Jeanne Lanvin, Prétexte, 'Pretext', 30 ml. or 1 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1937, Paris, France ..

The story of the house of Lanvin started with the founder of the fashion house, the milliner Jeanne Lanvin, who was born on the 1st of January of 1867 in Paris, and was the eldest of 11 children born to the poor family of Bernard-Constant Lanvin and Sophie-Blanche. Luckily for them, Jeanne's grandfather, Jacques-Firmin Lanvin, was friends with Victor Hugo who helped them along every way he could.

At the age of 13, Jeanne entered the workforce as a seamstress and milliner. As the years passed, her work became greatly admired, and she earned her apprenticeship at Félix and later at Cordeau's, working in Barcelona. Upon returning to Paris, Jeanne Lanvin became mistress of her own affairs, and she founded her own millinery fashion house at rue du Marché Saint-Honoré. Her next address upon expanding her headquarters would be 16 rue Boissy d’Anglais, while the final destination for her business, still standing to this day, is at 22, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

"Prétexte was launched in 1937, and was created by Andre Fraysse. It is classified as an ambery floral perfume with woody notes for women. “Lanvin, always a great champion of femininity in her scents, offers Pretexte, which was first put together just before the war and almost immediately had to be withdrawn.”

"Prétexte is a stunning, resinous, powdery, floral chypre with a strong animalic, soft leathery base. The opening has an unmistakable aldehyde note, immediately follows by two distinct scent accords of equal strength .. the first, a creamy soft white floral found in the narcissus and iris married with the sandalwood and sweet tonka, and the second, a rich chypre base of patchouli, and oak moss, with leather, civet, and woodnotes. As the scent develops, it becomes a soft sandalwood floral perfume. Overall Prétexte smells rich and creamy.

Top notes are Aldehydes, Bergamot, and Narcissus
Heart notes are Hay, Rose, Carnation, Hawthorn, Opopanax, and Iris
Base notes are Leather, Patchouli, Rosewood, Ambergris, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Vetiver, and Oak Moss

Offered here is a lovely pristine one ounce flacon of this long disappeared fragrance. It is gorgeous! Highly sought after .. String has been broken, but the perfume does not appear to have been used.