American price of luxury

I found in my archive several documents on the price of perfumes in the past. I think it is interesting to see what was luxury and what not. What was affordable and what desirable. Price is an important component but usually it is not mentioned in the history of perfumes. Here you have a short list (from a bigger one), as it was published in a sale document from 1957. I have no idea about the power of 1 USD in 1957 compared to 2009.
But this list shows us some interesting facts. Caron perfumes were the most expensive. Guerlain was less expensive than Chanel and other couturiers perfumes. Dana, that latter became a cheap drugstore brand, was quite expensive. Classic Tabu was a bijou.
There is one Rubinstein I've never smelled and that is very expensive.

(prices are for extrait)

Fleurs de Rocaille (Caron), ¼ Oz. $10
Quelque Fleurs (Houbigant), ¼ Oz. $3.5
Joy (Jean Patou), ¼ Oz. $13.50
Intoxication (D'Orsay), ¼ Oz. $5.5
Chanel No5, 0,275 Oz, $7.50
L'Aimant (Coty), ¼ Oz. $ 3.50
Miss Dior, ¼ Oz. $ 7.50
Mitsouko (Guerlain), ¼ Oz. $5
Shalimar (Guerlain), ¼ Oz. $6
Bellodgia (Caron), ¼ Oz. $9
Ambush (Dana), ¼ Oz. $5
Shocking (Schiaparelli), ¼ Oz. $5
Nuit de Noel (Caron), ¼ Oz. $12.50
L'Heure Bleue (Guerlain), ¼ Oz. $5
Tabu (Dana), ¼ Oz. $10
Moonlight Mist (Helena Rubinstein) ½ Oz. $10

The "decline" of a perfume is not just about trends and what people like. In many cases the fall of a great perfume is explained by the new price (new market and public) and decline of the quality.
A modern example is Lancôme. They used to be luxury (than affordable luxury) with great and good perfumes but since the mid 90's the brand is going down. Magie Noire, once a success and good perfume is simply a cheap version that people don't buy. The latest Magnifique is a bad project and it will not survive more than 2-3 years. With the current management of L'Oreal, Lancome will join Coty (nobody dreams about modern Coty perfumes these days). The same can be said about Cacharel. Another brand in decline. First packaging (see Liberté and Anais) and now quality. Anais used to be a hit. Now, the formula is different from 1978. No surprise that they lost many loyal clients.
Guerlain, less expensive than Dior, has today the image of an exclusive, luxury brand - with the same classic perfumes but destroyed in terms of quality. That's the irony of history!

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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art