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The following sentence came to my mind once:

I smell the old-school summer smell every time I go there.

However, I'm not sure that it's idiomatic or not since the word "smell" is repeated twice.

Could you help to give me some advice on this?

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    You're using "old-school" in a weird way, BTW. old-school describes an attitude, or a style or manner, a way of doing things
    – TimR
    Commented Jul 15 at 10:27
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    Specifically: a "school" teaches way of doing things. Even an unofficial "school", like a style of music. So "old-school" could be understood as "the old way of doing things," and is not useful just to say in general that something is old or is remembered nostalgically. Commented Jul 15 at 16:47
  • @TimR, I found this definition on Merriam Webster for "old-school": characteristic or evocative of an earlier or original style, manner, or form. And along with an example: "old-school music".
    – Kt Student
    Commented Jul 16 at 2:56
  • @KtStudent Exactly my point. An earlier or original style, manner, or form. Your sentence says "old-school summer smell". A naturally occuring scent isn't "old-school" as it is not a "style" or "manner" or artistic "form". You're focusing on evocative and earlier while ignoring an essential element of how that adjective is used.
    – TimR
    Commented Jul 16 at 10:47
  • An example of someone who is "old-school" is a woodworker who refuses to use pocket-hole screws but insists on mortise-and-tenon joinery. An example of someone who is "really old-school" is a woodworker who insists on using hand-tools only, no power-tools of any kind. Or a chef who would never use a butane-torch or liquid nitrogen in the kitchen.
    – TimR
    Commented Jul 16 at 10:55

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Edit

The original sentence is fine and in fact has its advantages. However, if you still must avoid the repetition of smell, you can consider what I suggested earlier.

You could replace the first smell with another verb or the second one with another noun.

I [sense] the old-school summer smell every time I go there.

I smell the old-school summer [scent (or fragrance)] every time I go there.

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    I think that if you try too hard to avoid repetition you can end up committing the awful sin of 'elegant variation'. In my opinion, 'I smell the old-school summer smell' is fine, and the positive feature of alliteration (all those Ss) outweighs any problem of repetition. Commented Jul 15 at 6:35
  • Thanks, @Michael Harvey for the good point and the phrase elegant variation. Commented Jul 15 at 7:33

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