Chic

[2] Although the French pronunciation (/ˈʃiːk/ or "sheek") is now virtually standard and was that given by Fowler,[3] chic was often rendered in the anglicised form of "chick".

[4] In a fictional vignette for Punch (c. 1932) Mrs F. A. Kilpatrick attributed to a young woman who 70 years later would have been called a "chavette" the following assertion: "It 'asn't go no buttons neither ... That's the latest ideer.

The Oxford Dictionary[clarification needed] gives the comparative and superlative forms of chic as chicer and chicest.

[11] Over the years "chic" has been applied to, among other things, social events, situations, individuals, and modes or styles of dress.

It was one of a number of "slang words" that H. W. Fowler linked to particular professions – specifically, to "society journalism" – with the advice that, if used in such a context, "familiarity will disguise and sometimes it will bring out its slanginess.