For those looking for the defining social media trend of summer 2026, it’s time to call off the search party.

A new phrase is dominating algorithms and entering the English lexicon.

It goes roughly like this: a carousel of images or a video overlaid with a pale yellow font that reads: “Kinda chic to” followed by an image of a look or trend that the average user doesn’t consider traditionally chic.

The images are usually a mirror selfie or a fancy cup of matcha – but the trends vary. This morning alone I have seen posts spanning everything from “kinda chic to repeat outfits” to “kinda chic to always have a trip booked” to “kinda chic to be overdressed” to “kinda chic to bake a quiche,” (to be fair it did look like a very nice quiche).

Similar to 2024’s “brat” takeover and last summer’s “very demure, very mindful” craze, the phrase “kinda chic” has quickly become ubiquitous. But unlike its predecessors, the catalyst is harder to track down. Some point to plus-size influencer MariaBegins as one of its earliest instigators due to using the format in April for a series of body positivity posts. “Kinda chic posting myself online despite the hate comments I receive,” reads one.

According to Google Trends, searches for the term are up 5000% while on last check the hashtag has amassed over 60k posts on Instagram. On TikTok, posts which suggest it’s “kinda chic to do it alone and scared” in reference to solo backpacking trip have amassed hundreds of thousands of likes. The posts can be aspirational or relatable, and that’s the point: its mass appeal lies in the fact, that there is a post for everyone.

It is often used as a humblebrag which, depending on the viewer’s circumstances, can be either inspiring or irritating. “Kinda chic to call the Upper East side home,” posts one user from their balcony overlooking the city. “Kinda chic to make all your big decisions in the bath” proclaims another post featuring a gorgeous outdoor tub setup. “Kinda chic to book the spontaneous trip” states another accompanied with a hotel room overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

The Berlin-based fashion editor and influencer Brenda Weischer refers to it as “template slop” pointing that due to its widespread use it is now “an unoriginal idea”.

“I have never seen Instagram so homogenous,” agrees Bella Younger, a social media consultant who says we’re going to endure “a long hot summer of copy, paste on social media.”

Despite this, the trend prevails, particularly among the rich and famous. Drew Barrymore declared it “kinda chic to be in your 50s”, accompanied by a selfie taken in her car. Reese Witherspoon posed with Lauren Dern captioning it “kinda chic to cheer on other women” while Ashley Graham used an image of her on the Victoria’s Secret catwalk to describe it as “kinda chic to know cellulite never held you back”.

Brands have been quick to hop on the bandwagon too. The retailer Boots posted it was “kinda chic to reapply your SPF” over an image of various SPF products it stocks. “Kinda chic to sell a foldable sock hanger by the wine”, posted Aldi while the airline Virgin Atlantic declared it “kinda chic to book a flight with no annual leave left.”

Surely, at any moment Andy Burnham is going to post that it is “kinda chic to push for devolution”.

So what is driving its rise? Just as core became a replacement for trend (think “cottagecore”, or “goblincore”, plus, who could forget the OGs – “normcore” and “dadcore”), the word chic has become all encompassing. The definition is now so diluted it can be used to describe anything. Perhaps, it is chic that is in the eye of the beholder.

In fashion circles, it’s a word that is rarely used now – for precisely these reasons. Last year Vogue declared it dead. “RIP “Chic” – the word has finally lost all meaning” read the headline. In the 2017 drama Phantom Thread, Daniel Day-Lewis who plays a fictional British designer takes great offence to use of the word. “Chic! Whoever invented that ought to be spanked in public,” he shouts. “I don’t even know what that word means! What is that word? Fucking chic! They should be hung, drawn, and quartered.”

And yet social media algorithms reward this type of repetitive content. “Instead of being creative, people are borrowing proven ‘hooks’ and formats that they know will perform,” explains Younger. “We are now all talking about how homogenous it is [social media] but it has become very difficult to get content that doesn’t fit strict parameters seen at all,” she adds.

“I don’t know how this started but it’s annoying as heck. It’s chic to not be annoying as heck,” reads one comment in a Reddit forum dedicated to talking about how infuriating the trend is.

Younger suggests to get out of the cycle a month long Instagram ban should be implemented. “Then we can all come back with some original thoughts” she says. Kinda chic?

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