Why does perfume matter socially? What does fragrance reveal about memory, identity, desire, gender, status, and belonging? In A Sociology of Smell, Samuele Briatore shows that perfume is never merely an ornament. It is an invisible language through which bodies communicate, cultures classify, and individuals imagine who they are or who they wish to become. Moving from religious rites and Renaissance courts to modern perfumery, luxury marketing, niche fragrances, bottle design, and naming practices, this book offers a vivid sociology of perfume. It invites readers to understand how scents shape everyday relations more deeply than words often can.