Worth Perfumes: Dans la Nuit by Worth c1924

Dans la Nuit by Worth: (In the Night) launched in 1922 in France. Worth had the idea of offering a gift to distinguished clientele of the fashion house and commissioned perfumer Maurice Blanchet to create it. This gesture was so appreciated that the fashion house that they had no other alternative than to offer it to the general public. Hence, Les Parfums Worth was born in 1924 and released what would become their signature fragrance to a wider distribution.

c1926 Franklin Simon ad.

Dans la Nuit line included: parfum extrait, eau de toilette, face powder, face powder compact, eau de toilette, talc, bath oil, sachet powder, dusting powder and soap.

The Spatula, 1922:

"Dans La Nuit. Societe Worth, Paris, France."

Drug & Cosmetic Industry, 1938:

"Worth's eau de Cologne (distributed in U. S. by Al Rosenfeld, Inc.) comes in the Dans La Nuit and Je Reviens fragrances, in four sizes of crystal-clear Lalique bottles. The fragrances are very similar to the perfumes."

Original Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as an aldehydic floral chypre fragrance for women.

Top notes: acacia, bay leaves, aldehydes, bergamot, oleander, camelia, blackcurrant and berries
Middle notes: clove, thyme, sage, heliotrope, honeysuckle, jasmine, rose, tuberose and Tuscan iris
Base notes: civet, oakmoss, resins, vanilla, orris, ambergris, musk, cistus labdanum, Bourbon vetiver and Mysore sandalwood

Worth began combining extracts of various flowers and finally managed to recreate the smell emitted at night by flowers heated by the sun. This became known as "Dans La Nuit."

Combat, 1955:

"In the Night (eau de cologne with the perfume of Worth. Under the trembling stars, Puck has stretched the mooncloth where the resins he brings back from the Orient meet the dormant flowers and the fruits of the orchard. From the roof of the night drips a perfume that has the untranslatable sorcery of desire. On the balcony, the insomniac sighs, her arms enfolded around her worried and delighted face."

Bottles:

In 1924, Jean Philippe Worth, back from a trip to the Italian lakes, asked a friend to design for him a starred bottle to remind him of the wonderful Italian nights of inky sapphire blue.

Originally presented in an orb shaped Art Deco-styled flacon, known as the boule, made by René Lalique et Cie. The spherical clear glass body molded in low relief with stars, the ground washed in dusty blue, supporting a flattened circular stopper. The earliest design for the stopper was a disc with an eclipsed moon of crystal-polished glass in bas-relief against a cobalt-stained sky filled with raised, crystal-polished stars. This style stopper was available from the mid-1920's through the mid-1930's, when it was discontinued due to an allegation of trademark infringement. Proctor & Gamble had objected that the star-moon motif was too similar to its Ivory soap logo.

Chemist & Druggist, 1924:

“ DANS LA NUIT with device of crescent moon and stars ; for perfumery , etc. ( 48 ) . DANS LA NUIT ” ; for goods ( 43 ) . “ Worth DANS LA NUIT ” with bottle device ; for perfumery , etc. ( 48 ) . By Société Worth , 5-7 Rue de la Paix."

Commercial Art, 1924:

"SCENT-BOTTLES AS PUBLICITY By Christopher Mann ,Photography Advertisement for " Dans la Nuit " and ". Dans la Nuit " Perfumery by Worth, Paris (Photo. Studio Rahma, Paris). Notice the pleasing arrangement of the bottles in the Worth box which is of a lovely tone of blue. The color plate gives an illustration of one of the best bottles of all: a blue globe of frosted glass on whose surface little crystalline stars are picked out and whose stopper contains a crescent moon. The other is a harmony of amber and deep tones of blue. They have that extra elegance of form which is Dans la Nuit ” Perfumery by Worth, Paris."

Fashions of the Hour, 1926"

"Very top — Brajan's perfume, Zarella, in a smart black bottle with ivory stopper, $27. Top right — a red etched bottle contains the light blend of Lionceau, Pour Blondes, $25. The starry little bottle of Dans la Nuit is in midnight blue, from Worth, $11."

Drug and Cosmetic Industry, 1937:

"WORTH Worth's "Dans La Nuit" perfume is now available for the first time in this country, in a half ounce size. It comes in the same midnight blue Lalique bottles with attractive silver trimmings, which marks the larger packages."

