Today I Will Be Wearing: L'Homme by Roger & Gallet

-
It was the mid 1980’s - as I made the very early morning walk from Charing Cross through the old market to the Covent Garden General Store, where I was a buyer, my sense of excitement would increase with every step. Ahead of me lay a day fraught with challenges but full of fun, right there in the middle of the most happening part of London.

The fruit, vegetable and flower market had moved out in 1979 but a residue from its past remained. As the last surviving flower seller set up stall on the cobbles, people spilled out from pubs which still kept licensing hours set to suit the schedule of the market porters. The newly renovated retail units had been assigned to independent businesses, chains were not granted leases, and I would marvel at the strange and varied window displays; each one vying to outdo the next.

I would be buzzed into the store’s staff entrance and walk across the well worn wooden floors, Blondie would be blaring around the closed shop as the recovery team restocked from the night before – The Covent Garden General Store was open to midnight every night. As I do daily now in Roullier White, I would pause to decide what tester I was going to spray. Invariably it would be L’Homme by Roger & Gallet (1979). Having struggled to close the heavy grill gate of the freight lift I would fall back against its wall, my wrist pressed against my nose, as the lift slowly and jerkily chugged its way up to the offices.

L’Homme by Roger & Gallet will for me be forever indelibly linked to that time of change, opportunity and optimism. A woody scent bursting with vitality; mint and lemon sparkle around a triumvirate heart of lavender, clove and ylang-ylang cushioned on a bed of rich, sensuous vetiver, oakmoss, sandalwood and patchouli.

Today I am working for another client and as I walk through Covent Garden past the largest Apple Store in
Europe and Marks and Spencers, on the site of the old General Store, I will no doubt contemplate how much times have changed - but as I push my wrist to my nose, and a few ghosts dance across my briefly closed eyelids, it will be nice to know some things never change.

I bought L’Homme By Roger & Gallet from the wonderful and delightful  Burgins of York.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Holy Trinity: Perfumes Made by Monks

-
Image
The rarefied aura that surrounds fragrance dates back to the remotest times of antiquity, when incense and fragrant oils would be offered up to the gods and deities of the ancient world. The Arab world is credited with introducing modern perfumery to the West, having preserved the ancient arts of distillation, evaporation, and filtration that had been lost to Christian society, and in turn heralding great advancements not only in the field of fragrance but of chemistry and science too. In passing this tradition on, Christian monks began to adopt the practice of creating fragrances as an expression of faith, before eventually the art form became available to the wider public, for a price. Today, most perfume is manufactured on a grand commercial scale; a far cry from the artisanal monastic traditions that gave birth to modern fragrance! However, some perfume houses still survive from this bygone age and serve to remind us of our industry’s history while continui...
Read more

Bâtard Folding Picnic Knife by Lamson & Goodnow

-
Image
As author of The Best Bread Ever; Charles Van Over is expected to show everywhere up with an armful of bread. Whilst Charles enjoys breaking bread with friends; he does insist that the bread is properly sliced with a breadknife, not just ripped apart. The problem here is that bread knives are very long and with their serrated edges they are not the easiest of things to carry around. Charles wondered why a folding bread knife could not be produced and took his idea for a pocket bread knife to Lamson & Goodnow, American manufacturers of the LamsonSharp range. The Bâtard Folding Picnic knife is the result of this collaboration. At Roullier White we believe this may possibly be the best picnic knife ever made. The French word bâtard – and yes it does translate how you think it does – is a shorter and thicker type of baguette. The knife, of course, will cut everything including cheese, fruit, vegetables and as you cannot have a picnic without wine it also has an integral corkscrew. Rou...
Read more

L’Édition Française: French Style File

-
Image
ICON: Leslie Caron ICON: Catherine Deneuve ICON: Alain Delon The Middle Ages: Serge de Nîmes AKA Denim | 1926: Coco Chanel: LBD | 1930: Elsa Schiaparelli: The Wrap Dress | 1933: René Lacoste : The Polo Shirt | 1946: Louis Réard: The Bikini  | 1954: Roger Vivier: The Stiletto Heel | 1955: Christian Dior: The A Line | 1955: Coco Chanel: The Strapped Handbag | 1966: Yves Saint Laurent: Le Smoking |  Selvedge Jean A.P.C Paris Mr Porter Hawsorn Shoe Aigle, Paris Sweatshirt BWGH Paris Carven Paris Roullier White Work Jacket Le Laboureur Digoin The Shopkeeper Store Sweatershirt Maison Kitsuné Paris Hat Le Slip Francais x Jean Paul Gaultier Colette, Paris Vuarnet Meaux, Paris French Roast coffee is a dark roast where the beans are almost charred at a high temperature of 240 degrees. The beans crack twice, once as they release steam and then again as they release their oils. The resulting toasted, smokey ground...
Read more