In a recent article published in "Women's Wear Daily," it was announced that the brand, Joop!, is going to be releasing a new men's frangrance named after the designer himself. It will be called, "Wolfgang Joop."

Interestingly, a comment was made about the notes that make up this new scent.

It was stated that the new scent will contain, "upper-classs smells" of coriander, vetiver, sandalwood, cinnamon and patchouli.

Companies are going far and beyond to describe their latest fragrance launches through power verbiage in hopes of captivating both new and loyal customers. As fragrance devotees, we are very well aware of this approach.

However, when I read "upper-classs smells," my first reaction was literally, "did I just read that correctly?"

As a Joop! Homme and Joop! Femme fan, I am intrigued over this new offering from the Joop! brand, but it certainly will be interesting to see what "upper-class" stores they decide to launch this scent in.

Wow. Cinnamon and patchouli don't really strike me as "upper class" notes.
Nor do coriander and vetiver, really.
I guess maybe sandalwood...
Ah, maybe they're just comparing those to notes like marshmallow, cake frosting, body fluids and the like...

Very interesting, Jeffery. I was amused as well as surprised to see them actually use the words upper-class. This is usually conveyed visually in advertising, like Lord & Taylor ads, and Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren can convey that tone of exlusivity and wealth with the clothes and furnishings alone, but the models are carefully chosen, as well as the locations.

Look at the ads in Town & Country. I think most are designed for wealthy people or for people who aspire to that lifestyle.

I'd rather smell like the puppy; or puppy feet! Have you noticed that hound's feet smell like popcorn?

Well, of course I smell upper class. Then I apply a scent and I smell better than upper class!

Marketing doesn't make anything upper class. However, if they want to consider it upper class, so be it. At least until I see it in the remainder bins at TJ Maxx or Ross.

Upper class perfume notes consist of the hounds ( perfect pic )add some in horsey notes , essence of sticky beak ,old money and old house and Bob's yer uncle.

I'm wearing an upper-class preparation with the notes of Wal-Mart floorwax, lake bass, Harley exhaust, Airstream oil, a hound-dog animalic note, a PBR note, a B&H Light note, Miracle Whip, Karo Syrup.

Well, let's see now, Jeffery, I'm wearing Kelly Calèche. Notes:

mimosa, narcissus, iris, lily of the valley, climbing rose, tuberose, leather...

Nope, nothing upper-class there!

You know, I'm wondering if something didn't get lost in the translation. If it was translated from German to English, maybe they meant "high-class." It doesn't have the same connotation. There are a lot of faulty translations into English out there today.

Mrs Veneering (great name by the way!) nailed it with her "horsy" Old Money description. As I'm sure you know, Upper Class in the UK has very different connotations than it does in North America (I can't speak for other continents). Better not to get into the whole "class" issue here!

Yes, and I'm halfway wondering whether they might even have meant "top notes", as in "upper tier" of notes.... ?

Good point, it is sounds so politically incorrect and just plain silly, that I think you are most probably correct.

I think it's the 1930s revisited, don't you? We are in a severe economic downturn and we all want to feel otherwise. In the 1930s, delicate platinum diamond bracelets and well-cut dresses of the 1920s were replaced with affordable and highly showy chunky gold bracelets, glittery costume jewelry, chunky vulgar shoes, and frilly flowery dresses. The lack of quality of the raw materials was compensated by weight, frills and glitter. Even Jean Patou's designs were dreadful. Last weekend I visited an antique show and the air of the 1930s was back. Booth upon booth of family silver foresaken to pay mortgages and even entire booths dedicated to "good" costume jewelry. So, I think the idea is that everyone needs a bit of a mental lift, even if it's only their perfume. We'll be hearing the term "top drawer" next. I think we've had an era of fruity florals, so we should start to see the resurgence of the chypre and I wouldn't be at all surprised if Patou's Joy made a strong comeback.

YES! Love that smell...

You do realise I read way way too much Jilly Cooper (bless her , I am sure she is a perfumista in spirit) , she has given me all this imagery.

Best we save the class issues for Life board , I suspect it would be a corker of a topic.

As for the interpretation, I don't know. Only "Women's Wear Daily" could answer that one for us at this point.

The exact verbiage reads:

"The orange-tinted juice has "trusted, familiar notes" like lavender; "upper-class smells" including coriander, vetiver, sandalwood and cinnamon, as well as patchouli." (Women's Wear Daily)

With the outlining of "trusted, familiar notes" like lavendar, and then moving on to "upper-class" smells, they clearly define each section.

And even if they are using them to describe the top, middle and base notes of the scent, the choice to use descriptives of "trusted" and "upper class," are quite direct.

Kind of like saying a scent is centered around "gourmand notes." When we read that, we immediately wonder, "What type of gourmand notes are there?"

