By Jacqueline Ayala, Social Media Editor
Merriam-Webster dictionary describes “chic” as “smart elegance and sophistication especially of dress or manner.”
Chic is everywhere this year. You say it to make sure your outfit is appropriate for an outing with friends, or you see TikToks on how to become this so-called “chic.” How do you become this? Several factors determine what can be deemed as “chic” – style, elegance, popularity – it all becomes one way to carry and dress yourself. Anyone can be chic; no gender or person is necessarily attached to this genre of fashion. One way for something to be considered chic is if it’s timeless, destined to come back again and again without ever going out of style. But now? Your pen is chic, your toast is chic. A broken shoe? Chapped lips? A wrinkly shirt? Chic, chic, chic! What once was a rare, hard-to-achieve aesthetic and look is now just a common thing you see on the street. Not that this makes something automatically chic, but “chic” now gets used in order to characterize something as trending. In reality? Chic is meant to be anything but trending.
In reality, what was once “chic” is no longer a thing. At least, it’s no longer a unique phrase to describe a person. Instead, it’s become the new “slay,” just a simple compliment that, while positive, has lost its official meaning. Once, chic used to be a way of carrying oneself with sophistication. It was the definition of the classy, French girl you see in movies. It’s a hard-to-achieve look that not just anybody can pull off. If you call everything chic, does it even mean anything? Or has the meaning changed in 2026 in comparison to when the word was first rooted in our dictionary?
Spoiler alert! Chic is French; that we aren’t so surprised over. Its definition has been reinvented multiple times since it came around in the 1600s, but the word has stayed relatively similar to its original meaning, combining style and intelligence to create something truly unique. Think Jackie Kennedy, Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin — each had their own sense of class and character, which made them the models of what “chic” was. Even fictional characters, like those in the TV show Gossip Girl, have their own perception of chic.
Yves Saint Laurent was the first to successfully redefine chic, adding an androgynous twist to it with his design “Le Smoking” tuxedo suit. In 2011, Peter Copping attempted to redesign chic in that year’s designs but failed to do so. The style went all the way back to its French roots in 2011, with the romanticization of Paris, designer makeup, and fashion. Over the following years, sub-genres of the chic style have appeared – beach chic, geek chic, boho chic, though all have the same roots of the original word. But now? Chic is now more of a metaphor in most people’s eyes. If it’s trending on TikTok, it’s chic.
The trend of using the phrase “Kinda chic when…” has been popularized on Instagram and TikTok as a way to say something is good for someone to do or to wear. Now, technically, it is only a subjective word allowed to be used for anything. Though originally, chic was a hard-to-achieve style, it has been changed to add validation to what we do as people. The value of this word has decreased over the years, with its peak being in the 1990s and 2000s. Still, chic is subjective. It differs from person to person. It gets reinvented in multiple ways as we evolve in taste and style, something that people can’t fight no matter how hard they try. In the 2010s, it was skinny jeans and jeggings. Now it’s baggy and flared jeans making their move on people’s style and taste.
That’s simply the power of fashion and styles. As it grows, it shifts and brings up new trends and combinations. Lifestyles get thrown in the mix. From 15-step morning routines to 3-step, we change in the same way words do. Truth be told… the word “chic” becoming commonly said is not as terrible as I began to say it was. This phenomenon of words changing meaning is called semantic change; as time goes on, the definitions and meanings are bound to be completely different from years ago. Chic will always be chic, though.
Why? Because if there’s one chic thing, it’s not to worry about others and view the world as you want to and how it makes you happy. Worrying about trends, taking them seriously, getting upset when a meant-to-be selective aesthetic becomes not so selective? Not very chic of you…
