British niche line Ormonde Jayne has launched One, the first fragrance in the brand's Bespoke Collection.
Part of the label’s exclusive Bespoke Collection, Ormonde Jayne’s One Eau De Parfum is a truly entrancing fragrance. This opulent scent boasts a rich composition, opening with cardamom, orange absolute and bergamot accords. While in the heart, smooth and elegant florals - including rose, freesia and jasmine absolute - lace with a heady mix of ambers and wood.
Additional notes include sandalwood and cedar.
Ormonde Jayne One is available now at Selfridges, £235 for 120 ml Eau De Parfum.
(via selfridges)
So this sounds nice, and I like quite a few OJ scents, but….
If you can buy something off the shelf, it isn’t bespoke, no matter how expensive. Bespoke has a precise meaning, and it is “made to order”, a unique thing you commission to be created to fit you. There can be no such thing as a “bespoke collection”, because a bespoke item is a one-off. They’re just using the word to make it sound exclusive and high-end, but it’s wrong.
I try not to be a prescriptivist but commercial adulteration of the English language really gets under my skin, as when stores and restaurants call customers or patrons “guests” (GUESTS DON’T PAY FOR THINGS).
Floris has a Bespoke collection too, same thing — they just mean a tighter distribution. And they’re not the only ones. Sorry.
I know the post was about perfume, but I just read an interesting article about linguistics. Since I’m generally a prescriptivist, I liked the definition of a prescriptivist given by the person featured in the article (Bryan Garner). He said “A correct definition, a more neutral definition, is somebody who thinks value judgments have a place in assessing language.”
Anyway, I agree that bespoke used this way (above) is not correct. And I firmly believe that it does matter that words are used correctly because good communication can solve problems!