I think Chanel22 may have hit it. A mental lift, if nothing else. A very interesting perspective in perhaps understanding a very different way of describing a fragrance.

On a side note, I've always thought that Estee Lauder Pleasures and the women's version of Issey Miyake have a very "upper-class" vibe about them. To me, they have this ability to reek of some upper echelon when it comes to women's fragrances. Why, I really have no idea.

How on earth anybody can smell upper class wearing anything by Joop totally escapes me.

My sentiments exactly, Prince.

When I saw the ad copy, my thought was "Oh for heaven's sake. What dreck will they come up with next?" Made me not even want to try the stuff, so their goal backfired.

Just the concept of "Upper Class" is becoming ridiculous--- or shall I say, arbitrary-- within the United States. Who has money or land or respect or brains or beauty is becoming so-o-o arbitrary in this country. The pretty people you think are loaded are probably maxed-out on credit cards; the people you think are White Trash, driving a s***y car, probably have land worth untold millions.

I come from poor white farm-folk... yet I was accepted to Princeton, Harvard and Yale... what does that make me? I was raised like a farmboy... but my brother, 18 years my junior, was raised like a Kennedy.

Verbiage like "upper class" is a relic of England's Victorian/Edwardian periods.

I hope we get a Black President. Really, I do.

Remember how, in Jilly Cooper's CLASS, she wrote how the upper-middle-class wife will have a bathroom stinking of "asparagus p!ss in June" while the lower-middle-class wife will have a bathroom as a sanitary as an operating theater?

This is absolutely true.


Also, your floorwax-Harley-lake bass-Karo syrup scent sounds like it could be the latest Etat Libre concoction!

But, to answer Jeffrey's question, no I don't smell "upper-class," nor do I want to. And we'll just leave it at that.

Touche' Prince Barry! I spritzed my tea a bit on that one

Thirded! My golden has a wonderful, musky-bready scent to her - I've seen others on compare "good dog smell" to Fritos as well!

Now, what do cat bellies smell like?

Just a note, this ad was shown in Town & Country magazine; therefore, this is not unusual--this is their subscriber base. Also, it smacks of Ralph Lauren in the late 1970s early 1980s, ahem, remember 1980 with a Prime Rate of 20 percent? I realize some won't remember Stagflation, gas lines and turning the thermastat to 62F during the winter months, but I sure do. I use to have 10 wool blankets on my bed. Our house was cold. A lot of peoples houses were cold. These ads seemed idealic and pastoral at the time. I guess everything old, is new again.

Great minds think alike my dear.



I suppose spritzing tea is better than spritzing Joop

I have positive ideas of the upper class in which I was brought up. We were definitely of good blood and dwindling finances, although until I was about 16 we had money enough for anything everybody in the family wanted. The patriarch of our family had inherited plenty of money but had no skill in keeping it: a gentleman lawyer with the values of Atticus Finch, an alcoholic, much like Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, but of Big Daddy's generation.

I think of upper class as people who have good values in general. People who aren't snobs at all, and respect other human beings and are unfailingly polite. An aristocrat may not have held on to wealth but her wealth is in her head and heart. We cherish the beautiful things in life, our heritage, including antiques. And we tend to love animals and rejoice in their innocent nature. True aristocrats participate and give of themselves when called upon. Caroline Kennedy is a perfect example of a UC lady.

The real upper class in this country were not the nouveau riche, at least not when I was growing up. That may have changed in a time when people think flash is superiour to substance and bling impresses the ignorant masses. The new money people in Atlanta tear down lovely old houses of brick and stone, usually about 3,500 sq ft and erect godawful vulgar McMansions of 8,000-10,000 sq. feet which are horrid pastiches of what they only imagine are Tuscan or Parisian villas!

What do upper class people wear in fragrances? Whatever they like. I have a UC aunt who owns a lovely hacienda in Arizona. Her house has a splendid view of mountains with a waterfall. She has quite a collection of jewels, most in the bank vault. When I asked her about her fragrances, she opened a drawer and showed me 8 boxes of White Shoulders EDP: the only fragrance she likes. (I was hoping to give her a perfume gift.)

All the aristocratic ladies and gentlemen I've known are much like her: they wear what they like, even as my grandfather wore Old Spice in the old days and my father wore bay rhum. My grandmother used inexpensive lavander water, my mother wore many fragrances, from Chanels to Faberges. I think Patou 1000 typifies a UC fragrance, although I've rarely worn it.

I've always appreciated where Ralph Lauren is coming from with his advertisng. At least it shows some positive imagery for the clueless nouveau riche to emulate. I've often thought it's those Halliburton profiteer/hedge fund nouveau riche who are likely to believe big bucks can buy class. They are the ones who need to support their self-images with $3,500 handbags and $900 bottles of fragrance.

