Caleche

I encountered my first real life WASPs at the age of 16 upon my return to my home state of Maryland right on the edges of Washington D.C. after a near 12 year sojourn in the Central Valley of northern California. Oh, I'd met plenty of rich people by then. California is a bit of a rag tag place, especially the northern portion, so everyone kind of runs into everyone. That being said, California wealthy are miles apart from old money East Coast wealth. With their aged bumper stickers hanging from their respectably aged Volvos and Mercedes station wagons proclaiming political liberal leanings, environmental obsessions, and hopes for world peace the northern California wealthy that I knew back then were more self effacing and even embarrassed by their lot in life than celebratory of their means. New money, old money? In Cali, where exactly was the dividing line? You had old money families who'd owned vineyards or were the lynch pins within other industries that never came off as anything more than... well... thoroughly average. I was therefore not ready for the cool austerity of East Coast wealth nor the profound way that so many of the urban locales in that portion of the country quietly revolve around it. I was also not ready for all of the marked divisions of race and background that create a type of legendary monolithic culture of affluence in certain echelons. Yeah, you have the Beverly Hills 90210 phenomenon to a certain degree I'm sure...somewhere in California. However in general on the West Coast, kids who are rich, poor, and all points between go to school together. You hang out together. In contrast, the East Coast was where I first encountered all of these sharp lines drawn up separating people according not just to income but overall economic culture which then bled into with whom one went to school and hung out and lived near and eventually considered equitable in human value. Eeesh. Quite heavy for a 16 year old. They were girls. Two of them. One of the first things that impressed me was that they were the cleanest girls that I'd ever seen in my life. Heh? What do I mean? I mean that they were so clean that they shone. They were teens like me and while I considered myself to have clear skin, theirs was lucid in the manner of bisque porcelain. Their lack of pores would have made the Noxema girl subconscious. Their makeup was minimal but pleasant. No hair was out of place and it was so neat. Perfectly trimmed, shiny, and topped with a slender pretty ribbon, their hair resembled the effortless pristine brilliance of a 70s Breck girl. This was the 90s when most of my fellow compadres had the studied grimy effect associated with grunge or the baggy non-chalant flash of hip hop. These girls wore pastels---bermuda shorts, starched oxford shirts, and light cotton sweaters tied at their necks. They had pearl studs in their ears. It was like the Eddie Bauer and LL Bean summer catalogs had come to life. Oh, did I mention that it was the height of the humid, muggy Maryland/Washington D.C. summer? Despite the fact that everyone else was melting, these girls were floating in this effervescent cloud of unstudied cool. Hermes Caleche is those girls----light and airy in the midst of whatever atmospheric torment may be affecting the rest of the world. Profoundly rich and comfortably secure with stable woods in the base. Heart notes that are quietly abundant with gracefully feminine and prim florals that edge it away from it's initial almost utilitarian androgyny. Finally, the protestant ethics of just scrubbed cleanliness above all artifice and flashy trends come forth in the judicious aldehydes that grace the opening. This is East Coast old money. This is a Georgetown walk up or a post war on the UES with a Rehobath beach summer house and a cottage in the Hamptons. Today with the egalitarian nature of fast fashion, technology, and a global economy the old WASP has become an endangered creature of sorts. They are an American icon. We must protect them. Who will buy the first bumper sticker? Who will donate to their telethon? Ah well, even if they go by the wayside, we will always have the beauty of Hermes Caleche to remind us of what once was. Sillage is---Dahling, never offensive. Longevity is---by all means appropriate. I like to wear this when I'm wearing all black with a modern hard edge. The juxtaposition has made this a favorite.

Classical and classy. Amongst the aldehydic perfumes it has a very particular character and to me what gives it that character is the scent of lemon and orange - to me this scent is about lemony and orangeish aldehyds. The current reformulation is very close to the original and it still has one of the best drydowns I ever smelled in a perfume. Staying power is very good. Overall, very very good, and to me the best Hermes scent. The EDT does not remind me much of Madame Rochas. The soie de parfum does, right upon application. The scent both remind me most of is Rive Gauche, although the soie de parfum more, because it is stronger on the gardenia and a bit lighter on the lemon. Right after application, it reminds me a lot of Madame Rochas, and in the next half and hour, because of the strong gardenia note, it feels very very close to Rive Gauche. Only in Rive Gauche the aldehyds seeem to be of a different type, in Caleche they are smoother. What makes them quite similar for sometime after application is the combination of lemon and gardenia in Caleche and geranium and gardenia in Rive Gauche, because the scent of geranium is very lemony, only less acidic, floral lemon really. Also, Caléche is not powdery, like Rive Gauche and unlike Madame rochas, which is very very powdery. As time goes by, the scent of gardenia seems to wear off, and the scent gets more and more lemony, now acquiring a character of its own. Although they say lemon is a top note, there must be something in the fragrance base which keeps its scent throught the drydown and actually makes it get even more pronounced as time goes by. It lasts longer, as I said, thean the scent of gardenia. This resilient lemon note is what gives Caleche its particular character amongst aldehydic fragrances. Because of it, it feels much less feminine than Madame Rochas or Rive Gauche and aslo more common. They all have a common feel though, and one must include in the group also Calandre, closest to Madame Rochas and very powdery as well. Although I do admire Caleche and consider it unquestionably one of the most classical scents still out there these days, I do like Madame Rochas and Rive Gauche better, actually Madame Rochas better than Rive Gauche, and I am speaking of the current reformulations. Still, Caléche is in my opinion an absolutely fantastic scent, as are Madame Rochas, Rive Gauche and Calandre. As I said, after four hours or so the drydown is absolutely heavenly and keeps projecting. A really big plesure to wear.

