The Vintage Perfume Vault: American Classics

Showing posts with label American Classics. Show all posts

Sunday, March 13, 2011

American Classics: Ralph Lauren Lauren for Women

Ralph Lauren was born in the Bronx, N.Y. on October 14, 1939. Originally named Ralph Rueben Lifshitz, his parents were Ashkenazim Jewish immigrants who immigrated to America from Belarus, in order to escape pressure from Hitler's advancing army. From a young age, Lauren exhibited a keen drive and clear vision of who and what he wanted to be. After school Ralph worked to earn enough money to buy his own suits and he was known for selling fancy ties to his classmates.

Lauren graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957. The son of a simple house painter, Ralph noted in his high school yearbook that his goal was to become a millionaire. Lauren later attended Baruch College of the City University of New York but left school after studying business for two years; he did not graduate. Lauren never received any formal fashion training either. He served in the military, married, and in 1967, with the financial backing of Norman Hilton, opened a necktie store. He sold his ties under the “Polo” label and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today the Ralph Lauren name has become a billion dollar industry. His brand is a blend of Cape Cod, Maine influenced preppy look, a swath of English Country-side, infused with a healthy dose of rugged Western 'cowboy' (and even Indian) ethos. From him, we learned to mix stripes with plaids and lush floral prints. His ads featured 'family' gatherings including impossibly pretty, healthy and fresh looking models wearing leather, tweed and denim paired with romantic touches of lace, pattern or ruffles, all set against iconic views of wind-swept, wide open spaces.

'Lauren' launched in 1978. The fragrance was described as 'light and contemporary' at the time; the bottle, a deep maroon cube topped with a golden, 'blob-top' shaped stopper was designed after an antique inkwell.

Lauren (Ralph Lauren) 1978

Top Notes: Wild marigold, greens, rosewood, pineapple
Heart Notes: Bulgarian rose, lilac, violet, jasmine, lily of the valley, cyclamen
Base Notes: Cedarwood, oakmoss, sandalwood, vetiver, carnation

Lauren was discontinued some time ago and then brought back, although in a thin and bitter approximation of the original formulation. I have the vintage version made by Cosmair, in USA, and it smells exactly as it did back in the good old days. I wore Lauren in high school and loved it, along with Vanderbilt and several other scents. Although it is a sweet perfume, Lauren is by far the greenest and sharpest of the scents I wore back then. One of the best charms of Lauren is its amazing dry down. It works its way into all of your items and leaves a definite signature, the marigold, carnation and sandalwood linger on and on.

For me, Lauren has a very unique smell combination: the bright, harsh bite of marigold, a thin sharpness imparted by lily of the valley and the crisp green notes, set against the lush, old-fashioned and intoxicating floral spiciness of lilac, violets and carnation. The perfumer mixes patterns here as adeptly as Lauren does with his fabrics. The first juxtaposition is set against another: the surprising and unexpected juicy sweetness of pineapple layered over the salty, smokey and darkly green twang of cedarwood, vetiver and oakmoss, and all tamped together under a smooth and winning sandalwood finish. It all works together perfectly. Lauren's scent gives us a colorful and appealing mélange of textures- equal parts ocean with a tropical twist, prairie meadow, mountainous forest and cottage garden...

Velvety yet sporty, romantic yet fresh, Lauren was a trendsetting perfume. People in the know recommend Pure White Linen most often as a replacement scent but sadly it misses the spirit of the original Lauren fragrance, imo. Try looking for perfumes classified as sharp, green, and fruity. But this is a floral with a particular rare structure, a clean and lean woody-chypre base; there is no patchouli, amber or musk in the base of Lauren- nothing to soften or round it out. In fact, you might have more luck matching this one with a masculine scent.... but instead of looking for a substitute, seek out a vintage bottle while it's still relatively easy to find.

Perfumes of Ralph Lauren (women's)

Lauren (1978)

Tuxedo (1979)

Safari (1990)

Romance (1998)

Ralph (2000)

Glamorous (2001)

Romance Sparkling Mist (2001)

Romance Sensual Notes (2002)

Romance Tender Notes (2003)

Glamorous Daylight (2003)

Ralph Lauren Blue (2003)