I think it’s garlic. I think a lot more vegetarians and vegans are more likely to have recently eaten something with garlic in it than to have worn patchouli.
As an aside, I had a particular shirt on when I cooked chana masala the other day. The shirt wasn’t dirty, so I hung it on the back of the bathroom door where I hang stuff that can be worn again. I went to put it on this morning and it reeked of the masala from Monday night. I put it in the hamper instead. So it’s possible I walk around smelling like that a lot, and I’m a vegetarian!
Interesting resurrection here. I’ve always heard it the other way around…that people who eat a lot of dairy and meat tend to have a distinctive smell (usually defined as ‘bad’) to people who are vegetarians. A lot of Asians make this claim about Europeans/Americans who have a meat/dairy based diet, but I’ve heard Vegan’s say similar things (my brother in law says this). I never noticed a distinct odor coming from vegetarians, per se, except as another poster up thread commented that some Vegan/Veg types also go in for a more, um, natural lifestyle, which seems to mean washing less and not using deodorant.
Dr. Bronner’s Castille Soap is common amongst the veggie set and leaves a fairly distinct smell, but the smell doesn’t “travel” much so I doubt that’s it.
Patchouli is the obvious suggestion, as mentioned.
If it was actually food-related, garlic and spices can leave a lingering scent. Vegetarians tend to use it a lot, and it definitely gets in your clothes if you cook with it a lot.
Although we tend to use a lot of onions and garlic in the house, this is true of my vegan roommate. (I’m a fervent meat-eater, for the record, but we do cook a lot of vegan food together.)
Wears the same shirt every day for a week, and will wear the same pair of shorts for the entire season that it’s warm enough for shorts. And doesn’t trust that awful aluminum-containing antiperspirant.
I don’t know what anyone here is talking about. I lived with a vegan for four years (and I am not a vegetarian) and I never noticed any smell associated with her other than the pleasant, fragrant odors of a woman and her various scents.