Jean Patou
The Man, The Company, The Fragrances

Jean Patou was born in Normandy, France, in 1880. Arriving in Paris before World War I, he started with two small dressmaking shops. Then, in 1912, he founded Maison Parry. After serving in the French Army during the Great War, Patou opened his first couture salon on Rue St. Florentin, in 1918.

Jean Patou's Joy, "The World's Most Expensive Perfume." Each bottle is filled and finished by hand.

During the 1920's Patou created fantastic lines of high-end sportswear (offering sportswear to women was, in itself, revolutionary!), knitwear, and relaxed fashions that were easy and comfortable to wear. He is credited with popularizing the cardigan and inventing both the tennis skirt and the knit bathing suit (quite sexy in it's day!) His work as been described as "effortless and sensual minimalism and understatement." In 1927 Patou introduced the first tanning lotion, Huile de Chaldée.

Introduced in 1935 (at the height of the depression!), Joy was called "the world's most expensive perfume" by Elsa Maxwell of Hollywood fame. Today Joy remains one of the the world's most expensive perfumes due to its reliance on unusually costly ingredients.

Created for Patou by Henri Alméras, the cost of the raw materials going into Joy was considered (even by Alméras!) to be ridiculously expensive, involving (so it was said!) 10600 flowers and 28 dozen roses — 10 percent (real) Bulgarian Rose! And (expensive!) Jasmine. As a result, Joy retained for about three times what most perfumes cost. It remains outrageously costly today.

Patou died in 1936 but history has proven him justified in his extravagance. Both Joy and the House of Patou survived the Depression and Joy perfume is still available today, to the handful who can afford it.

Others associated with the House of Patou since the 1930's include his sister and her husband, Mme. & M. Barbas, (who continued the business after Patou's death), Jean Kerléo (as chief perfumer for over 30 years, creator of "1000", and currently director of the Perfume Museum of Versailles), Karl Lagerfeld — himself a great name in both fashion and fragrance — and Jean de Moüy, Jean Patou's great nephew.

Today the Patou perfume licenses and trademarks are owned by Proctor & Gamble Prestige Beauté, which as rewarded contemporary Patou followers (such as actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Roberts) by remaining faithful to the Patou tradition of using only the best quality (and more expensive!) materials for their fragrances.

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