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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

When Air Travel was Elegantly Scented

There was a time when air travel was beyond waiting in queued airports, flicking out the laptop for some Wi-Fi last minute work and minimum baggage control at the gate which didn't involve restrictions on perfume. There was a time when air travel meant glamour, joie de vivre, cosmopolitan vacationing and style; think of Romy Schneider and Alain Delon boarding Air France or Liz Taylor and Richard Burton in front of a million trunks encasing wardrobes full of precious garments and -no doubt- beautiful perfumes.
But research shows that even common folk traveling via respected airlines had their own pampered moment mid-air. Above we have a 1963 advertisement for SAS, the Scandinavian Airlines System in which perfume is mentioned as a direct marketing approach.

It reads:
"Naturally a girl wants to look and feel her best, when she's being met at the airport. So, fifteen minutes before landing, the SAS stewardess presents you with a warm, fragrance towel. Scented with Dior's marvelous 'Diorama', no less. There's the little extra touch so typical of SAS! Next you go, flu SAS- to Copenhagen or anywhere in Europe. You'll find it a refreshing experience".

Personally, these are exactly the kind of scented towelettes I long to see making a come-back instead of the citrus-tea & musks offered at present by several airlines...Wouldn't you?

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Diorama 2010 re-issue impressions, original Diorama review, the Dior series.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:06

    Scented with Diorama?! Oh my... I am feeling all faint here... Now i know for sure i was born in the wrong era. cheers Wendy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wendy,

    it makes you re-think things, eh? :-)

    It made me a bit ill in the head as well....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fiordiligi15:35

    How absolutely marvellous! I long for that lost elegance. My first long-haul flight was in 1977 and I remember getting very dressed-up for the occasion - including perfume, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous03:12

    I remember Air France handing out warm, scented towels, too - in the '70s. Not Diorama, but still very nice.

    minette

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shari22:44

    This is one of the most glamorous things I have ever heard of! Can you imagine being given a Diorama scented towelette by Southwest Airlines? Thank you for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Divina18:48

    Does anyone know what fragrance Emirates uses?

    ReplyDelete

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