Caleche is a glorious soapy aldehyde floral, which in its glorious vintage form (I own a late 70’s edt) shares similarities to the more joyous Madame Rochas. While Gold is described as Guy Robert’s magnum opus, I see Caleche as a more complete creation. And personally I sense no similarities to either Gold or N°5, perhaps the only link between the 3 being an unsurpassed elegance and style. Caleche opens with sparkling aldehydes, rich florals and mossy greenness. The neroli and lemon have faded a bit in my bottle but the aldehydes are bubbly and rich, and whatever’s left from the citrus oils helps lift them up. The florals that follow change subtly from rich and oily to soapy and powdery, no doubt helped by the Iris. The rooty vetiver soon joins forces with the oakmoss and musk/civet to create a warm sensation that pulsates from the skin, while buttery sandalwood (Mysore) radiates for hours. The general feel is of pristine grooming; skin washed in finely milled French soap, a floral talcum powder applied, and silk underwear. The vetiver/oakmoss/leather combination gives of a ‘wild and free’ out in the open feel; it could very well be a horse ride for the strong and independent woman or a carriage stroll for the more romantic one. Caleche adapts wonderfully to all occasions and it can fit perfectly with anyone, it just needs a strong personality to go with it. While it embodies a very French 70’s style, it also progresses to the 80’s where it feels more American in a way; it fits perfectly with the empowerment of women in the workplace and while Europe was getting high on Opium and Poison and Coco, Americans were embracing the more bossy green scent of Scherrer, the wonderful Lauders, Chloé and Oscar by de la Renta. Two different decades, two different worlds, and one perfume, Caleche, walking amidst. Class and elegance all the way! Inspiration for many scents, Caleche is, to me at least, one of the best aldehyde/floral/chypre gems. Underneath the serious appearance there’s carnality and beauty to be discovered, sensual, not sexual. More than just aldehydes, Caleche embodies the best of the chypre and the floral genre, with woody and leathery facets to create one of Herme’s best creations that, just like Eau d’Hermes before, knows no gender. For the liberated man and woman. They don’t make them like this anymore.

I remember experiencing 'Caleche' for the first time in my early twenties and how very closely she resembled the relatively new Chanel 19, I was unaware then they had both been authored by the great Guy Robert. Sadly many of his earlier creations including Madame Rochas have been altered almost beyond recognition with each reformulation, becoming not only insipidly weaker but also very nearly unrecognizable from the original formulas. Caleche's green/fresh aldehydic opening is similar to many of this floral/chypre genre with that unmistakable heart of rose, hyacinth and ylang-ylang thus setting it apart from others like 'Madame Rochas' by the inclusion of cassis bud & scads of Florentine iris. I also believe the quality of the woody bases are much more synthetic these days considering the rarity of Mysorean sandal, amaranth & Brazilian rosewood. To have worn this in the pure parfum concentration decades ago was absolute luxury, a contentment also found in the original 'First' by Van Cleef & Arpels and of course as mentioned previously the 'au courant' and innovative Chanel 19. My reference to 'First' is to emphasize the perfect connection between the accords of blackcurrant bud (cassis) and the floral absolutes shared by both fragrances. I'm not surprised to see this scion of ~haute-parfumerie~ still in great demand today, another jewel almost lost to the ether of obscurity. The original ~parfum de toilette~ survived for almost two decades before morphing into the thinner & drier ~soie de parfum~ this seemed to be in short supply for a time although recently re re-leased in a more modern presentation package including a price hike that is steadily rising with the eau de toilette even thinner again & harder to find, a possibility of discontinuation perhaps, Vintage 'Caleche', the elixir vitae of white floral fantasies! To the genius of Monsieur Guy Robert !!!

If ever there was an understated scent of a rich bitch who commands the room without uttering a single word, this is the number one, IMHO. Aldehydes rule here and all the rest follows masterfully well blended, clean and complex. Innately elegant, confident, intelligent, charming, persuasive, however shrewd she is always generous; controlled, warm and aloof equally, this woman may be older in age, but her heart and mind are forever young and fresh. She is a real woman, not a girl. My late friend and patron, Regina, used to wear this 24/7/365 and would only ever go into a panic mode if there wasn't a bottle of this jewel at her hand. She caused a riot once at her Brook Street gallery opening of the Erte exhibition when one of her false eyelashes (with genuine diamonds! and custom-made by the exhibiting artist) fell off her eye and was later found on a jacket shoulder of a Scotsman, one well-known James Bond actor, who was one of the guests at the opening: it ended up there as he was drawn close by her scent while discussing the possible art purchase...or something more intimate in nature, who knows. Confidently cheeky and never frivolous, she knows what she wants and she takes it politely, but very firmly while looking straight in your eyes, fearless. Present and not remotely heavy, you would know that she was there even a day after she have left the place. And you could not forget her, not ever... even though she has now gone for good, leaving behind her only a trail of a lingering memory.