At some point I realized my fragrance phase was structurally identical to my menswear and workwear phase.

Niche fragrance culture mirrors it almost perfectly:

• Heritage houses
• Esoteric references
• Obsession with materials
• “You wouldn’t understand” undertones
• Long discussions about nuance
• Quiet signaling disguised as discernment

Instead of talking about Japanese selvedge denim, you’re talking about Indonesian oud.

Instead of arguing about shoe leather, you’re debating natural vs synthetic ambergris.

Instead of “good drape,” it’s “beautiful dry-down.”

This is the same conversation.

And just like menswear, it presents itself as tasteful and refined. Not flashy or mainstream.

It’s all very serious too. You aren’t just wearing a scent. You’re curating an olfactory identity.

Intellectual and moody.

Elegant.

Subtle but complex.

The crazy part is that fragrance is even more symbolic than clothing. Most people can’t consciously parse notes. They just register “pleasant” or “strong.” The rest of it lives mostly in your own imagination. Which makes it even easier to project onto.

Fragrance culture, like a lot of menswear culture, sells refinement as depth. It encourages you to believe that the more nuanced your collection, the more developed your taste is. But nuance can quietly become another axis of self-monitoring and overconsumption.

In the end I realized I wasn’t curating a collection.

I was just translating myself into vapor form.