Maybe you’ve never worn Chanel No. 5—but you know what it means to wear it. There’s only one fragrance that telegraphs sophistication as quickly as this rich floral scent, which debuted 100 years ago. It was the first Chanel fragrance; it had to make a statement. Gabrielle " Coco" Chanel’s vision was that a woman’s scent was as important as her dress.
Traditionally, respectable women wore perfumes that smelled like singular flowers while courtesans and other racy ladies stuck to more brazen smells such as musk or jasmine to attract men. By choosing a scent that blended the sensual allure of jasmine and musk with indefinable flowers and aldehydes, Chanel made a scent that questioned the notion of perfume indicating social standing, helping to demonstrate the paradox — voilà! — that women could be simultaneously "sexy" and "pure." Additionally, it's no secret that Mademoiselle Chanel was once a kept women who used money from her lovers to help fund her business ventures. Considering that, her opinions on sexuality and female empowerment were considered unconventional at the time, which make the characteristics of Chanel No. 5 seem all the more fitting.
