Very Cabmate No.33 | On “Chic”
When “Chic” Stops Meaning Chic
When “Chic” Stops Meaning Chic
This week, I saw a video from an Instagram creator—whose name I won’t disclose—explaining, in a kind of MTV Cribs-style tour, that her “guest bathroom had to be very chic.”
Most of the time, we use words without thinking too much about what they actually mean. We speak them in conversation, write them in emails, repeat them online. In everyday use, some words gradually begin to detach from the ideas they once carried and, through overuse, start to lose their weight altogether.
Take the word “iconic,” for example. It is now used almost constantly to describe anything remotely impactful, recognizable, or aesthetically pleasing. But “iconic” does not simply mean noteworthy; it means something closer to being a defining symbol, something worthy of genuine cultural reverence. The gap between those meanings has quietly become enormous.
The same thing has happened to the word “chic.” Nowhere is that more visible than on Instagram and TikTok, where people increasingly post videos showcasing the items they own that they claim are chic—guest bathrooms included.
The dictionary defines chic as “stylishness and elegance, typically of a specified kind.” But inherently, anyone who could genuinely be described as stylish or elegant would never feel the need to describe themselves—or anything they own—as chic. The moment chic becomes something self-declared, it begins to lose the quiet credibility that once defined it.
Do you think Lee Radziwill would have described herself as chic? Or Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy? Donyale Luna? Probably not. Style, elegance, and taste were never meant to announce themselves. They were meant to be noticed almost reluctantly, by others.
What once made chic appealing was precisely its sense of effortlessness. It suggested discernment without performance, sophistication without self-awareness. Today, the word is often used as a form of aesthetic signaling instead—a shortcut for appearing tasteful, rather than embodying taste naturally.
“Chic,” as it is used now, has become increasingly detached from its original meaning, carrying with it a faintly performative aftertaste. And perhaps that’s the most unchic thing of all.
