Wow. For this price I really was not expecting much...but this perfumed really surprised me. What a pretty, fresh, slightly soapy floral - not at all overwhelming, just a nice and wearable day fragrance all around. "Clean" but in a gentle, feminine way. I really like this.

I got a gift box of EL fragrances (Sunflowers, Red Door, and 5th Ave) several months ago, and I gave away the others and only kept 5th Avenue. Wow--this is a truly gorgeous fragrance! To me, it's a classically elegant, creamy white floral. It's the fragrance equivalent of Pavlova in an ankle-length white dress dancing to Chopin. Now I'm more of an eclectic, bohemian type, so I don't wear 5th Avenue very often, but it's great for those times when I want to accentuate my prim and proper side. Unlike other reviewers, I wouldn't recommend this for anyone under about 20 years old. Youth should have an undone, impromptu element, and this scent doesn't have an unchoreographed note. Still, it's absolutely luscious!
Note: I took off 1 lippie because this can be a little cloying. Also, the pump on my small bottle looks fragile and cheap.

Oh, how I wish I had tried this little gem sooner! When it was launched in 1996 I was a too-cool-for-school teenager and more into fashionable unisex scents of the time a la CK One. Throughout my twenties I was aware of it but passed it over for more fashionable and current fragrances, but now I have finally seen the light (thanks to online fragrance board reviews--so useful!)

5th Avenue gets an underwhelming review in Luca Turin's perfume guide, but it's truly gorgeous. It is a seamlessly blended, slightly musky white floral that is not too flowery, sweet, musky, powdery, not too anything, in fact. It is gentle and calm, in no way unpleasant or nauseating but not too thin or whispy either. It is that rare breed of scent: reads as both modern and timeless, classy but not stuffy, eminently wearable for any woman from the age of 16-80, appropriate in any setting I can think of.

While I adore many bold and strong perfumes (Tabu by Dana, for example), this is a perfect everyday signature perfume for occasions when you want to smell fantastic but not room-permeatingly so. This will remain an absolute staple for me.

Tip for those who have trouble with the lasting power: this holds very well on fabric and doesn't stain clothes; it's also beautifully long-lasting if sprayed on hair or the nape of the neck. Love it.

This is frequently compared to Pleasures, Happy and even (to my nose) Jessica McClintock, but I actually like 5th Avenue better; these other ultra-clean floral fragrances all seem a little too sharp and bright to me. 5th Avenue opens up on a nicely natural-smelling bouquet of prim white flowers: a little lilac, a bunch of lily of the valley, and fresh green stems. The flowery effect blurs a bit and becomes more 'generic clean floral on a soapy-clean musk', but it stays light and pleasant on me throughout the (kind of short to my nose) drydown. I sniffed the body lotion and that seemed richer-smelling and more Big White Floral than the EDT.
Also: VERY inexpensive, and I always see it at the big chain discounters.

Lovely floral fragrance - has a faint cigarette smoke which i enjoy. This is my go to fragrance for work or when not sure what to wear. Not too heavy. Nice change from EL Pleasures which i wear also but needed a change as of late.

Pleasantly surprised by this one. Was expecting a dated old lady scent but its anything but. Holds up quite well despite its age. Its the perfect scent for work at the office, classy but inoffensive, not to strong not to light. Would not recommend for anyone under 30 to wear it though as it definelty is not a young fragrance.

I have received more compliments on this fragrance than any other I have ever worn. It is truly a timeless classic. Very feminine, sweet but not cloying, soft yet demanding of attention. I love 5th Avenue with all my heart

___EDIT
I initally really liked this perfume. I still do, but I have realized that I am 20 years too young for this. The scent suits a mature woman 40+. Stay away if in your twenties and thirties!

I saw this at Marshall's for $9 and decided to give it a try because it was a good deal and I've never tried anything Arden before. I LOVE this perfume.
I've never been to 5th Ave but I know it's the center of fashion, capital, and commerce. This perfume definitely lives up to the icon of an intelligent, sophisticated, independent modern woman. Who would have known a perfume could captivate all those attributes!?
If you can find it on sale snag it! If not it's definitely worth it at regular price

My mother wears this, and scents like these, so since childhood I've linked it with everything lady-like and lovely, since these are her own qualities. The reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because the lasting power isn't that good. It is very uplifting, harmonious (by which I mean balanced), and fresh (without that aquatic/swimming pool quality that some "fresh" fragrances have)

I just browsed through most of the reviews and didn't see where anyone mentioned the reformulation of 5th Avenue. I wore this when it was first launched (96'?) and it was the kind of fragrance that stopped people in their tracks so they could ask what I was wearing. The last time I smelled this it was empty;devoid of the beautiful drydown that trailed for days.I'd love to smell the original.Perhaps I am mistaken.Maybe my olfactory factory has become snobbish.