Jean Patou, Coffret, Colony, Amour Amour, Moment Supreme, 3 x 15 ml. or 0.5 oz. Flacons, Parfum Extrait, 1930's, Paris, France ..

When couturier Jean Patou arrived on the Paris scene, in the 1920s, the world was changing .. especially for women. No longer corseted, bound by convention or whalebone ‘stays’, there was a spirit of freedom in the air .. and Jean Patou captured it.

He was born in 1887, in Normandy, where Jean Patou‘s father was a renowned leather tanner, known for his bookbinding skills. And it was his father who taught Jean Patou all about color.

After going to work for an uncle in the fur trade, Jean Patou launched his own venture as a dressmaker and furrier, moving into tailoring. And in 1914, just before the war broke out, he established his own couture house. Sadly, his first collection had to be mothballed: Jean Patou left Paris to serve as a captain in the French Zouave regiment, fighting as far afield as Anatolia. But in 1919, Patou returned to Paris, and did indeed launch a collection, including long-waisted shepherdess dresses. He became famous for ‘sportif chic’ .. clothes designed to move, to flutter, to flirt gorgeously .. and to show off brazenly bare legs, in short hemlines.

In 1922 .. a slight career sidetrack, perhaps .. Jean Patou opened a nightclub, with fellow designer Edward Molyneux. It was named Le Jardin de Ma Soeur (My Sister's Garden). The highly social writer Anita Loos called it ‘the most elegant place in which to greet the Paris dawn'.

From 1925, Jean Patou was also creating the most desirable of perfumes. His debut perfumes were designed to complement women with a particular hair colour: Que Sais-Je? was for brunettes, Amour Amour was for blondes, and Adieu Sagesse was for redheads. In 1927, Jean Patou also delighted women with the introduction of Huile de Chaldée, the world’s first suntan oil.

COLONY by Jean Patou is famous for its leather and pineapple notes. Decades before L'artisan Ananas Fizz, Colony was a real pineapple chypre .. oak moss and all. The yearning for the tropics of yore is very different from the frothy beachy fragrances we know and love today. In her review of Colony for Perfume smellin' Things, Donna calls it a "tropical romance" and I agree. This is a picture in sepia of a walk on a fantasy beach. The sepia tone of colony develops further on skin. It's woody, dark dark green with a tinge of chypry smoke that I absolutely love. It makes you forget about the pineapple and just get lost in the sexy green leather.

AMOUR AMOUR is a floral fragrance for women, and was launched in 1925. The nose behind this fragrance is Henri Almeras. It begins with a fresh, fruity top, followed by a classic floral heart, resting on a floral, woody base. Amour Amour used the Amarante perfume base from Givaudan which gave it a beautiful accord of lily of the valley, rose, sandalwood, and jasmine.

MOMENT SUPREME was launched in 1929, and was created by Jean Patou’s perfumer Henri Almeras. Moment Suprême is a spicy ambered harmony .. its first soft sensual warmth is due to lavender, geranium, cloves and bergamot. Its rose and jasmine heart lends elegance and refinement before its final blossoming from the ambered base which reinforces and draws out its very uniqueness.

Offered here is a charming coffret containing three of the famous Jean Patou fragrances, and a wonderful opportunity to try them. They are still sealed and have some evaporation. Collectible!