The classiest lady I know lives in Mobile AL near the Cathdral. She carries a 10 year old Dooney and Bourke and wears Ivoire or Safari. She loves chypres, old books, and antiques. She's getting old but she generously volunteers to help her causes. When she was young she was the subject of paintings, photographs and sculptures, as she looked remarkably like Katherine Hepburn.

I have to admit to finding it all both amusing and bemusing , and , I cannot wait to see what comes out for the upper middles and lower middles , should be a treat.

Here I am spritzing my tea with gin (great idea Mrs V - just drop the joop and pick up a bottle of gin - oooh, but not any old bottle of gin - the classy gin!).
I have pugs (sooo very Wallis S don't ya think?) they are romping in my huge backyard with the gardener in tow with the pooper scooper! Gives the poor man some exercise. See, I am thinking of the "little people" what with all my charity works . Hell, you got to do the "ladies who lunch" thing - where else do I wear all those cubic zurcions I have?
Oh, here comes my photographer to take photos of my palatial home in the burbs. Full of opshop finds that are soo dusty and old that they shreek of "Old Money" but in my case - cost little money!
Now, where is that bottle of Joy???

How did I ever forget GIN of all things ? must go smack myself on my head now , add gin and cigar to those notes , no upper class lady would give a stuff, srsly , Queen mum was partial , no ?

Lady jicky,
Speaking of Wallis Simpson, I just read a good book about her, Duchess the Story of Wallis Warfield Windsor by Stephen Birmingham. It has got me interested in reading more about her. Not a great beauty; the then Prince of Wales cast aside truly beautiful women for her, but she had "something".

So it is alleged...

Rebecca - I shall look out for that book. I find her fascinating and the gossip about her - was she a man ??? etc! Still, she loved her pugs so she ain't all bad!

Mrs V - yep, the Queen Mum liked a pink gin and when she wanted champers it was Mumm.

Alright. Please explain.

Well its good to see I'm not the only one to love the smell of dogs feet !
Can't help with the cat belly, I think if I got that close to my kitties belly, I would be wearing scratched face for a couple of days !!!

lady jicky, I checked on amazon.com and there are a lot of books about the Duchess of Windsor. There are several theories about why Edward wanted her so badly. One was that she learned unusual sexual things in China, another said she wouldn't do it with him, (as in Anne Boleyn). I am kind of disbelieving over the man story. Another story is that she remained a virgin through all three of her marriages, which is related to the sexual deformity story. Some say she had an affair with a male homosexual friend of theirs because Edward was incapable of satisfying her. By several accounts he had abnormally small equipment.
The Queen Mother hated her and was jealous of her and prevented her from being a "Royal Highness."

Rebecca , then there is the story she was a hermaphrodite !
Whatever it was - she was VERY BUSY!

Oh darn, I forgot to add a perfume note about Wallis I read once - she mixed Mitsouko and L'heure Bleue and wore them both at the same time - Major Sillage !


God I love Sillage!

She can't have been all bad then! Sounds like a book for me to read - I do love my biographies.

An idealized look at aristocracy, " noblesse oblige" .. and all that. Just very ironic that the ' Arbiter of taste" - Ralf Lauren is a son of poor Jewish migrants ( his father was a house painter) from Belarus, (my motherland), born Ralf Reuben Lifshitz ,( popular Jewish family name, I had a friend with that name), was born in Bronx, even went to the religious Jewish school. The joke is on the " aristocracy" - what supposedly takes generations to acquire - taste, certain attitude he, coming from a humble background, personifies" Taste " "Taste" which, in your view, can't be bought.... and can't be copied..... Just a question , what does ' aristocracy' really mean in the American context anyway? You don't have titles. Caroline Kennedy's grandfather made his millions bringing illegal liquor to the States during the prohibition. And in his days he was looked down on by those, who inherited their wealth, and did not had to dirty their hands making it. If you look at the "real" aristocracy, European aristocracy, with all their disdain for ' self made' people, "people in trade" they very happily married to the millionaires offspring. To lead a life in the aristocratic manner, without big money is impossible, so what to do when money run out, many aristocrats couldn't stoop so low , and try to make money in trade or manufacturing , that was below them, but they could always marry rich heiresses as a last resort. Half of 19 century literature is about that .

Oh yes Smelka - many a good movie has been centred around some poor prince finding a rich commoner and marrying her! Not so many poor princess's marrying a rich commoners though ? I do not think he becomes a prince does he??? I think the royal blood and status goes with the men of the family???

Yes, usually it went this way- the daughter of a steel , or a railways ' baron' marries a "real" baron and voila! She becomes a ' real ' baroness! LOL !

