Chic: M-Z

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Main article: Chic (style)

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[edit] Maximum chic

An ironic coinage by the loafer Onslow (played by Geoffrey Hughes) in a 1995 episode of the BBC TV comedy series, Keeping Up Appearances, created by Roy Clarke: "maximum chic for me is more your laid back slobby look" ^[1].

[edit] Military chic

Adoption of military gear such as camouflage patterned clothing, war medals, military insignia, surplus clothing or dog tag necklaces (adopted in the American Civil War) into fashion. The term and the similar soldier chic were widely applied c.2003-5, although in fact military apparel, such as the flight jackets worn by pilots during the Second World War, had frequently influenced fashion and paradoxically was often in vogue at times of anti-war feeling, such as in the late 1960s when protests against the Vietnam war were at their height (as, indeed, after the Iraq war of 2003): "One would have thought, given the unpopularity of armed forces activity in some quarters, that "military chic" would not be, well, chic" ^[2].

[edit] Northern chic

Occasionally applied retropectively ^[3] to aspects of the musical and cultural boom generated by the rock group, the Beatles, and other artists such as Gerry and the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas in 1962-4 (the "Mersey Sound"). "Northern" is a reference both to Northern England and Northern Songs, which published compositions by the Beatles' John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

[edit] Paradise chic

Coined by Marks & Spencer in 2006 for a post-boho collection: "This summer, modern classics are feminine, sophisticated and polished" ^[4].

[edit] Parisian chic

Parisian window chic: Fauchon, Place de la Madeleine, Christmas 2004

Frequently applied to anything stylish connected with the French capital Paris or to the style of French celebrities (e.g. actress Charlotte Gainsbourg ^[5] or others living in Paris, such as the English actress Kristin Scott Thomas ^[6]). Variants included "Left Bank" or "Right Bank" chic (or even "Left Bank chic versus Right Bank polish") ^[7]. Gainsbourg's mother, the British-born actress Jane Birkin, remarked that she would choose "English eccentricity over Parisian chic every time", adding, "chic you can learn - it's just a form of grooming" ^[8].

The term bon chic bon genre or BCBG ["good style, good class"] was applied in the early 21st century to the French equivalent of British "Sloane Rangers", their typical "uniform" including a mackintosh, ballet shoes, trousers, a cashmere sweater, and accessories such as a "Birkin" bag and a Cartier Tank Française wrist-watch ^[9].

[edit] Porn chic

"Porn chic" (or porno-chic) was first applied to films such as Deep Throat (1972) and Emmanuelle (1974) which were commercially successful and thus tended to bring "soft" pornography into the mainstream. Subsequently it has been used to refer more generally to pornography in popular culture.

[edit] Prairie chic

Flat caps and floral dresses or aprons over jeans ^[10].

[edit] Radical chic

Coined by journalist Tom Wolfe in 1970 to describe the adoption of radical causes by society figures and celebrities: see main article.

[edit] Rich-girl chic

Said to be "oozed" by a New York socialite in Plum Sykes' The Debutante Divorcée (2006).

[edit] Rock-girl chic

Rock-girl chic of the 1960s: Jane Asher, then closely associated with the Beatles

"Rock-girl chic" has meant different things during differing periods of music and fashion, but was often associated with a hippie image and was similar enough as a phrase to the slightly patronising "rock chick" to convey a sense of being a "groupie". This and similar terms, such as "boho-rock" (2006), were often applied to model Kate Moss, whose mother, Linda Moss, wrote that "Kate veers effortlessly between rock-girl chic and dripping-in-diamonds elegance" ^[11]. Moss's relationship in 2005-7 with Pete Doherty of the group Babyshambles tended to emphasise the tag.

[edit] Rural chic

Applied by the Sunday Times to a fashion collection designed and modelled by Savannah Miller, Cotswold-based sister of actress and noughties "boho-queen" Sienna Miller, for the Hong Kong based label, Shanghai Tang ^[12].

[edit] Satin chic

Title of a song by Aliison Goldfrapp & Will Gregory (2005).

[edit] Seaside chic

"Stripes, shorts, suits - seaside chic for the girl in every port" (Tatler, 2006) ^[13]; "Seaside chic ... bright, bold colours, vibrant prints and stylish accessories rule the waves" (Sainsbury's, 2006) ^[14]. See also Beach chic.

[edit] Shabby chic

The deliberate use of worn and shabby materials in interior design or fashion, associated particularly with the firm of that name founded in 1989 in Santa Monica, California by the English-born designer Rachel Ashwell. The effect of limewashing timber-framed buildings has been described as "shabby chic" ^[15].