Eau de Rochas bottle© photo by Nicoleta 

I find it frustrating, especially in summer, that some of my favorites dresses and skirts don’t have pockets. Mind you, having pockets on the inside of the clothes is a relatively new thing, as until the 17th century women and men both had pockets that were not sewn into clothes, but attached to a cord that was tied around the waist. To avoid the risk of having their pockets stolen (let’s not forget that there was a revealing name for those thieves: pick pockets or cutpurses) people began to cut slits in their garments and tuck the pouches inside their clothing: women often hid their pockets underneath their petticoats, and men began having their pockets sewn into the linings of their coats and breeches. Functionality won over men’s fashion and pockets became a masculine trademark, women returning to the outside pockets in the form of purses.

Vintage ad from the 1930s. © Archives Maison Rochas

 

In Paris, in 1925, 23-year-old designer Marcel Rochas, instead of becoming a lawyer, decided to found his own couture house (after being asked by his first wife to design her wedding dress). Being contemporary to Coco Chanel, Christian Dior & Elsa Schiaparelli, Monsieur Rochas had a distinct way of making fashion, at the opposite spectrum of the more popular at the time Chanel simplicity and “garconne” style. He is the one designer credited to being the inventor of the two-thirds length coat and the first one to add pockets in skirts.

Eau de Rochas, perfume ad 1999

The house of Rochas is responsible for creating my olfactory equivalent of a pocketed summer white dress: Eau du Rochas – a comfortable, liberating, and “effortless chic” perfume that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

The Wind Street, Constanta (photo credit imagesoundexpert blogspot)

In the ancient seaside town I hide in every summer, there is a small narrow path called “The Wind Street” – and I have walked the 140 steps that bring me to the sea so often, that I know it, with eyes closed (like in that Amelie movie sequence in which she narrates the busy street to the old blind man) and I can recreate it in my mind, at any time: the exact sounds my steps make on the pebble path; the dusty sweet smell of the stone walls, mixed in with the salty mineral aroma of the sea; the spiral staircases of the houses old as time, wafting their sweet moldy secrets into the street; the rugged texture of the generations of the green-eyed furry cats, popping their heads through fences; the sound of the bell from the orthodox Greek church nearby, all melting in the august orange evening light, sedimenting layer after layer of perfect summer memories.

 

Floating lemons, via unsplash @tiangleeight2

Eau de Rochas opens with effervescent tartness: verbena, lime, lemons, grapefruit, and mandarin swirl in a sizzling cascade of fresh water, with an extra zing added from crushed leaves of basil. Not long after, the scent gets an intimate, “lived-in” nuance, in the most beautiful, powdery, slightly bitter way, thanks to the classic and nostalgic trio of jasmine, rose, and carnation.  Patchouli and oakmoss add substance and flesh to the dry-down, and Eau de Rochas settles quietly, musky and warm on salty sun-kissed skin.

Eau de Rochas photo by Nicoleta ©

I have previously written that  O de Lancome is my perfect match for hot summer days. Eau de Rochas is its ideal counterpart – the “orange hour” storyteller scent – sensual, more complex but still effortlessly cool, with just a hint of underlying bitterness (as a constant reminder of summer’s end).

Eau de Rochas photo by Nicoleta ©

Feels just right- like having my hands in my pockets, in my favorite dress, whistling a song on my favorite street, wearing the sea on my skin, like a lover’s mark.    

Eau de Rochas was created in 1970 and the nose was Nicolas Mamounas

Top Notes: Basil, Bergamot, Grapefruit, Lime, Mandarin, Lemon; Heart Notes: Rose, Carnation, Jasmine, Coriander, Narcissus; Base notes: Amber, Oakmoss, Musk, Sandalwood, Patchouli

Nicoleta Tomsa, Editor

Disclosure: My own, bottle, opinions are my own

Pauline Rochas is the granddaughter of Marcel and Helene Rochas and a co-founder of COOLIFE Fragrances. You can read her Profiles in American Perfumery here

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