RIP Shabby Chic?

[Nigel Watts]

Depressing but insightful article by Harry Mount in last week's Spectator, which resonates with what I see going on in London. You cant get the Speccie on line anymore without paying something it would seem, so here are a few extracts:

"Shabby chic has been vacuumed, whitewashed and dry-cleaned out of existence. Frayed shirt collars, egg yolk on the tie, soup stain on the crotch, roses rambling out of control over the crumbling terrace flagstones, walls cluttered with pictures, tables covered with teetering piles of books. The quintessentially British air of decayed gentility has been destroyed by a combination of minimalism, modernism and nihilism."

A historical analysis of the origin of the British Shabby Chic style follows. Then:

"But at the heart of shabby chic lies the admirable, classless truth that some things are beautiful or useful, and should be put on show or kept near at hand, however old and time-worn they are. To do without these things, or to conceal them.....is utterly peverse. If you visit a rich and fashionable British household these days, you'll see something that thas never existed before in the civilised world - an active dislike of old objects, or signs of human existence previous to their own. Nature may abhor a vacuum but, oh, how the modern rich adore one."

 

[Gervase]

I read is as more of a tilt at the nouveaux riches than an elegy for shabby chic. As such it is a typical piece from the Spectator of today, which seems to have become a parody of itself, what with Rod Liddle's sub-Littlejohn column and Melanie Phillips' ramblings.
I move in eclectic circles, but I can't say that I've seen a decline in 'shabby chic', or noticed a particular growth in sterile, shiny environments - the vogue for sweeping away the old has been with us at least since the Fifties. Mount's phrase "...a mixture of leisure-wear and branded clothes, always spanking new, always spotless, always approaching its sell-by date," evokes a quaintly old-fashioned sort of snobbery and is, I suspect, intended to act as a dog-whistle to those who aspire to use the term NQOS.

 

[Nigel Watts]

I can't say that I've seen a decline in 'shabby chic', or noticed a particular growth in sterile, shiny environments

I wish I could say the same. My experience in London supports Mount's view.

As for the Speccie, it has certainly changed but I still like it enough to want to continue my subscription. Charles Moore (whose Islington house I bought in the late 1980s) is usually good value, and I find there are enough readable articles each week to fill two bathtimes and a couple of sessions on the bog, where the back copies reside for a few weeks.

 

[Gervase]

Ah, Charles Moore - under him the Spectator was a 'must read'. I stopped reading it regularly when BoJo took over and now when I see it I find myself wondering who would pick up the Specator sight-unseen and take out a subscription. Which is a shame, because there has always been some excellent writing in it.

 

[JoceAndChris]

If you visit a rich and fashionable British household these days, you'll see something that thas never existed before in the civilised world - an active dislike of old objects, or signs of human existence previous to their own. Nature may abhor a vacuum but, oh, how the modern rich adore one."

I wouldn't really describe my friends as "rich", but I've certainly seen an active dislike of old objects amongst them. And an overwhelming impetus, when they move to a new home, to erase all traces of the previous owners. Many of these friends have a garage full of old Ikea furniture and a houseful of new Habitat.

I think we are emerging from a germ and shiny-new obsessed culture into a more eco-aware one. The waste of it all! The throwing away of food, of last season's Primark, last season's technology. I'm not particularly green, but I find it upsetting nonetheless.

 

[Moo]

What an interesting conjunction - this thread and the Bargainspotters one.

I, too read the Spectator article and, like Nigel, it reminded me of friends' and acquaintances' differing tastes. They seem to divide into four groups: those who, like us, can't afford to fork out for precious antiques and therefore live with an eclectic mixture of hand-me-downs and second-hand buys; the few who have been lucky enough to inherit decent stuff; the youngsters who have no choice but to buy new; and the many who seem to start with a clean sheet every time they move (and regard a five-year-old kitchen as in need of replacement).

I am intrigued by the mind-set of people who never seem to have things in their home that have any association with their (or their ancestors') past lives, apart from framed family photographs. We even treasure a battered pine stool that we bought from Habitat thirty years ago and was soon embellished by our infant son when he was first allowed to wield a hammer. It's fondly known as The Dotty Stool and we wouldn't part with it for all the tea in China.

ps To keep ourselves properly balanced we also take the New Statesman. I prefer the Spectator because it's witty and has some excellent cartoons. The Statesman is just too grim and earnest.

 

[ilona73]

Moo i agree completely. though i have to add i feel really lucky to have inherited my grandparents marble wash stand and their wash jug and bowl and although its a bit battered its been well loved and i will find a place to show it off in my home somewhere when i get around to it.
I also find that the more technology moves on and people watch more and more tv they become brainwashed by some so called designers/tv presenters who just want everyone to live in a clinical white box.I feel that this has tainted peoples attitude to furnishings and accessories.. to the point that if its not black brown or white and doesn't resemble some sort of box its not to be seen in ones home
I love shabby chic.. and everyones ideas on this vary so its all subjective.. what might not conform to ones idea of shabby chic will be anothers shabby chic heaven.
One things for sure
There is no accounting for taste... i have learnt that working in it for years... having realised that the vast majority of people don't actually truly know what they do and dont like when it comes to designing rooms and decor... and that is something i am faced with almost every day. :twisted: