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Could Granny Wear Your Frags??

post #1 of 33
8/20/08 at 4:29am
Thread Starter 
Or an alternative title could well be, do you smell like your grandmother?

There's been so much talk of ' old man scents', of unisex fags, of women being able to pull off a man's frag and, to a lesser extent, vice versa.

Then it dawned on me. Not only women but the proverbial little old lady could wear most of my favorite frags!

Well, it didn't exactly 'dawn' on me. To be honest I had a guest come over and that was her comment. She's 25 and a minor-league frag addict.

Undaunted, I proceeded to spritz her with Vintage Tabarome, Dunhill 1934, Havana, Micheal Kors for Men and Guerlian Vetiver. (yep, I'm quite handy with the ladies) She was unsure if Vintage Tabarome smelled ' old ladyish' but by then her nose was about to collapse from exhaustion.

But she categorically stated that, though good and unique, the aforementioned frags smelled like something her granny would wear if she ever ran out of Shalimar.

-----------------------------------------------------

My question is this:

Which one of your frags is a little old lady most likely to pull off?

(Aw shucks, while we're at it I might as well ask: which ones would she find extremely hard to pull off?)

My offhand guess at the least likely to pull off category would be Tuscany and Bulgari Black. I know I should post a list, but I'm too freaking tired at present so I'll stick with the two that came to mind..

BB because it's techno-mod all the way, Tuscany because it's macho in an adversarial way--what I like to term 'anti-frags'

So gentlemen, while I won't go as far as telling you to ask your wives of gf's
" Honey, do I smell like a little old lady? "

Well, if you've got the guts to do so, go for it and let us know


Ok, got to go and score some Jicky

Cheers,

Mario
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post #2 of 33
8/20/08 at 5:06am
I wear Shalimar sometimes..... I think that qualifies me as an old lady kind of guy.

.
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post #3 of 33
8/20/08 at 5:11am
I think granny could easily pull of my Lorenzo Villoresi Garofano. I seriously doubt whether she could pull of my SMW and my Polo Green. All of my others scents I think she might be able to pull off
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post #4 of 33
8/20/08 at 5:21am
This can be quite a provocative thread, anyway I'd like to take the chance to turn it into a brief picture of my beloved granny that left us less than one year ago, and folks, let me tell you how witty, hearted and lively she was, and with such a nice taste for enjoying every simple thing in life. Also about perfumes she was all but narrowminded and old fashioned heh... She liked to wear scents of different tipe, from the peppery and sparkling Extravagance d'Amarige to the spicy Nu, from delicate jasmine smells to the vibrant violet notes.
All this to say she liked from time to time to comment my smellies on me and I bet she would have worn many of them proudly.
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post #5 of 33
8/20/08 at 5:30am
Let's just trash those useless categories chypre, fougere, oriental and replace them with granny, tranny, and sneezy.
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post #6 of 33
8/20/08 at 5:42am
Shalimar=Granny
Le Male=Tranny
Egoiste=Sneezy

I have to add that my grandmother would've never used my perfumes. She only wore English Lavender.

.
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post #7 of 33
8/20/08 at 5:49am
My grandmother would not wear any fragrance of mine, 'cause she's wearing Dolce&Gabbana Light Blue. So, well: I don't smell like my grandmother.
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post #8 of 33
8/20/08 at 6:37am
Maybe Dior Homme?
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post #9 of 33
8/20/08 at 6:43am
She would love my Balenciaga pour Homme, as it's roughly in the same clan as Youth Dew. (And yes, I mean that as a compliment -- and as a compliment to Balenciaga pour Homme, no less.) She would also love my JHL, as it's unequivocally the masculine counterpart to Cinnabar. I could see her wearing Grey Flannel, too, as it's not too distantly related to Cabochard and other dark, mysterious femme frags of her era.

Mona di Orio's Lux doesn't really count here, as it's marketed as a unisex frag. Still, I can see her going ga-ga for its musty, powdery lemon character. Versus by Versace is in the same family, though, and it's definitely a men's frag she could have (and very well might have) pulled off.

I, too, wear Shalimar from time to time, and love it dearly. It smells very spicy and rich and warm on my skin, with the vanilla predominant above all other notes. Furthermore, it gets me oodles of compliments when I wear it. Héritage (esp. in its edt form) really reminds me a great deal of Shalimar -- perhaps that's why I love it so much as well.
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post #10 of 33
8/20/08 at 7:18am
  • KMF
  • offline
  • Gender:
Acqua di Parma - Colonia Assoluta
Bvlgari - BLV Notte
Giorgio for Men
Agua de Loewe

As for being difficult for my grandmother to pull off...
Rochas - Lui
Versace L'Homme
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post #11 of 33
8/20/08 at 7:32am
Mario, I think you started this topic just to see if I finally would participate in one of these 'what-would-this-person-wear' threads!