I see these words "upper class" and all can visualize is Donald Trump braying like a mule "C-L-A-S-S-Y".
My stomach goes to vinegar, muscles tense up and it's everything I can do to keep my lip from curling.

'scuse please I need a Tums...

Oh but one spritz of "Wolfgang Joop," et voila!! Keys to the kingdom, baby.

Smelka, I'm aware of Ralph Lauren's background. I admire him immensely as a selfmade person. Material things of splendid taste can be purchased, good values and manners cannot be purchased. I was not prosyletising for people of so-called aristocratic lineage at all. In fact, 'class' is an economic construct which inevitably involves having a lot of money and privilege. In that context, when a person no longer has money she or he has fallen from the economic upper class. However a person born poor, who has not been lucky enough to be born into the upper class, can never the less have aristocratic tastes and values which exceed those of people who have lots of money. I've known several people like that too, including a friend with a taste for Sevres and old French furniture who came out of New Orleans 9th Ward. She's a Perfume lover, too and only the best will do.

As for Joop, there probably are no typical upper class notes in fragrances. Sounds like a marketing gimmick, nothing more.

Only in Fantasia de Fleurs, as it was commissioned for a 'noble.' Very interesting discussion of what is considered upper class, of born and made, on what smells connote what to whom why, and rich people buying what they like regardless!

I sometimes think I smell like I am aspiring to some sort of nebulous chic expensively rebelling modern New York upper class niche thing (plus an eclecticism that fits with) in contrast with old school classic tastes and current mass market tastes. That is not an entirely innocent thing.

Éprise, interesting point about Fantasia de Fleurs--Elizabeth of Austria, IIRC. That brings to mind that Guerlain's Eau de Cologne Impériale was made for Empress Eugénie of France. What are some other perfumes that really were created for the "upper class?"

I agree with your points Morticia, life with books, paintings, appreciation of music, poetry, is truly a rich life, also to have people around you with whom you can share such life ... is wonderful, and of course aristocrats did cultivate appreciation of arts and creativity.


I think that " Smell like an upper class" line, is nothing but a bad translation, can't imagine them using it for marketing.

In the last 1990s early 2000, Queen Elizabeth's youngest son, Prince Edward, did a series for BBC/PBS named For Crown and Country. A two hour documentarty was done of Wallis. I think I recorded it. You can probably find it in your local library. Edward explained that Wallis was a perfectly lovely person who ended up being the scape goat by The Crown for her less than adequate husband. The fact was that Prince Edward, his name sake, was thougtht entirely inadequate for the role as King. He had German sympathies to start and was feared to be easily manipulated by Hitler. This was not an imaginary concern, as he had visited with Hitler on several occasions. So, as a means of getting him out of the way, saving England and all that, Wallis took much of the brunt. I'm not saying she was marvelous or anything, but the truth was that a King can marry anyone he wants, so the whole thing was nonsense. The Duke of Windsor was considered so potentially dangerous in reference to Hitler, that the Crown appointed him Governor of The Bahamas, the most remote and least influence post possible, just to get The Duke out of the European scene. As for all the stuff in all the books, well, gossip always sells, even piffle.

22, very interesing indeed. I haven't seen that documentary but the sympathies with Hitler are well documented elsewhere. Without getting into the politics too much here I wanted to add that not only was Edward sympathetic but although the family took the name Windsor to sound veddy English, they were German.

This makes a lot of scense, chanel22.

Oooh, chanel 22 - if its on the BBC we will get it here on our tellie in time! I am looking forward to seeing it. Sounds so interesting! Especially Prince Ed doing it today. Yep, the Windsors are all German! Infact , they say Di's family was more royal than them.

As for Ralph - good for him. I could not see him spritzing the Wolfgang on himself!
Lets face it - the thoughts of spraying a scent and bingo - you now have class does tempt lots of people. A Hermes bag is lovely but so $$ and a cheaper bag will do just the same thing - hold all the crap you lug around - but its classy and that is what you want to express . Same with cars.
Sells alot of bags and cars etc.

In 1936, the year of Edward VIII's brief reign, many British aristocrats were pro-Hitler, among them the famous Cliveden set. I would have to disagree that he was jockeyed out of being king because of his his pro-German stance. Baldwin didn't care for the king, true, but it had nothing to do with Hitler, and in fact, Churchill was a loyal proponent of the king until he was forced to abdicate--and one can hardly consider Churchill to be in the pro-German camp. After his marriage, true, the duke erred in visiting Hitler (only once) which was later held against him, but perhaps if the government and royal family had found a position for the duke in Britain and had not withheld the HRH from the duchess, the embarrassment would have been avoided.

A minor quibble: the current Prince Edward was by no means named after his great-uncle the Duke of Windsor, who was blamed by Edward's mother for her father's premature death.