Shabby Chic – In or out of style for 2024

The shabby chic style became quite famous in the 1980s and ’90s. It surged in popularity after designer Rachel Ashwell opened a store with the same name. The style is called shabby chic because Ashwell coined the phrase to define her concept of turning vintage thrift finds into casual and pretty, yet elegant home decor. As her store grew, she began to partner with mass retailers such as Target to make shabby chic style products readily available to the public.

While other aesthetics have emerged in the years since Ashwell’s rise to fame, designer Carrie Leskowitz knew it was only a matter of time before shabby chic became mainstream yet again. “Welcome back Rachel Ashwell, we have missed you and your shabby chic aesthetic,” Leskowitz says. “I am not surprised the shabby chic look that was so popular in the 1990s is now seeing a resurgence. What goes around comes around, but presently it is streamlined and more refined for a new generation. The look, once a tired trend, now seems tried and true, with a few tweaks.”

Leskowitz attributes the return to shabby chic style to the increased time spent at home over the past year-plus. “People were searching for familiarity, warmth, and comfort from their home as the pandemic took hold,” she explains. “The deep understanding that our home is more than an address became especially prevalent.”

Annie Sloan chalk paint