What goes around comes around: what was ‘out’ is ‘in’ again.
I recently read an article written by a younger man for his ilk on the topic of f ‘Old man cologne’. His point: the inexpensive colognes our fathers and grandfathers used are still available, inexpensive and – who knew?! – not bad. I had a good laugh. I remember as a boy associating “Old Spice” with
a) my father
b) being old
and
c) being totally uncool.
No way would I wear such a thing. It would be like wearing braces, oxford loafers, or (shudder!) boxer shorts. Since all of these clothing items are now integral parts of my wardrobe, call me “Old Man” and let’s get me some Old Man cologne to match.
The article recommended I check out names I recall from my childhood but never encountered, other than on the dresser tops of my agnates:
Aqua Velva
Brut
English Leather
Old Spice
and
Pinaud Clubman (which smells like an old time barber shop)
One cologne he recommended is Hai Karate. Alas, you can’t get it anymore. Someone recognized it right away. Last night I spent some fun moments watching old TV commercials for these colognes. Mr. Namath looks quite young (and quite ‘70s’) in the Brut ads.
If Hai Karate is anything like its advertisements, no wonder it went out of style:
Next time I am in CVS I hope to find a bottle of English Leather. This one sounds more like my style. It starts out with a citrus like scent and fades to wood and leather. ( am fond of wood and of leather) As the day goes on it is reportedly “baby powder” like. On the other hand, the ad makes me dubious :
“All my men wear English Leather ????
This makes her sound a bit of a slut.
I don’t want that association, do I ? :-)
35 comments
Comments feed for this article
October 19, 2012 at 1:17 PM
wfregosi
Lilac Vegetal , which has an old-time barbershop aftershave scent has been my choice for decades. I consider it a classic — along with me.
October 19, 2012 at 2:29 PM
victorinvermont
I love Lilac Vegetal by Pinaud! I turned my husband Chris, who is 24 years old btw, on to it and now it’s all he wears. I wore Envy by Gucci since high school, it was like my signature scent. It’s discontinued now, and I ran out of my last drops this summer. So now I’m using Lilac Vegetal too. You’re right, it’s classic.
October 19, 2012 at 2:37 PM
Urspo
I think your way is best viz. stick with one scent. This allows others to associate you with a certain scent, and have it embedded in their minds. I tend to use many types changing frequently, which is jolly good fun but there is no ‘Spo-scent’ as it were.
________________________________
October 19, 2012 at 2:13 PM
Cameron
You are old, my friend, but not as old as me!
My dad wore all those scents. And let’s not forget Vitalis for the hair! It had a distinctive scent as well.
I’ll never forget Health & Safety class in 7th grade, when a hormonal male classmate sprayed everybody with Hai Karate. The classroom stank to high heaven for days.
October 19, 2012 at 2:17 PM
Laurent
Of course you want that association, that is what you are probably thinking all along. LOL!!! Yes those old Cologne are quite nice in fact, very masculine. I prefer Bulgari myself, but this is the European in me.
October 19, 2012 at 2:35 PM
Urspo
I am curious to know if cologne is more/less used in Europe than on North America, and if they are ‘more serious’ about it/what do they use etc.
________________________________
October 19, 2012 at 2:32 PM
Jay
I wear George Washington’s Cologne. (Number 6 from Caswell & Massey) and Napoleon’s (4711) but my favorite is more modern Brit by Burberry. I love the smell.
October 19, 2012 at 2:34 PM
Urspo
I have never heard of any of these; This entry is turning into a fun means to discover what Spo-fans (the gents anyway) are wearing.
________________________________
October 19, 2012 at 2:44 PM
anne marie in philly
this female blog reader wears vanilla oil from a specific herbalist in baltimore md. I am allergic to chemicals and scents. I always smell like cookies!
October 19, 2012 at 2:51 PM
victorinvermont
Anne Marie, that’s awesome. My sister Gina wears a vanilla fragrance of some kind. My dogs love her.
October 20, 2012 at 12:43 PM
anne marie in philly
I do seem to pull it off well. it’s the only scent I can wear due to my allergies. my cats don’t care what I am wearing.
October 19, 2012 at 2:54 PM
Urspo
My Grandmother sometimes hired a lady to help her with big dinners and clean up projects. She did a lot of cooking – she too wore a dab of vanilla behind each ear. I thought that was her real scent, which is still associated with home cooking, holidays, and family. Just of smell of vanilla sends me back, and gives me a euphoric feeling of contentment.
________________________________
October 20, 2012 at 12:44 PM
anne marie in philly
well, when we meet, you will have to give me a big old sniff!
October 19, 2012 at 2:52 PM
jefferyrn
Ricky has always worn Lagerfeld. But lately he likes Tommy Bahama. I can’t wear cologne because of where I work and because it makes me sneeze. I used to like Paco Rabanne, but now it is a little over powering for my nose. My dad was an Old Spice man, being in the Navy may have had something to do with it.
Look on the bright side, at least you don’t smell like Bengay. (Unless of course Ben is in your bedroom!)
October 19, 2012 at 3:11 PM
Urspo
I have a vague memory of wearing Paco Rabanne, on the advise of someone (maybe my hair stylist?) saying it was ‘the’ cologne. Or was it my first boyfriend? I don’t recall; and I don’t recall how it smelled. Apparently not ‘good enough’ for I don’t wear any now.
________________________________
October 19, 2012 at 4:07 PM
Ron
Dr. Spo,
English Leather was on of this old man’s standard colognes when I was working in the Sixties. I stopped wearing cologne in the Eighties. The smell you get now is pure Ron.
