Blue Blazer
Avon (1964)

Avon Blue Blazer (1964) was an early example of Avon's many demographic explorations within the realm of masculine fragrance at a time when an exclusive male fragrance itself was considered exploring a new market. Granted, most of these experiments were loveably quirky or fascinatingly esoteric failures in the long run, but it's funny to see a company with a reputation for being droll and pedestrian like Avon so eager to custom-tailor its offerings so early on, exploring concepts we now take for granted decades ahead of other, often much more-esteemed houses. Blue Blazer is in effect, a youth-oriented line designed to attract interest from male teens and yoing adults. The line uses a posh private school aesthetic with a coat of arms, a sporty and monolithic square bottle with a dynamic logo, and the obvious reference to the school uniform in the name itself. Original ads featured a handsome, smart-looking graduate in his alum uniform, showing a full toiletries line including after shave lotion, shaving accessories, soap, and talc. Unfortunately, Blue Blazer never had cologne released in its brief initial run, but later an eau de toilette fragrance was revived for the South American market, but with little to no outside access to Avon in those markets, I can't confirm it's the same scent. This of course brings me to the scent itself. What is it? Why did this bomb so hard and disappear? Well, those answers won't surprise you, but what will is the fact that Avon had such a disconnect on what the demographic they were targeting would like, that the product they offered was almost diametrically opposed to its own purpose, which is comical to say the least.

Blue Blazer was at its core, a clone of Caswell-Massey Jockey Club (1840), which is a dandy floral that is the furthest thing from youthful even in 1964. For those who haven't smelled classic Jockey Club, we'll get to what this means in a second, but for those who know Jockey Club, it's literally the polar opposite of "cool" (but extremely charming for what it is). Blue Blazer opens similarly, with bergamot, jasmine, and geranium. A key difference between Blue Blazer and Jockey Club right off the bat is Blue Blazer's lack of a tart lime, and the addition of soft heliotrope to the floral heart which follows. A slight iris and ylang-ylang fade in until that trademark Avon amber shows up alongside oakmoss, sandalwood, and musk. The overall effect is a milder, sweeter, muskier, and rounder iteration of the primary 19th century dandy floral that Jockey Club represents, moving away from the early "sporty" piquant flair of the Caswell-Massey into something more "barbershop" and palatable for a mid 20th century man. As you might guess, this stuff fades from skin in only a few hours for being at aftershave strength, and has little sillage. A mature man probably would have loved this, but also probably kept away and used Avon Tribute for Men (1963) instead because that line was "for him and not his son". Guys are such funny creatures sometimes, but regardless, this is definitely a business/casual affair in tone, albeit old-school (even for the time). I give this an honorary thumbs up, but Blue Blazer is really essential only to the hardest of hardcore vintage drugstore cologne guys, since this layers well with real Caswell-Massey Jockey Club after a shave and a shower. I wish examples of the shaving cream survived in usable condition, because I bet that would smell really nice, although the soap does turn up and you can shave with it if you use a bowl and brush.

I can imagine 1960's CISHET teen guys in middle America shaving for the first time used whatever common products their dads had lying around, and were too busy working on bikes, chasing that varsity letter, the girl next door, looking into their dream jobs and just being boys in general, to be bothered with the idea that they needed a special grooming line just for them, let alone using one that smelled like Grandpa. Blue Blazer died a quick death, is a little under the radar for it, but since it's a clone of a currently-available scent (albeit in an upgraded "niche quality" format as of 2017), it makes zero sense to hunt this down. What's more discouraging is Blue Blazer became one of the few vintage Avons targeted by "rare discontinued" scalpers on eBay (when there's more than plenty in the wild), so prices for it come close to what you'd pay for a brand like Chanel or Dior at retail, which is certainly not worth it for a cheapo knockoff aftershave version of something with much better quality still available and sold at the same price today. Yet, Avon collectors might see the worth in it for the kitsch value (like myself), and Blue Blazer did appear in a few novelty decanters that fly further under the radar on eBay than the stock bottle, so if you don't need the original presentation, you can check it out for a fairer price. In conclusion, Blue Blazer was a perplexing attempt to court a market segment that didn't yet exist, and wouldn't until shopping malls and suburban decadence crept consumerism and materialism further into American culture, making young guys desire brands catering to their egos and interests. By the time this all came to pass, Avon had already taken a backseat to designer fragrances.