(This post was last modified: 06-07-2017, 08:10 AM by Bouki.)
Royal Fougère (Asylum Shave Works) love in a tin
Fougère is French for ‘fern.’ We all know that. But why name a fragrance after a plant that has no real scent? The answer may lie in a curious Victorian courting ritual. Paul Parquet mixed up the first batch of Fougère Royale in 1882, right at the time when a craze for fern collecting was at its fevered peak. Fern collecting? It appears that apart from needlework and social calls, there really wasn't much for a young Victorian woman with time on her hands to do. Fern hunting was one of very few 'wholesome, healthy, moral' outdoor activities available to her. Accompanied by her friends, a chaperone, and a group of eligible young men, she would set out to the woods or the shorelines in search of the rarest and most delightful ferns. These collecting parties offered an occasion to share a quiet moment with one of the young gentlemen, while the chaperone was either distracted by a delightsome specimen or caught up in a patch of brambles. Ferns do not need scent to attract a mate, but humans find a good smell quiet alluring. And Parquet’s Fougère Royale may have nothing to do with ferns, but it has everything to do with fern collecting.
“Gathering Ferns” by Helen Allingham, The Illustrated London News, July 1871.
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Rockwell 6S R4 • Feather (4) • RazoRock Bruce • 5
Fougère is French for ‘fern.’ We all know that. But why name a fragrance after a plant that has no real scent? The answer may lie in a curious Victorian courting ritual. Paul Parquet mixed up the first batch of Fougère Royale in 1882, right at the time when a craze for fern collecting was at its fevered peak. Fern collecting? It appears that apart from needlework and social calls, there really wasn't much for a young Victorian woman with time on her hands to do. Fern hunting was one of very few 'wholesome, healthy, moral' outdoor activities available to her. Accompanied by her friends, a chaperone, and a group of eligible young men, she would set out to the woods or the shorelines in search of the rarest and most delightful ferns. These collecting parties offered an occasion to share a quiet moment with one of the young gentlemen, while the chaperone was either distracted by a delightsome specimen or caught up in a patch of brambles. Ferns do not need scent to attract a mate, but humans find a good smell quiet alluring. And Parquet’s Fougère Royale may have nothing to do with ferns, but it has everything to do with fern collecting.
“Gathering Ferns” by Helen Allingham, The Illustrated London News, July 1871.
____________________
Rockwell 6S R4 • Feather (4) • RazoRock Bruce • 5
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