From the mid-30's on, the boule was issued with a stopper featuring the eclipsed moon and, in lieu of stars, the perfume name Dans la Nuit rendered in a lowercase calligraphic font.

The Rene Lalique et Cie 'model register' mentions the DLN boule model on March 29, 1924. The Canadian Patent Office records "SOCIETE WORTH, 7 Rue de la Paix, Paris, France. Perfume, Soaps, Toilet Articles and Hygienic Products. Disc bearing the representation of a crescent moon and stars, and the words: "Dans La Nuit.” 13th February, 1925."

On Jan. 20, 1926, a one-ounce boule is recorded, and after Nov 22, 1929, the one-ounce boule was produced with both stopper styles. However, a photo of the boule with the 'dans la nuit calligraphic' stopper, and it is dated 'after 1925'.

Boule Flacons with Stars Guide (not complete) - dln means "dans la nuit stopper":

1 oz bottle stands 3" tall (dln stopper)
4" tall (dln stopper)
4.5" tall (dln stopper)
5.38" tall (stars stopper)
12 oz bottle stands 5.25" tall (dln stopper) was also used in 1986 for EDT
5.5" tall
Factice (star stopper), not always marked Lalique, stands 10" tall
Factice (dln stopper), not always marked Lalique, stands 10.5" tall.

The boule was rendered in a number of sizes. On October 5, 1938 there is a notation that a Dans la Nuit perfume boule was produced in a size of 9.8 inches. The 9.8 inch boule had the 'dans la nuit' stopper. The largest size is 10.5" and served as a factice.

A glass powder dish with lid was also created and based on the boule flacon. It is also made by Lalique. The powder jar stands about 5" tall x 4" diameter. This is a very hard to find item today.

All bottles marked "R. Lalique" date to before 1946. Bottles made after 1946 will simply say "Lalique."

photo by Bonham's

1928 ad showing the atomizer flacon

Also presented in electric blue glass and two sizes of flattened spherical cobalt blue glass bottles with either blue glass or turquoise plastic stoppers, various molded marks of Lalique. Model introduced in 1931.

The photo above shows the black leather purse sac which holds the parfum.

Art et la Mode, 1952:

"AT WORTH. First of all, let's point out the charming purse flasks in their black leather case: all designated as a Christmas present. They exist for the best perfumes of Worth, in particular "Dans la Nuit" and "Je Reviens."

This appears to be a wartime flacon, c1940s, photo by ebay seller lightofthemoon

Fate of the Fragrance:

The perfume’s production was halted during WW2, it didn’t reach counters on US shores again until 1953. The original formula of Dans la Nuit was discontinued, date unknown, still being sold in 1975.

Reformulations

Dans la Nuit was reformulated in 1985 and relaunched in 1986, for the 50th anniversary of the launch of this perfume. The bottle was designed by Pierre Dinand in 1985 and manufactured by Pochet et du Courval with plastic components supplied by Matic Plast and AMS.

It was then discontinued and relaunched as a new formula in 2000.

The reformulation's composition:

Top notes: aldehydes, green notes, violet, bergamot and lemon
Middle notes: carnation, cinnamon, orris root, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley and rose
Base notes: sandalwood, tonka bean, amber, musk, civet, vanilla and vetiver

For the 1986 relaunch, the perfume was presented in a replica of the original 1924 Lalique molded glass Worth perfume flacon, the spherical clear glass body was molded in low relief with stars, enameled with a satinized (chalky like) blue finish; supporting a flattened circular stopper molded with a crescent moon. The bottle holds 350ml and is the largest size bottle Lalique made for this perfume. This bottle originally retailed for $485 in 1986. When you find this bottle, it will be marked “French Bottle” and “Creation R. Lalique”, also inscribed with number on the bottom, which should correspond to the number inscribed on the base of the stopper.

House & Garden, 1987:

"In 1922, the first Parfums Worth fragrance was packaged in a bottle designed by Rene Lalique , and with every new perfume developed by Charles Frederick Worth, another wonderful Lalique flacon was created . The tradition continues with a new scent, Dans la Nuit, to be sold in a blue crystal bottle designed by Lalique over 65 years ago."