AAllee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Ambush Spray Cologne and my high school photo

Submitted by Allee Willis November 29th, 2010
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More than anything, the one thing that accompanied me every single day of my four college years at the University of Wisconsin in the late 1960’s was a spritz of Ambush Spray Cologne. I should have bought stock in Dana, the company that made it, for as many bottles of it as I went through. The male equivalent was called Canoe. Sometimes girls wore that too but I was so attached to the scent and the shade of pink and hard rubbery shape and feel of the bottle I never made it past Ambush.

Here’s what I looked like when I first started wearing it at the tail end of high school:

For as laquered as my hair was it might appear that I may have coated that with Ambush too, but that was all about Aquanet. My Aquanet hairspray kept my hair helmet so firm I never had to worry about it getting crushed when the amount of Ambush I sprayed on myself put me in many situations like this back in college:

Thank you, Ambush, for making me smell good then and for that astounding pink bottle still lighting up my eyes today.

11 Responses to “AAllee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Ambush Spray Cologne and my high school photo”

  1. k2dtw

    My heart…I’m dying.. I LOVED Ambush so much…
    Wondering who was that photographer at Mumford High School, We all looked alike…how did they do that???….smile..

    • Allee Willis

      As far as looking like, we all made it easy for the photographer with our sprayed to death skyscraper high bouffants and bubbles. I remember how excited I was to wear the little dickie I had on too.

  2. MyFunCloset

    Your grad pic was classic back then. Right down to the sweater and delicate necklace. Mine looks just like that too. I’ll see if I can dig it out. I think everyone should send you their HS yearbook pic!
    Even before you finished your description of Ambush, I flashed back to guys all smelling the same. Canoe! My fav was Shalimar.
    I was in the frangrance dept. just two days ago and sprintz it. Way too sweet for my nose now. What was I thinking.
    Now your class pics take me back. Mid 60’s… in addition to dickies were penny loafers and white tennis V neck sweaters trimmed in Navy and burgundy. Do you remember circle pins too? Was that in Detroit too? Though we were NE Ohio, my sister had many friend who graduated from Mumford in ’64. Not sure she kept in touch with any of them. One was Mickey Shure.(sp?)
    She was into USY. Ah, those were the years ….we thought would never end…

    • Allee Willis

      I loved Shalimar too! And I certainly had my share of penny loafers and white tennis V-necks with the Navy and burgundy trim. I still have one of those. I bought a circle pin to go off to college with and wore it with my Villager outfits. of

      I don’t know Mickey Shure but I didn’t graduate until 65 and kids that were ahead of me seemed soooooooo much older. Oy!

      Yes, high school photo please!

  3. Mark Milligan

    Wow! That high school picture: you look so much like my sister in her ’65 senior picture, it freaked me out. I have to dig it up. Maybe it is just the hair. The difference was that she had glasses and a baby blue fuzzy sweater, but the exact hair. I love it.

    • Allee Willis

      75% of girls that graduated high school in 1965 had that hair! It was called a Bubble and was replaced about a year later with a slightly shorter version called the Artichoke, popularized by Barbra Streisand.

  4. k2dtw

    I love this so much… I loved Shalimar too..
    One of my favorite outfits was a navy blue A-line skirt, a white blouse with a round Peter Pan collar, which I wore with a blue open weave mohair cardigan sweater. I loved wearing my gold tone circle pin and very pointed-toe flats, that I was thrilled to buy at Baker’s…smile..
    I loved white V neck tennis sweaters, and penny loafers but I never owned them??…probably because Annette, Sandra Dee and the girls on American Bandstand weren’t wearing them…LOL
    Allee did you ever wear stirrup pants???