My grandmother came of age in the Roaring Twenties, she was very at home with fragrances like Tabac Blond and Habanita. She taught dramatics for years at Goodman Theatre in Chicago. She would have loved L'Anarchiste, Yatagan, Vintage Tabarome and a host of other fragrances in my wardrobe.
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post #12 of 33
8/20/08 at 7:43am
im pretty sure granny would choke on 90% of the stuff I have.
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post #13 of 33
8/20/08 at 8:30am
Shalimar by Guerlain
Private Collection by Estee Lauder
Neroli by L'Occitane
Parfum des Merveilles by Hermes

Maybe even Black Orchid by Tom Ford?
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post #14 of 33
8/20/08 at 9:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnifiscent View Post

This can be quite a provocative thread, anyway I'd like to take the chance to turn it into a brief picture of my beloved granny that left us less than one year ago, and folks, let me tell you how witty, hearted and lively she was, and with such a nice taste for enjoying every simple thing in life

I second that. I lost my gran a year and ten months ago. She almost brought me up herself, so for me it was almost like loosing a mother. I occasionally do wear stuff she might have worn - LV's Garofano (sample), Yardley's English Lavender, and 4711
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post #15 of 33
8/20/08 at 9:47am
I'd never have even thought to try wearing Mitsouko if I hadn't smelled a dear family member from my Grandmother's generation wearing it (my Grandmother never wore it though). I suppose people probably wonder why I'm wearing my Grandmother's perfume when I do wear it, but I think it smells rather masculine on me.
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post #16 of 33
8/20/08 at 9:52am
Oh, really. I am old enough to be someone's granny, am quite fit, pretty, funny, and yes, I do wear Bulgari Black. Come on. What does age have to do with fragrance choices?
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post #17 of 33
8/20/08 at 9:54am
Iquitos smells like a Grandmother...a masculine, hairy, deep-voiced Grandma.
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post #18 of 33
8/20/08 at 10:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Therese View Post

Oh, really. I am old enough to be someone's granny, am quite fit, pretty, funny, and yes, I do wear Bulgari Black. Come on. What does age have to do with fragrance choices?

Absolutely right, though I think it's more about fashion during one's heyday, which is only coincidentally linked to age. Typically. But then, you don't sound 'typical'. Rock on!

I'm wanting a bottle of Jicky, myself.

As for my grannies, I have one who doesn't do perfume, and another who pretty much reeked of booze most of the time.
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post #19 of 33
8/20/08 at 11:19am
Both my grandmothers died many years ago. I'd be proud to be wearing the same scent as my grandmother; kind of like a legacy. We'd probably share similar skin chemistry, anyway.

A grandmother could wear any of my faves very nicely: Philtre d' Amour would smell fabulous on anyone, Shalimar Light and Aimez Moi as well.
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post #20 of 33
8/20/08 at 11:51am
Back when I was just figuring out the Diptyque line I sniffed Olene at the store and exclaimed--my grandmother has been wearing this for ages! Little did I realize that Olene's release date made that impossible. The light white flowers in the scent are like something my grandmother has worn a lot of, so I'd say my wonderful grandmother would pull off Diptyque's Olene with the grace of habit.

That's sort of an easy answer on my part, so I'll have to think about which of my other scents she could pull off. Or which my other grandmother would pull off. They're both nuts, so maybe I'd assign them Xeryus.
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post #21 of 33
8/20/08 at 1:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony87 View Post

Maybe Dior Homme?

Ditto. Smells like granny - after she wallops you with her handbag!
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post #22 of 33
8/20/08 at 1:55pm
the closest things i have to an 'aged' scent are Knize Ten and Helmut Lang EdP.

the Knize Ten is far too timeless to be considered dated in any way, however it does evoke an image of 'vintage' about it----however unanimously in a positive way.

the Helmut Lang EdP is a creamy, slightly powdery, straight up musk. It's lightness and mellowness sort of bodes well for a granny to wear, however it still feels modern, without that alcoholic staleness that really 'old people' perfumes generally carry.
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post #23 of 33
8/20/08 at 3:10pm
Oris Noir by Ormande Jaynei=old lady stench
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post #24 of 33
8/20/08 at 3:13pm
Havana for "granny"? That's fragrance blasphemy! Please retract that, sir!
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post #25 of 33
8/20/08 at 3:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stuigi View Post

Havana for "granny"? That's fragrance blasphemy! Please retract that, sir!

No, no way. I mean Havana or Havana Reserva on a granny is like .... I don't know, but it's just plain wrong.

But hey, Havana or Havana Reserva on a cool guy is anything but a granny!
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post #26 of 33
8/20/08 at 5:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Therese View Post

Oh, really. I am old enough to be someone's granny, am quite fit, pretty, funny, and yes, I do wear Bulgari Black. Come on. What does age have to do with fragrance choices?

