Word.ws English Dictionary

shabby chic

/ˈʃæbi ˈʃik/

shabby chic noun: a form of interior design where furnishings are either chosen for their appearance of age and signs of wear and tear or where new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique.

shabby chic: a form of interior design where furnishings are either chosen for their appearance of age and signs...
Image: apartment28, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

shabby chic (uncountable)

  1. (also, attributive) A form of interior design where furnishings are either chosen for their appearance of age and signs of wear and tear or where new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique.
    • To be sure, she wasn't stylish--one would hardly look for that at Madame's--nor was there anything about her costume that suggested even the shabby chic.1901, John Albert Sleicher (editor), Frank Leslie (contributor), Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper - Volume 92, page 139
    • Are they shabby chic or just shabby? Are there places for people to sit and chat, to read, watch the sun set, or enjoy the views?2007, Entrepreneur Press, Start Your Own Bed and Breakfast: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Success, Entrepreneur Press, →ISBN, page 54
  2. A similar form of fashion in which clothing is made to appear aged or damaged.

Examples of shabby chic in a sentence

  • Some furniture is described as shabby chic.2009, Charles A. Shoemake, Apotheosis of My Butterfly, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 162:
  • Can the rumpled elegance and mismatched opulence of shabby chic find happiness with cutting edge digital tools and techniques?2011, Jeanne Wines-Reed, Joan Wines, Digital Scrapbooking For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 72:
  • Cons: sometimes shabby rather than shabby chic; not much to do in vicinity; minimum stay required.2012, Fodor's, Fodor's England 2013: with the Best of Wales, Fodor's Travel

Origin of shabby chic

First use appears c. 1901 in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. See cite below.

Questions about shabby chic

What does shabby chic mean?
Shabby chic means a form of interior design where furnishings are either chosen for their appearance of age and signs of wear and tear or where new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique.
How do you use shabby chic in a sentence?
Some furniture is described as shabby chic.
What part of speech is shabby chic?
Shabby chic is a noun.
How do you pronounce shabby chic?
Shabby chic is pronounced /ˈʃæbi ˈʃik/.

Words near shabby chic in the dictionary

  1. shabbos goyim
  2. shabbos goys
  3. shabboses
  4. shabbosim
  5. shabby
  6. shabby chic
  7. shabby-genteel
  8. shabbyish
  9. shabda
  10. shabdas
  11. shabeen

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: shabby chic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “shabby chic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shabby_chic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.