The Secret of Chanel No. 5 (32 page)

Parfum Delettrez, 114

Parfums d'Orsay, 42, 114

Parfums de Rosine, 26, 30, 114

Paris, France:
as bohemian, 13
Chanel No. 5 as symbol of, 216–17
collaborators sought and charged in, 157–62
as fashion capital, 113
liberation of, 155–61
perfume sales to soldiers in, 24, 29, 139–40
perfume as souvenir of, 29, 34, 111, 139–40, 149, 216–17
during Roaring Twenties, xiv
during World War II, 137–40, 151–57

Parma violet, as respectable scent, 44

Parquet, Paul, 41

patchouli:
as erotic scent, 18, 76
in oriental perfumes, 40

Patou, Jean, 43
scent salon created by, 124–25

Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, Grand Duke, 49, 51

perfume industry:
at 1925 Paris exhibition, 114–15
during Great Depression, 120, 121
duty free business model of, 167
innovations and changes in, 39, 40, 41, 44–45, 54–55, 93, 115, 144–45, 208–9
Late–20th century glamour of, 201–3
Marie de Medici and roots of, 31–32
marketing changes in, 123–25
secrecy within, 97

perfume(s):
accords as building blocks of, 39
aldehydes in,
see
aldehydes
American market for, 29, 30, 100, 111–12, 120, 124, 197
in ancient world, 19
categories of, 39–45
on couture scene, 25–27, 59
as feat of engineering and inspiration, 47
”golden age” of, xvi, 33, 45, 144, 214
historically linked to prostitution, 19
legacy, xiii, 209
“lifted” by aldehydes, 64
marketing of, 81, 123–25, 147–50
natural vs. synthetic materials in, 41
personal style as factor in, 93
processing of florals for use in, 143–45
scent salons for merchandising, 123–25
social distinctions defined by, 18, 43, 44, 46
as souvenir of Paris, 29, 34, 111, 139–40, 149, 157, 159, 162–64, 216–17
structure of, 78
studied by Coco, 38–39, 40–45, 104, 143
world's oldest, 19
on World War II black market, 138, 146
see also
fragrance; scent;
specific perfumes

perfumer, task and skills of, 39, 210

phenylethyl alcohol, 44

Piaf, Édith, 155

Picasso, Pablo, 45

plant resins, as head notes, 78

Poiret, Paul, 127
signature scent launched by, 25–27, 30, 122, 123

Polanski, Roman, 198

Polge, Jacques, 64, 202, 203, 210

prostitution, perfumes linked to, 19

Proust, Marcel, 18

Quelques Fleurs (perfume), 45, 55, 67, 70–71

quinolines, 42

Rallet No. 1 (perfume), 52, 55–56
as basis for Chanel No. 5, 70–72, 96–97, 105–6, 118, 173, 174
bottle design for, 105–6
Mademoiselle Chanel No. 1 based on, 172–74
re-release of, 117

Rallet No. 3 (perfume), 117

Rallet No. 33 (perfume), 117

Rallet O-De-Kolon No. 1 Vesovoi,
see
Rallet No. 1

Rasputin, Grigori, 49–50, 55

red label Chanel,
see
Mademoiselle Chanel perfumes

Remembrance of Things Past
(Proust), 18

Renoir, Pierre-Auguste, 31

Repulsion,
198

respectability, divide between
demimonde
and, 18, 33–34

Reve d'Or (perfume), aldehydes first used in, 67

Ricci, Nina, 43

Ritz Hotel, Paris, 35, 138, 140, 155, 157, 184, 186

Roaring Twenties, xiv-xvi
Chanel No. 5 captures spirit of, 3, 67, 118
fashion and style of, 22, 45–46
see also les années folles

Robert, Henri, 210

Robert, Joseph, 97

Roger et Gallet, 114

rose
in Chanel No. 5, 60, 61, 66, 71, 76, 79, 124

rose
(cont.)
from Grasse, 43, 44, 143
as respectable scent, 43, 44
as scent at Russian court, 52
smuggled during WWII, 206

