From trips to the soda fountain to road trips from the back of a station wagon, reminiscence with us of days gone by but never forgotten. A sharp dressed man from NYC, a Brazilian perfumitsa, and a web designer in L.A.; all share scented memories of their fathers in this chapter… “No place to be ending but somewhere to start.”
Photo: ScentNotes by Chandler Burr
Thanks to Neil Morris you can know own a piece of perfume history. Neil and David Garten are giving away a ‘collector’s’ fragrance. Neil Morris for Takashimaya New York has a very special place in my heart and in the hearts of all those who bid “On the Corner of Fifth Avenue and Zen” a fragrant farewell. In order to be eligible for the draw, please leave your comment on site.
When I think of the scents associated with my father there are several that come to mind. He wore 4711 by Muehlans as well as Canoe. My father was an attorney and when he went to work there was also the smell of Hask (which I don’t even know if they make anymore) that he used to slick his hair back.
I was the youngest of five children and when my father and I did an errand together or just for the fun of it he would take me to the local apothecary that still had a soda fountain (this was the 1970’s not the 1950’s so it was rare) and he would always buy me a Raspberry Lime Rickey and to this day when I make them for my nieces and nephews the light sweet smell of the grenadine and lime bring me back to those happy childhood days with dad. –David Garten, CEO and Co-Founder of Neil Morris Fragrances http: www.neilmorrisfragrances.com
My father, Clarence Robert Boettcher (born 1918), was a very conservative man by the time I came on the scene and didn’t wear cologne or aftershave, per se, but I do remember the distinct scent of Burma Shave, which he used faithfully every day.
At the time, Burma Shave was a wildly popular brushless shaving cream with their clever advertising program of placing small red signs with white letters at regular intervals alongside the road with only a piece of the ad on each one: "Our fortune / Is your / Shaven face / It's our best / Advertising space / Burma-Shave." Our favorite pastime each summer was the "road trip" in our family station wagon and these signs kept us entertained across the entire continental United States for many years. I had forgotten about this pungent, soapy smelling scent but it brings back happy memories of us together as a family, rolling along – singing our songs. :0) – Sonsa Rae, Natural Perfumer and Co Founder of Sonsa Rae Skincare
My father always wore and continue to wear Eau Sauvage by Dior. It was launched in 66, so I literally grew up smelling this fragrance since I was born. He also had a huge bottle of Paco Rabanne (5 liters) that I took to the bathtub with me, and when he came back from work, it was already too late to save it. I had spilled all the perfume in the water!
I also remember that once someone gave to him a Van Cleef pour Homme by Van Cleef and Arpels. He wore till the very end, but afterwards he continued to be faithful to Dior.Today he has some perfumes in his closet, but he constantly tells me that nobody can make a perfume better than Edmond Roudnitska’s Eau Sauvage.
The Doctor by Modigliani
What I do recall is that, no matter which perfume he was wearing I still think of him with the weird smell of hospitals. My father is retired but he was a surgeon. He always came back from work smelling like the chemical products they use in surgeries, which are very strong –Simone Shitrit, Fragrance Specialist aka Mais Que Perfume
My father never wore cologne. He used a combination of Skin Bracer aftershave and RightGuard aerosol deodorant. One or the other makes me think of him but the unique combination of the two complimenting his natural scent overwhelms me with memories. – Michael Cress, Style Guru and blogger, aka The New York Sartorialist
A very comforting scent for me is the woodsy smell of Japanese incense mixed with the smell of tobacco smoke from my father's pipe.
It instantly takes me back to our classic beige and black living room in the 80's, listening to Sade's Smooth Operator in the background and relaxing in a fluffy armchair, watching my father read –Salim, CEO of Dreamsnfx and Web Designer for Cafleurebon
Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief