Miss Dior by Christian Dior c1947

Miss Dior by Christian Dior: launched in 1947. Created by perfumers Jean Carles and Paul Vacher, it met with immediate success.

The Idea:

Dior put his love of things British to good commercial use and came up with a name, "Miss Dior." after his younger sister, Catherine. The fragrance itself was conceived by Christian and his childhood friend, Serge Heftler-Louiche, whom was a manager for Coty perfumes for twenty five years and owned a perfume distribution company SFD. Dior was directly inspired by a fragrance he had worn for years, Chypre de Coty. It was from this legendary fragrance with its fresh, green chypre accord that formed the base of Miss Dior. Perfumers Jean Carles and Paul Vacher  Dior later made Heftler-Louiche the director of Parfums Dior.

It was said that Dior held samples under the noses of every woman he knew and they hated it, probably because it was such a unique and strong fragrance for the time. But, Dior was undeterred, he was convinced of the perfume's quality and gave the production the go ahead.

France Actuelle, reported that Dior had only sold exactly 150 bottles of Miss Dior in 1947, but in 1967,  Parfums Dior sold 9,000,000 of its fragrance articles. The book Fashions in the Forties states that "In the first year a small factory of six hands produced 283 bottles (twenty-five years later eleven million bottles were being turned out by the 700 employees of Dior Perfumes Ltd)."

 The houndstooth design for the box came a few days later, at Victor Grandpierre's suggestion, inspired by one of the fabrics in the collection.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It was originally classified as an aldehydic chypre fragrance for women made up of 350 different ingredients.

• Top notes: aldehydes, galbanum, bergamot, clary sage, gardenia
• Middle notes: celery seed, lily of the valley, neroli, narcissus, carnation, rose de Chêne, jasmine, iris
• Base notes: patchouli, cistus labdanum, ambergris, oakmoss, leather, sandalwood, vetiver

Perfumery: Practice and Principles, 1994:

 "Although the central chypre accord of bergamot, jasmine, oakmoss, patchouli, vetiveryl acetate, labdanum and animalic notes comprises some 60% of the formula, the perfume, at the time of its launch, was one of startling originality. The emphasis on green notes was taken up in Miss Dior, combining galbanum with the accord between the aldehydes C11 undecyclenic and C10, with styrallyl acetate, and a styrax notes. In addition there is a dry spicy note based on pepper and coriander, as well as lavender and neroli. 

A conventional jasmin base again provides the main floral aspect of the perfume. In more modern versions, for example, as in the Eau de Toilette, Lyral is used to replace part or all of the hydroxycitronellal. The styrax note may be reinforced by the use of phenylpropyl alcohol, one of its major constituents. The base note has a high level of patchouli 10%. 

Contrasting with the somewhat harsh top note of the perfume are warm amber and animalic notes, and the powdery softness of orris and vanillin. Natural jasmin and tuberose may be used to give richness to the perfume. A trace of celery seed oil also forms an interesting accord with the tuberose. 

At the time when Miss Dior was created most natural tuberose was obtained by the traditional enfleurage process. Today, partly because of high labor cost but also because of the religious restriction on the use of animal fats in producing countries such as India, most tuberose absolutes are obtained by solvent extraction. The two types of product are very different in olfactory character, with the more modern product being greener and lacking much of the “jammy” richness of the original, which was so important in many of the earlier perfumes."

The famous Lux soap of the 1960s had a scent which was influenced by the fragrance of Miss Dior and was a combination of green notes, lavandin, styrall acetate, and the aliphatic aldehydes; a floral character made up of ylang, fruity jasmin notes, and rose; PTBCHA, methyl ionone, and Vertofix; with a mossy amber background.

Ancillaries & Flankers:

• Parfum
• Eau de Parfum
• Esprit de Parfum
• Eau de Toilette
• Eau de Cologne
• Moisturizing Body Milk/Perfumed Body Moisturizer
• Body Cream/Crème Parfumée pour le Corps
• Bath Oil
• Deodorant Spray
• Dusting Powder
• Talcum Powder 
• Foaming Milk Bath
• Shower Gel
• Soap

Miss Dior Esprit de Parfum was launched in 1984. Esprit de Parfum — rich and long-lasting, yet light and refreshing was also available in Diorissimo.

Bottles:

Miss Dior was housed in various bottles over the years including exquisite Baccarat crystal flacons..


Town & Country, Volume 107, 1953:

"PERFUME NEWS Below, left: Dior makes refills for his deluxe urns in both Miss Dior and Diorama. Refill for the $30 bottle. $20."

Esquire, 1959:

"Miss Dior perfume in Baccarat flacon, $100*, Christian Dior."

Fate of the Fragrance:

Miss Dior has suffered from various reformulations, most notably in 1982, 1992, and 2012.

The success of Miss Dior has resulted in several flanker scents and limited edition bottles:

• 2005 Miss Dior Chérie (currently discontinued)
• 2005 Miss Dior Cherie Extrait de Parfum
• 2007 Miss Dior Chérie (reformulation)
• 2007 Miss Dior Chérie Eau de Toilette
• 2008 Miss Dior Chérie Blooming Bouquet (limited edition summer fragrance)
• 2008 Miss Dior Chérie Eau de Printemps
• 2009 Miss Dior Cherie L`Eau (currently discontinued)
• 2010 Miss Dior Cherie Eau De Toilette (reformulation)
• 2011 Miss Dior Couture Edition
• 2011 Miss Dior Eau de Toilette Originale
• 2011 Miss Dior Cherie Eau de Parfum
• 2011 Miss Dior Cherie Blooming Bouquet (limited edition summer fragrance)
• 2011 Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet Couture Edition
• 2011 Miss Dior Esprit de Parfum
• 2012 Miss Dior Le Parfum
• 2012 Miss Dior Eau Fraîche
• 2013 Miss Dior Eau De Toilette
• 2013 Miss Dior Le Parfum Edition d’Exception
• 2014 Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet
• 2015 Miss Dior Edition d’Exception
• 2015 Miss Dior Parfum pour Cheveux

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