Rose (Chanel perfume), 109

Roubert, Vincent, 117–18, 173–74

Rubenstein, Helena, 147

Russian Revolution of 1917, 51

Ruth, Babe, xv

Saint Laurent, Yves, 40

Saks Fifth Avenue, 116, 171

sandalwood:
in Chanel No. 5, 62
in oriental perfumes, 40
as sexual scent, 76–77

Scandal (perfume), 182

scents:
chemical architecture of, 78
language of, 39–40, 78
memories linked to, 52, 90–91, 102, 210
reminiscent of human odors, 21, 60, 77–78, 79–80
sexuality revealed through, 18–22
see also
fragrance; perfumes

scent salons, 123–25

Schellenberg, Walter Friedrich, 159, 176

Schiaparelli, Elsa, 137

Scott, Ridley, 199

Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, Grand Duke, 49, 51

Sert, Misia, 30–31, 32, 35, 57, 102–3, 127

Seventeen,
199

Shalimar (perfume), 84, 114, 115
as oriental reference perfume, 40
scent consistency over time of, 209

Sheldrake, Christopher, 206–7, 209

soldiers, U.S., French perfume as
souvenir for, 29, 34, 157, 159, 162–64, 168

soliflores, 43–44

Stamelman, Richard, 45

State Porcelain Factory, 54

Stein, Gertrude, 120

storax, 79

Stravinsky, Igor, 107, 127

Style Moderne,
see
art deco

styrax, 79

Sulka, house of, 102

Summers, Steven, 168

suntans, made fashionable by Coco, 48

Switzerland:
Coco living in, 161, 162, 167
perfume production in, 168, 170, 173

symbolism, of numbers at Aubazine, 8–10, 61

synthetics:
first used in Fougére Royale, 41
in floral perfumes, 45
in leather perfumes, 42
mid-century generation of, 195
musk, 208–9
in oriental perfumes, 40
perfume industry changed by, 39, 40, 41, 44–45, 54–55, 144–45, 208–9
wariness about use of, 63
see also
aldehydes

Talbot, J. Suzanne, 122

Tautou, Audrey, 201

Tender Is the Night
(Fitzgerald), 109

31 rue Cambon (perfume), 202

Thomas, Dana, 193–94, 200

Thomas, H. Gregory, floral materials acquired by, 141–46, 206

Time,
128–29

Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri, 31

Truman, Bess, 157, 162, 181

Truman, Harry S, 157, 162, 181

tuberose, as erotic scent, 18, 44, 76, 79

Turin, Luca, 84

28 La Pausa (perfume), 202

United States:
Coco's visit to, 128–30, 171
Depression-era luxury market in, 119–20
marketing of Chanel No. 5 in, 99–100, 111–13, 138, 141, 147–50, 199
perfume market in, 29, 30, 100, 111–12, 120, 124, 197
perfume production in, 141, 145–46, 147, 166–67, 171
during Roaring Twenties, xiv-xv

Valéry, Paul, 46

van Ameringen, Arnold, 141

vanilla, in oriental perfumes, 40, 115

vanillin, 40, 115

Verdi, Giuseppe, 10

Victoria, Queen of England, 49

violet fragrances, as respectable scent, 44

Violetta di Parma (perfume), 44

Vionnet, Madeleine, 122

von Boineburg, Hans, 158

von Dincklage, Hans Günther, Coco's relationship with, 158–62, 167, 182

Warhol, Andy, xvi, xvii, 186, 193, 199

Warren, Estella, 200–201

Watson, Lyall, 78

Weriguine, Constantin, 65

Wertheimer, Alain, 197, 200

Wertheimer, Jacques, 141, 194–95, 197

Wertheimer, Paul, 104, 123, 135
Coco's initial agreement with, 92–97
death of, 184
move to New York of, 140
shares sold to Amiot by, 151–54
see also
Les Parfums Chanel

Wertheimer, Pierre, 104, 123, 135, 175
Coco's business relationship with, 153, 183–85
Coco's expenses paid by, 184
Coco's initial agreement with, 92–97
Coco's renegotiated agreement with, 176–77, 183–85, 195
death of, 194
move to New York of, 140
shares sold to Amiot by, 151–54
see also
Les Parfums Chanel

Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, Duke of, 128

white camellia:
as Coco's personal symbol, 10
popularity of, 10

White Russians, in exile, 48–49, 51–53, 56, 88

women, number five as symbolic of, 9–10

Woolf, Virginia, 24

World War I, 27, 28–29, 50–51, 54, 55, 70, 113
Beaux service during, 56
perfume as souvenir after, 29, 34

