Le Dandy by D'Orsay c1925

Le Dandy by D'Orsay: launched in 1925. Created by Henri Robert. The perfume's tagline was originally "the first blossoms of early summer" as found in a 1927 newspaper ad.

Fragrance Composition:

So what did it smell like? It was classified as a sweet aldehydic floral chypre fragrance for women. It was described as spicy and crisp, originally created for men, but taken up by women who wanted to wear something to go with their sports clothes.

• Top notes: elderberry, aldehydes, fruity note, almond, citrus note
• Middle notes: carnation, honey, orange blossoms, jasmine, spices, iris and rose
• Base notes: amber, tobacco, tonka bean, balsams, leather, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, vanilla

 

Marie-Claire, 1937:

"Le Dandy by D'Orsay: Subtle. Dominant note: chypre."

Combat, 1954:

"Eau Le Dandy d'Orsay: maybe it's a flowering elderberry, or maybe an almond tree, the tree under which this dandy sits. But jasmines are close. The breeze brings a snowy star, in your black hair. And the dandy offers you roses, bitter in the honeyed air. A dragonfly falls on your English embroidery dress. It's all very romantic... Does it smell of amber, your friend the dandy, or one of those aldehydes whose fragrance comes from who knows where? Do not look for so long, all to undergo the exhilaration of the hour."

Combat, 1955:

"Dandy eau de cologne with the perfume of Orsay - rose and jasmine freshened by the citrus scents of the eau de cologne. It is to Lola de Valence that this dandy offers his bouquet. She sensually musks the smell. She mixes it with the tuft of iris and the spicy taste of its Frisians where they reveal the incandescent complexion."

Bottles:

Presented in a black glass Art Deco flacon designed by Louis Sue and produced by Baccarat. This bottle was also available in clear crystal and was used for other D'Orsay perfumes over the years. Sometimes this bottle was packaged in an oval presentation box featuring green and gold designs. In 1927, this box was then sealed with wrapped paper printed with Count D'Orsay riding horseback.

The largest bottle, 32 oz was available in 1927 for the sum of $200. Today, people mistake this for a factice when it is found empty, but it was once filled with perfume.

The miniature bottles holding 0.25 and 0.5 oz bottles were introduced in 1929.

If your bottle is missing it's label or is an early bottle which does not indicate the capacity, use my handy guide below to figure out what your bottle size is.

• 0.25 oz stands 2" tall
• 0.5 oz stands 2.5" tall
• 1 oz stands 3" tall
• 2 oz stands 3.75" tall
• stands 4" tall. 
• stands 4.5" tall
• 4 oz bottle stands 4.75" tall
• 12 oz bottle stands 6.5" tall
• 32 oz bottle stands 8.5" tall (not a factice)

1926 prices:

•  
• 1 oz 7.50 ($6, 8.50)
• 2 oz 13.50
• 4 oz $25 

1927 price:

• 32 oz $200

 In the late 1920s, you could also find Le Dandy packaged in this box of blue and gold.

Starting in 1940 and into the early 1950s, the presentation box style was then covered with quilted white paper featuring a blue medallion featuring Count D'Orsay riding horseback.

In 1930, a new style bottle was created for Le Dandy, still in the familiar black glass, this was a tall, slender shape with stylized basketweave designs molded into the sides, and fitted with a dome shaped stopper. I am unsure of the manufacturer of this bottle, it could have been made by Cristalleries de Nancy, a glassworks who produced many black glass bottles for perfume companies. It is marked France on the base. This bottle was also made in clear glass and used for other D'Orsay fragrances such as Charme. Please note that while this bottle shape was being sold, the original octagonal bottle was still being offered as well. 

• Bottle stands 2.5" tall.
• Bottle stands 3" tall.
• Bottle stands 5 1/8" tall.

After the introduction of the "basketweave" flacon, another black glass bottle was released around 1935. This bottle is tall, and slender, with no molded decoration other than a stopper molded with the D'Orsay coat of arms. This bottle was also made in clear glass and used for other D'Orsay fragrances. The bottle was housed in a tall, slender pale pink presentation box with very little decoration, in fact, this might just be the most sobering of all the Le Dandy presentations up until this time. In 1940, the presentation box style livened up and was then covered with quilted white paper and a brown medallion featuring Count D'Orsay riding horseback.

• Bottle stands 2.25" tall.
• Bottle stands 3" tall.
• Bottle stands 3.25" tall.
• Bottle stands 4" tall.

The restrictions of the second world war brought another new style bottle to Parfums D'Orsay, cylindrical, and tapering upwards, this bottle of clear glass was fitted with a ball shaped stopper. This bottle was used for various D'Orsay perfumes including Le Dandy.  This bottle was packaged in a quilted or textured white papered box featuring an embossed blue medallion recalling the classic Wedgwood style.

• 0.25 oz bottle stands 2.75" tall.
• 0.5 oz bottle stands 3.25" tall.
• 1 oz bottle stands 4" tall.

Other Bottles:

Drug and Cosmetic Industry, 1936:

"D'ORSAY The House of D'Orsay is introducing a crested metal case containing three D'Orsay perfumes, the new Trophee, LeDandy, and Toujours Fidele. The case makes a handsome cigarette case after the perfumes are gone, and comes in white metal with gold D'Orsay crest, in black with gold crest, and in brushed gold with shiny gold crest."

Le Dandy was originally launched as a parfum, in 1927, toilet water, talc, dusting powder (poudre de toilette), bath salts, rouge and face powder were introduced. The year 1927, also marks the first appearance of the Le Dandy face powder and rouge double compacts which were black and octagonal in shape to reflect the design of the perfume bottle, and were just 2" wide. In addition to black, red and green were available as enameling colors for the double vanity compact by 1930.

In 1938, it was offered in a lighter cologne form called "Bouquet a Parfum" or "Bouquet D'Orsay", a cooling, refreshing way to wear the fragrance during daytime. Bouquet D'Orsay, came in a four ounce bottle and available in these fragrances: Milord, Le Dandy, Duo, Trophée, Comtesse, Gardenia and Chypre.

Fate of the Fragrance:

Discontinued.

Reformulated by Dominique Preyssas and relaunched in 2009.

So what does it smell like? Le Dandy is classified as a woody spicy fragrance for men. It is quite different than the original perfume.

• Top notes; whiskey, rum, peach, pineapple and plum
• Middle notes: ginger, nutmeg, cardamon, cinnamon and clove
• Base notes: sandalwood, benzoin, patchouli, tonka bean, peru balsam and tobacco

In 2010, D'Orsay launched the feminine version of Le Dandy and christened it La Dandy Pour Femme. 

So what does La Dandy smell like? It is classified as a floral woody musk fragrance for women, with dominant notes of peach, clove and cinnamon.

• Top notes: peach, bergamot, aldehydes
• Middle notes: cinnamon, jasmine, ylang-ylang, freesia, clove and cardamom
• Base notes: vetiver, tonka beans, honey, benzoin, tobacco, sandalwood, tolu balsam and musk