..... absolutely nothing !!
I totally agree with you Therese .
some of my recent evening fragrances have also been grannies
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post #27 of 33
8/20/08 at 5:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAttorney View Post

Oris Noir by Ormande Jaynei=old lady stench

hmmmm ..... very very crude
"thats punching way below the belt "
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post #28 of 33
8/20/08 at 9:06pm
Anybody could wear most of the new lighter/fresher frags. Age has nothing to do with it. It's all about attitude.
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post #29 of 33
8/21/08 at 12:03am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by aeromatic View Post

Anybody could wear most of the new lighter/fresher frags. Age has nothing to do with it. It's all about attitude.


No, it's not. It's about history and the base notes used in perfumery. During the late 18th to early 20th century sales were principally aimed at upper class women and dandies. There were "fresh" scents like 4711 and Eau de Cologne Imperiale, as ubiquitous as the acquas of today and then--Oh just read a good book on the subject.

(Good God! I'm fighting a rearguard action on behalf of Luca Turin & co. )

In any case, when mainstream men got into the act there was a shift to " woods" chypre and fougere.

Sometimes these went to an extreme, as in the late 1970's and 1980's with Drakkar Noir, Carlo Corinto, Quorum, Tuscany, Aramis--and who can ever forget Brut?

There were two problems: 1. They stank and 2. Oakmoss appeared to be taking over the world. Night of The Living Fungus!!

Allright, allright, some were masterpieces and did not stink; and my grandmother could have kicked M. Ali's ass in less than 3 rounds.

Are we PC and happy now, or do I have to qualify this further?

*sigh*

I'll be a wuss and qualify further. Yes, of course you can be the most macho of men and wear Fracas, a 90 year old woman who drives 18 yr old boys wild with desire by wearing Bandit, or queerer than the proverbial $3 bill and rejoice in Vintage Tabarome. For that matter, a precocious 12 year old girl who eschews Tommy Girl but spritz on Givenchy Gentleman is, I'm sure, to be found somewhere in this universe.

This is not a put down of anyone's 'attitude' nor of your constitutional right to wear whatever you please, OK?

------------------------------------------

Back to the original intent; It seems to me that many of the most elegant of men's fragrances contain a floral note, (as well they should) and more, that many could be sent as a gift to that little old lady from Pasadena we've all heard of, and that, provided she did not know it was a man's edt, it would fit right in with her wardrobe, and bring a smile to her face.


Let me try it another way: Gentlemen: what in your wardrobe does NOT stink, is truly memorable and enjoyable, yet would NOT, in your opinion, fit with the wardrobe of that sweet little old lady from Pasadena?

---------------

Oh, and please don't tell me how many little old ladies from Pasadena you know that drive Harleys, wear Bulgari Black and beat up innocent bystanders on the street---the latter was a Monty Python skit.

Begging you not to report me to The Ministry of Love as a thought criminal,

Orwell forever,
Mario 1984
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post #30 of 33
8/21/08 at 12:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mario Justiniani View Post

Back to the original intent; It seems to me that many of the most elegant of men's fragrances contain a floral note, (as well they should) and more, that many could be sent as a gift to that little old lady from Pasadena we've all heard of, and that, provided she did not know it was a man's edt, it would fit right in with her wardrobe, and bring a smile to her face.


Let me try it another way: Gentlemen: what in your wardrobe does NOT stink, is truly memorable and enjoyable, yet would NOT, in your opinion, fit with the wardrobe of that sweet little old lady from Pasadena?

That's how I read the question--sort of a reverse of the dismissive 'what smells like old?' question. It's the reverse of that because it asks which of your scents, scents that you obviously like or believe in since you bought them, would you think to sneak into your grandmother's use, that you think she would pull off, and even feel good in?

I like the question and think it's fun to answer something in a way that seems empowering to sneak onto grandmothers.

I think Halston 1-12 would work really well, and I love the stuff. (Hiris popped into my mind just now, because it's one I love, but obviously, I'm the weird one wearing it since it's targeted to women already.)

Here's one: Hermès's Equipage. Super masculine but it would be great on a grandmother as well, with its wonderfully milled carnation core.
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post #31 of 33
8/21/08 at 7:22am
Great topic!

Granny could have worn many of mine -- I like the classics -- but, since she was very old-school and wore Tangee lipstick, I'm not sure she would have worn any of them, although in her youth she dressed like a flapper. Later in life, though, I don't remember seeing anything on her dressing table. Maybe a little bath powder.

Now, her sister, my great-aunt, was an artist in New York in the 30's. The sky was the limit, I'm sure -- she would've been a Chypre type, I'm guessing. Chypre by Coty? I'd love to think so. Or Tabac Blonde. But again, in her middle to old age, I don't remember any scent. They lived in Panama, then Florida, with no A.C. Maybe it was just too hot.
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post #32 of 33
8/21/08 at 7:33am
I have a bottle of Petite Guerlain; it was originally designed for a child. To me, it smells more like a granny, as it has that sour milk smell which I associate with the infirm.
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post #33 of 33
8/21/08 at 7:54am
Hypnotic Poison
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