There was a nice article by Chandler Burr in Sunday's New York Times Style Magazine. Burr, author of The Emperor of Scent, discusses changing ideas about what makes a scent masculine vs. feminine. As a woman who “borrows” quite a few fragrances from the men's counter, I found some of his remarks interesting:
Many houses make no secret that their “masculines” are worn by women. Women wear everything from Givenchy Pour Homme to Dior's Fahrenheit. I sometimes think more women wear Guerlain's Vetiver than its intended customers do.
Perfumes were shared by both sexes until fairly recently anyway, and even Guerlain Jicky was originally developed for men and adopted by so many women that apparently Guerlain gave up and marketed it as a women's scent. One of my favorite quotes from Serge Lutens:
For a start, the word 'unisex' is not very pretty. I believe that perfume is, simply, for men and for women who like perfume…