World War II:
black market during, 138, 146
Chanel No. 5 as soldiers ‘souvenir during, 139–40, 157, 164
Chanel No. 5 production during, 140–46, 166–67, 171
Chanel No. 5 sales during, 138–40, 146–47, 158, 176
collaborators sought and charged after, 157–62
floral material supplies during, 196
shop at rue Cambon during, 137–38
shortages during, 138, 141–46, 156

Wyndham, Diana Lister, 34, 35, 43

XXIII (perfume), 114

Yardley, perfume house of, 147

ylang-ylang:
in Chanel No. 5, 62
as erotic scent, 44

Yusopov, Felix, 49–50

Zelle, Margaretha Geertruida (Mata Hari), 13, 14, 16

Zizanie (perfume), 187

N
ever, I believe, have I written anything that depended so much on the kindness of friends and on the generosity of so many new acquaintances.

Among those friends, thanks to Noelle Baker, Bill Hare, Roberta Maguire, Jeff Cox, Mark Lussier, Paul Youngquist, Christine Renaudin, Graham Lawler, Michael Gamer, Elise Bruhl, Michael Eberle-Sinatra, Tim Fulford, Paula Torgeson, Noelle Oxenhandler, Adrian Blevins, Nate Rudy, Lydia Moland, Axel Witte, the late Susanne Kröck, Matt and Erica Mazzeo, Dave Suchoff, Carleen Mandolfo, Lisa Arellano, Anindyo Roy, Liz Vella, Hannah Holmes, Shari Broder, Bruce Redford, Dennis Crowley, Mark Lee, Joyce Hackett, Jeremy and Paula Lowe, Michael Buss, Anna-Lisa Cox, Abby and Jon Hardy, Jérémie Fant, Jeffery McLain, Sam Hoyt Lindgren, Don Lindgren, Victor Hartmann, and Elizabeth Morse. Richard Wendorf offered perceptive advice on the manuscript at a crucial juncture. Jim Wendorf and Barbara Fiorino were guardian angels in New York, and my thanks to Mark Anderson for assistance with last-minute research in Berlin. Hillary Rockwell Cahn and Charles Cahn steered me in the right direction at the outset. My mother, Charlene Mazzeo, was once again my last and best reader, and my thanks to Pierre Guyomard and Simon Pittaway of La Maison de Léontine in Aubazine for putting me up, showing me around, and–along with so many others in the village that night–helping me haul a rental car out of a snowy ditch in the middle of a French blizzard.

I am also grateful to Chanel for having given me invaluable assistance in the research for this book, although Chanel was clear with me in indicating that it could not confirm many of the facts that are set forth herein. I have relied throughout this book on the many–and occasionally contradictory–published sources on the life of Coco Chanel and on the Chanel No. 5 legend. Also in the world of perfume, Christophe de Villeplee and Nicholas Mirzayantz welcomed me at International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF), and I am grateful to Subha Patel and Ron Winnegrad of IFF and to Virginia Bonofiglio at the Fashion Institute of Technology for everything they shared. Linda Gerlach also shared her experience creating Love, the Key to Life, and, at the Osmothèque de Versailles, Jean Kerléo and Yves Tanguy offered freely time and expertise. Marie-Christine Grasse introduced me to the Museum of Perfume in Grasse. Thanks, too, to Philip Kraft at Givaudan; Walter Zvonchenko at the Library of Congress; and Bradley Hart at the University of Cambridge for his research assistance in the Churchill Archive Centre and in the National Archives in London. At Aubazine, Michèle Millas and Jean-Louis Sol were superb guides to Coco Chanel's childhood home. Thanks to odor artist and researcher Sissel Tolaas for olfactory conversations and other pleasant diversions and to Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez for taking the time to speak in Boston. Memoirist and former model Ann Montgomery Brower generously recollected her days at the house of Chanel in the 1950s.

Last–but certainly not least–at HarperCollins, Matt Inman was, as always, the kind of editor most authors only ever dream about, and I could not have written this book without him. A warm thanks goes, as well, to my agent, Stacey Glick, for the fine art of making everything possible. Finally, I am grateful to my colleagues in the English Department at Colby College and to Dean of Faculty Edward Yeterian, particularly, for the gift of time and for their patience as I completed this book.

TILAR J. MAZZEO
is a cultural historian, biographer, and passionate student of wine, luxury, and French culture. She divides her time among the California wine country in Sonoma County, New York City, and Maine, where she is an associate professor of English at Colby College. She is the author of the
New York Times
bestseller
The Widow Clicquot
, as well as many other books, articles, essays, and reviews on history, women, and travel.

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