrements. Nothing compared to the weight of being the sovereign for as long as she served. There will never be another like her. The exhibition included her WWII ATS uniform. I found that, and her childhood dresses, very moving.
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The only place QEII was unsuccessful was as a mum. Outstanding as Mother of a Nation, but unable to hug or be tactile.
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Sadly, I think you’re right.
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WOW! You saw such interesting things OH. Fabulous. That QEII exhibition looks like it was amazing. She wore colour so well.
Fortnum & Mason is one of my fave pilgrimages when in London.
I’ve missed your weekly Chat Room. welcome back.
Portia xx
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Thanks! When we haven’t been traveling this spring, we’ve been very busy with the project of trying to get our street designated as a protected historic district, which is both time-consuming and a distraction. So I’ve been off my game a bit with the blog! What do you like to visit at Fortnum & Mason? I had a very nice cream tea there, and they also had a great special display of hats!
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That looks like a wonderful exhibit! We may have overlapped a few days in London, and I’m envious that you got to see the Schiaparelli exhibition! It was sold out for about two weeks out when we tried to go. Did you reserve in advance? That Zut perfume is so funny!
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I have a membership to the V&A from when I went to the Cartier exhibit, and it hadn’t expired yet. Members can just walk in!
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Thanks for sharing the photos of the queen’s gowns exhibit. Such gorgeous dresses. What a tiny waist she had! And Fortunum and Mason’s perfume dept. looks wonderful, too. Sounds like a wonderful trip with beautiful scents, roses and fashions.
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It really was. I love London! And this time, we stayed at a lovely boutique hotel near my husband’s London office, called Vintry & Mercer. It’s on Garlick Hill, near the Thames and St. Paul’s. Very quiet, lovely staff, beautiful rooftop terrace!
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