Exclusive: It's a Shabby Chic Summer

Shabby chic influencers Brookie Yancey and Layla Blue at a LoveShackFancy event.

Photo: brookieyancey/Instagram

The Fashion Stock Market here, your one and only source into the hottest style trends and fashion events. This past week, the east coast experienced a brutal heat wave, causing mass migration of fashion lovers from their hometowns to the Jersey Shore, the Hamptons, or the nearest body of water available. As I sat myself in front of my fan, planning my next beach trip and sipping on liquid IV, I had only one question on my mind: now that we’ve officially ditched our cozy sweaters and Brandy sweatpants for the season, what is everyone wearing? And I don’t mean the obvious answers, like linen pants, tankinis, and statement hats; which aesthetics are heating up, just like the sizzling summer sun?

There are a wide variety of aesthetics that are popular on Pinterest this summer, some we’ve seen before such as “coastal granddaughter” and “clean girl.” However, there’s a relatively new aesthetic that I personally have been obsessing over (seriously, I’m spending hours a day on Depop trying to build an entirely new summer wardrobe), and this aesthetic transcends the realm of fashion. As we’ve seen with other trends, their influence can seep into interior design and room decor, as well as lifestyle more generally. For example, “clean girls” are obviously very organized, but also love pilates classes and matcha lattes. But the aesthetic I’m giving you all the gossip about originated as a home decor style and has since been used to describe a fashion style that emphasizes florals, delicate fabrics, mix and matching, and a slightly distressed look. That’s right divas; I’m talking about shabby chic!

Image from LoveShackFancy Instagram that encapsulates the vibe of a shabby chic lover.

Photo: loveshankfancy/Instagram

Quick little history lesson for context on this fresh movement. For starters, although the clothing style is new, the interior design style dates back to the 1980s. Shabby chic decor is characterized by the combination of, “vintage and cottage elements in soft, romantic colors and textures to create an elegant, yet worn and welcoming look.” (https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-shabby-chic-style-5199407) The name itself comes from Rachel Ashwell, who opened a store with the same name in Santa Monica, CA in 1989. Her vision was to take vintage furniture and repurpose it into visually-appealing, casual yet elegant pieces. Her vision only expanded and monopolized in the 1990s and 2000s, with shabby chic pieces becoming available in stores like Target, TJMaxx, HomeGoods, and so on. 

Rebecca Hessel Cohen, founder of LoveShackFancy.

Photo: Marcela Cussolin/Forbes

However, the fashion trend’s origins are a bit more difficult to trace. The shabby chic aesthetic seems to have evolved from aesthetics like coquette, boho, and cottagecore. In my view, shabby chic is like the cool older sister of all of these aesthetics, blending the casual, vintage looks while retaining that femininity with the softer colors and delicate materials, like lace and cotton. TikTok is a major stage for the shabby chic aesthetic, along with Pinterest. Influencers like Layla Blue and Brookie Yancey are major players in popularizing the style, posting OOTDs, room tours, and hauls. But there are even more significant players in this new, enticing fashion game: the brands. 

Shabby chic started off as an interior design style, but has since seeped into fashion, with shabby chic babes often adopting both aspects of the aesthetic into their lifestyle.

Photo: Tammy Barret/Pinterest

The two stores that come to mind when it comes to shabby chic clothes are Free People and LoveShackFancy. Of course, a diehard shabby chic lover would thrift all of her clothes, scouring consignment stores to find vintage Vivienne Westwood and Isabelle Marant, but I must give credit where credit is due. Free People and LSF introduced me and countless fashionistas to the trend, and since then they have shot up in popularity (though, of course they already were quite popular). If shabby chic could be summed up in one article of clothing, it would probably be a LSF maxi dress. Free People’s clothes are a more muted version of the shabby chic aesthetic, but the heart of the trend is still there. Other brands have leaned into the style, including Altar’d State, ASOS, and Urban Outfitters. This has continued into the summer, with all of these brands coming out with swimwear inspired by the aesthetic, from floral bikinis with charms to chic cover ups.

Very shabby chic set from Free People.

Photo: Free People

In the previous year, data shows the trend has been steadily growing. Searches on Pinterest for “shabby chic” spiked in popularity around March 26, 2025. The term has grown an impressive 124% from June 5, 2024 to May 21, 2025, with an initial index of popularity of 25 growing to a current index of 56. Although the trend has calmed down this past month, shabby chic searches spiked tremendously during the month of May. Considering its popularity during the springtime, I’m oh-so curious how the style will survive this season. Will it burn bright like the hot summer sun? Or will it die out, like petals falling from the last spring flower? Only time will tell. I, for one, hope shabby chic is here to stay. I’m tired of aesthetics changing from season to season; give my wallet a break, fashion gods!

Now that I’ve spread the good news about shabby chic, it’s up to you, Fashion Stock Market readers, to go out into the world and see for yourself all that the aesthetic has to offer. Fly my little birdies, and spread your vintage-thrifted-mix-match-lace-muted-elegant-casual wings! And if you find shabby chic isn’t your vibe, lucky for you there are many other aesthetics we have written about on our page you can check out. No matter your pick, I hope you’ll bring your A game this summer, from your baseball game outfits to your beachwear ensembles. Don’t say we didn’t prepare you with the fashion knowledge necessary!

XOXO, The Fashion Stock Market