Ron
October 19, 2012 at 4:35 PM
Urspo
I havent gotten it yet! But I shall think of you.
Sent from nowhere in particular.
October 20, 2012 at 12:45 PM
anne marie in philly
which isn’t so bad, I might add…
October 19, 2012 at 10:14 PM
zeph
Bracers, loafers, colognes? …well. As long as you’re trying out good scotch and whiskey, I’ll allow for it. Personally, I like to smell like me but, I’ll allow for a gentle scent of sandalwood wafting my way.
October 20, 2012 at 4:16 AM
Rick
My brothers are 8 & 10 years older than me. I would find colognes like Jade East, British Sterling, and your English Leather on their dresser tops.
As a young man I preferred Jovan Sex Appeal (cheap) and Estee Lauder’s JHL before I eventually gravitated to Aramis and Polo. Now I favor Series 2:Red Sequoia.
October 20, 2012 at 4:38 AM
RuralBeard
Oh dear…I’ve never understood fragrances. Sure, I get incense, essential oils for therapeutic reasons, but why would anyone want to smell like something they’re not. No. Give me the au natural or nothing at all…
October 20, 2012 at 5:16 AM
KDF
British Sterling makes me swoon. Well, at least in did 20 years ago.
October 20, 2012 at 6:16 AM
Stephen
On my, you really made me remember my age, but how true, things always come full circle, don’t they. Especially the boxers, growing up never would have imagined wearing boxers and now thats all I have and even have some the older man colognes, not purchased but received as gifts. I guess I’m considered nowadays as an old man…..
October 20, 2012 at 7:22 AM
Shawn
I am a “No Cologne Zone”
the stuff is nasty to me, can’t stand it.
I don’t like it on others either.
October 20, 2012 at 12:46 PM
anne marie in philly
I had my vanilla oil on when we met.
October 20, 2012 at 3:59 PM
Raven Crawford-Dunn
Another important consideration is that the cologne will blend with your own scent, and no colgone smells precisely the same on two different people … and even how it smells on you will vary from season to season. I remember English Leather, wore it in High School … I think there was a “Russian Leather” as well. I learned the hard way that my own natural musk is damn near impossible to mask, so I’ve learned that I have to test an aroma for a couple of days to learn if it makes me smell like a horny goat, or piss on a hot radiator — or Butch
On my body, lavender is what works best now ….
BUT have you ever tried 4711 eau de cologne? It’s *the* original after-shave/cologne … when we first merged households, I discovered that John had bottles and bottles of it! Fortunately, it works well on both of us.
http://www.amazon.com/4711-Muelhens-Men-Cologne-Splash/dp/B001CT09LS
October 20, 2012 at 4:11 PM
Raven Crawford-Dunn
oh dear …I didn’t realize the link would appear full size
sorry BLUSH
October 20, 2012 at 8:57 PM
Urspo
4711 is news to me: when I go shopping this tomorrow I will look for some. thanks !
________________________________
October 20, 2012 at 7:29 PM
UncutPlus
My Dad used Old Spice Shaving cream which was in a mug and he used a brush to make it foamy. He also used Vitalis on his hair, and for that reason I cannot stand the smell of Gin. No martinis for me, thank you. Rum is my style and I think there were some colognes back then with a rum fragrance.
When I was in my 20′s during the 1960s, I wore English Leather and Canoe, which was my favorite. I have not seen it in years.
October 21, 2012 at 2:57 AM
Raven Crawford-Dunn
we must be of an age, you and I … Canoe! haven’t thought of that in years
Didn’t work so well for me, but I remember inhaling deeply when certain someone’s used to enter the room
October 20, 2012 at 7:33 PM
jason
I’ve bought Florida water… just for the bottle a few times.
October 21, 2012 at 12:37 AM
Erik Rubright
Personally, I’m not a fan of any artificial scent on people. In the quantities that people apply them, many of them give me a headache, or worse, a migraine.
October 21, 2012 at 3:50 AM
the cajun
4711 can be found at the Vermont Country Store. Online.
October 21, 2012 at 9:16 AM
Mitchell Block
I guess I’m just enough older than you to remember English Leather as a cool new fragrance. As a teen, I owned Hai Karate, English Leather, and Brut (birthday and Christmas gifts). I remember Brut as being the coolest of the three. Hai Karate’s commercials were really juvenile (which made me want some). I don’t recall any of them smelling all that great.
I can’t believe it was Jacqueline Smith who did those [slutty] English Leather commercials!
October 21, 2012 at 12:08 PM
bubbinga
If I can smell you across a room? You’re doing it wrong. But if it sneaks up on me when we’re hugging, then, well done, Sir.
As a teenager working at a department store, I had a number of favorite scents that were all readily available at the men’s fragrance counter. After coming out and frequenting places where gay men gather in large numbers, all of that overbearing perfume nauseated me, and I swore off the stuff.
My uncle Norm wore Old Spice. He was ruggedly handsome and looked straight out of a 1970s Camel cigarettes ad. The smell of it always stirs something deeper than just what’s behind the fly of my boxers. So, 25 years after going fragrance free, I’ve recently claimed Old Spice as my own, and it makes me feel sexy. Don’t we all want to feel a little bit sexy now and then?
The two other scents that make me weak-in-the-knees when embracing a man are: 1) freshly-laundered shirt and 2), armpit (and not necessarily in that order).
A combination of all three? My own personal heaven.