Question:
I often wonder, is there such a thing as a "classic fragrance" or are they all destined to be just a product of their times? If so, what are the standards that a classic fragrance should be judged against? What are the different periods of fragrance? Archaic, Classical and Helenistic? Just kidding, but maybe not.....

Answer:
A classic fragrance is determined by the quality of the raw materials you put in it and it by its elegance, distinction and originality. Above all it has to be memorable.

Arpège under its original formula, No.5, Eau Sauvage, Fahrenheit, and L'Air du Temps are examples of classic fragrances. Of course there are many more.

Answer:
I would say fragrances which have stood the test of time. They could also be groundbreaking interms of perfume design, or use of a new accord, note or ingredient. Sometimes a "classic" status isn't immediately obvious.

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Well, we'll see if a fragrance is a classic or not if it stands the test of time. Such greats like No. 5, Jicky, some Creeds, and Vetiver are still raved about on the boards here so those fragrances surely have stood the test of time. Others such as M7, GPH, BdP still wait to be tested but by the time I'm an old man (hopefully never), we shall know.

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Market forces aside, I'd say some of the contributing factors to 'making a classic' are availability, availability, and availability.

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A classic to me means a fragrance that thanks to it's originality and popularity has survived the test of time and is still worn way after it was created.
A fragrance can still be a classic even if it's been discontinued, as it's discontinuity has been dicided by business men, and not lovers of a certain scent....

Answer:
I agree with everyone, and perhaps it's easy to name a few possible men's classics from Guerlain, Creed, Caron. But what about the hundreds of niche house creations? How will anyone ever know all or even most of these? The traditional fragrance families, Oriental, Chypre, Fougere, Citrus, seem to be less and less adhered to and so many fragrances seem unclassifiable.
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I believe that Guerlain's Heritage is the most recent classic scent.
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OK, I'll stick my neck out, my vote for the classic male fragrance: Caron Pour un Homme.

Answer:
It's unfortunate though that some classics we know of has been reformulated and has lost the original 'essence' the creator has intended. Case in point: Mitsouko, Vetiver by Guerlain, Givenchy Gentleman, just to name a few. The 'Classics" I could think of that has not been unchanged would be fragrances like Bandit by Robert Piguet.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Ruggles I agree with everyone, and perhaps it's easy to name a few possible men's classics from Guerlain, Creed, Caron. But what about the hundreds of niche house creations? How will anyone ever know all or even most of these? The traditional fragrance families, Oriental, Chypre, Fougere, Citrus, seem to be less and less adhered to and so many fragrances seem unclassifiable.
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I believe that Guerlain's Heritage is the most recent classic scent.
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OK, I'll stick my neck out, my vote for the classic male fragrance: Caron Pour un Homme. Unfortunately for the niche houses out there I feel that 'classics' are bound to be those that are considered fantastic by fragrance junkies as well as the average consumer. Caron pour un homme is a very good example, though to me the benchmark at this point is Vetiver by Guerlain.

Answer:
In a previous post on this board, Jaime B. defined 5 criteria for 'well-crafted' scents:
Balance
Proportion
Character
Innovation
Effect
Methinks that these would have to apply to any future classic. Perhaps this could even be the basis for a new classification system...