If you don’t count my grandmother’s crushed velvet bedspread or the beaded doorway of the bedroom of the prostitute who lived across the street, my life at age fifteen was largely devoid of glamour. I was just learning about perfume, and I’d saved enough from babysitting to buy a bottle of Babe, but I scouted the mall for something more sophisticated, something people who had passports and ate caviar might wear. Then, one day at the mall, I discovered Chanel.
A saleswoman placed testers of Chanel Nos. 5, 19, and 22 on the glass-topped counter, but she pushed the bottle of No. 22 forward. “I think you’ll like this one,” she said. To me, Chanel fragrances were the epitome of chic. They didn’t need an elaborate bottle or television ads of a man pretending to be a prince in a puffy shirt to signal quality. I ended up buying the No. 22 bath oil. The oil was fragrant and much less expensive than the Eau de Toilette. (The prostitute had been terrible about paying her babysitting bill.) The inside of my wrists and behind my ears were well moisturized that year…
With the constant whirlwind of new perfume launches that blows through department stores, it stands to reason that some fragrances won’t get the attention they deserve. After a year or two sitting on the counter at Nordstrom, they’ll be relegated to perfume discounters or discontinued. Surely, among the hundreds of perfumes that don’t make the long haul are some pretty terrific scents, some to be had at bargain prices. But which ones?
It seems like every fashion magazine these days has an annual age issue or a monthly section on “looks for every age”. In them, women in their 20s must be trendy, women in their 40s are supposed to shell out for Kelly bags and Piaget watches, and women over 50 are doomed to wear only black, white, and jewel tones. Once a woman reaches her mid-30s, she’s supposed to keep skirts below the knees and — even more horrifying — cut her hair. All these “shoulds” have made me think about age and perfume. Are certain fragrances more appropriate for women of certain ages?
Last week I spent a few days in New York City on the way to a friend’s wedding. (By the way, this was the friend for whom I asked your 
As far as years go, 1933 doesn’t stand out the way, say, 1492 does. But in many areas — culture, politics, and a new awareness of the larger world — 1933 was extraordinary. The perfumes of 1933 are extraordinary, too.