I thought the idea behind "Shabby Chic" was the fleamarket asthetic - Selling that in a store in the fanciest part of town seems the antithesis of the ideal.

Give it a few yrs, and "Shabby MCM" will be all the rage.... that's my bet!

Never cared for it myself, but it is hugely popular with teenage girls in my area, probably because it lends itself well to the beach aesthetic. Along the lines of what bepsf said, these are girls who wouldn't be caught dead in a flea market (the Anthropologie look is also big with this group).

I'm not surprised. And, I agree with Bebsf. Trying to sell shabby chic seems doomed to fail. Why go to an overpriced retail store when you can wheel and deal at your local flea market while feeling the rush of finding hidden treasure?

Wow...she was crazily popular and even had a tv show. I still remember her small apts/homes episode that I found inspiring because it seemed to focus on simplicity and thrift. I could NEVER afford (or would ever spend) her linens but it seems that her branding got beyond her original message.

Shabby chic style is alive and well. Many of the house tours here on AT have SC elements all thru them. This bankruptcy, like many, is more about the business than the product.

reading her blog entry she seems a little bit errm, spacey...not conducive to running a tight business perhaps...?

Never understood the concept, yes go to flea market and paint an old piece white, reconstruct a lamp paint it white, get a white slip cover, get a white duvet and let it wrinkle by sitting in the dryer too long and why pay more?

Bankruptcy not chic but maybe shabby.

Considering I've read this blog daily for over a year and have never once been directed by a post to that site, I'd say they are probably out of touch with their target market. (even with the "keep calm" poster on their accessories page) Based on my short perusal of it just now, I'd compound that by the fact that many of the prices seem ridiculous. Really? $1,000 for a framed mirror, that uses a recycled frame and stenciled sponge painting?

Flea market style at a high end price does not sell.

People learned they could do shabby chic without the chick and the high price she charged. I never could understand the fascination with her work.

She invented a distinctive look that, at the time, really was chic. Everyone thinks it's obvious now to paint flea market finds white, but she's the person who popularized that. And she did it in an era when everything was being faux-finished within an inch of its life, or painted in bold "Memphis" colors.

Unfortunately, with the advent of DIY mania, anyone who likes the Shabby Chic look can get it much cheaper elsewhere.

I always liked the look and the photos in her books were very inspirational but the prices at the stores were outlandishly high. Sad that another business goes down. I just found out today that another fave (and better priced) - Elephant Pharmacy is filing bankruptcy also - sigh.

I appreciate the look and I actually liked some of the ideas that she presented as a designer in her books. I agree with everyone who found it ironic that she attempted to actually market product lines of reproductions and salvaged vintage goods using the shabby chic brand rather than remaining a stylist and designer and encouraging others to find their own goods and their own style.

I think Ashwell got some bad business advice along the way and lost her path as a result - she made the look too prepackaged and commercial and then there were many competitors out there with cheaper reproduction goods that looked similar who came an ate her lunch. I also think she got stagnant and didn't continue to develop her ideas as a designer as she became more involved with branding and running a company.

Maybe this bankruptcy is a new beginning for her and she will return to her roots and continue to develop her ideas as a designer.

I had some of the sheets from Target, which were great for the price and managed to pull off a feminine, yet husband-friendly balance.

That said, I went to one of the new stores at the Natick Collection mall outside Boston. Really scary. The place opened just as the crash got rolling. The Shabby Chic shop had gorgeous stuff, but they were trying to sell multithousand dollar sofas in a high-rent mall. They didn't do the Anthropologie thing and have stuff at lower price points for people without big bucks who liked the look.

On the shabby chic look - I like it, but back when it was tempting me, it sure didn't mix well with the stuff I already owned. And I live in a pre-war little cottage of a house that shabby chic style furniture would look wonderful in. But... all of the furniture was HUGE. None of it would actually fit in a charming old house. It was mcmansion sized. A decorating style which requires that all your accessories go along with the "look" rather than be the jumble of loved things gathered over a lifetime doesn't suit me.

Also, all that white just doesn't mix with actually doing gardening and art and a basement where there is a hobby metal shop and motors being worked on.

My 12 year old daughter Loves Shabby Chic! She just purchased the comforter from target for her bedroom. I think SC may have just over extended, not expecting the financial downturn...I hope Rachel Ashwell gets some good business advice and comes back with a new and better plan. This style is not finished, it just had a set-back.

An intersting note about Shabby Chic over the past few years was that every now and then they were stocking some very non-shabby chic items. I bought a beautiful Missoni throw at the Santa Monica store on sale for $100 .It was $250 at the few retailers who did carry it but I never put it on sale.

So while everyone was "over it," I was scoring some sweet deals that had nothing to do with white ruffles or over priced flea market furniture. Suckers!!

I love classic casual British inspired cottage style elements - but Shabby Chic didn't invent that. They just did a bang-up job at branding it and creating a whole lifestyle around it. Oh, and charging a fortune for it.

And in the boom-boom home equity, giveaway credit and loans of the 1990s and early 2000's their model worked.

However, I agree with some of the other commentors. They seemed to lose touch with their audience and other potential markets that would keep them going.

Personally, I liked some of their ideas but could always find the same look (and quality) cheaper elsewhere. Shabby? Is a $4k sofa really shabby?

Sad to hear about elephant pharmacy...

She didn't practice what she preached. She claimed to believe in salvage, recycle and "budget living". Well, she sold sofas for $4500. How is that "budget"? The woman is seriously "off the wall" with her prices. Maybe if she had sold things for the prices in which normal people could afford, she wouldn't be in bankruptcy right now. Instead, she carted to the "rich and famous", who by the way, didn't go for her ideas in the the long. She sold her soul.

$4500? try 10K!

http://www.shabbychic.com/pl/c/123.html

you can get the same sectional at sofaulove for $2500. still not cheap, but dayum ...

Put simply, the Shabby Chic idea was in need of a makeover.

Why couldn't they embrace the MCM design sensibility, while still using their trademark lineny, sun-bleached fabrics?

I would love to own a B & B Italia sofa knock-off covered in striped French linen tea towels dyed with green tea!

nicodemusgreen.etsy.com

or for that matter, a Womb Chair upholstered with old doilies or vintage rice sacks from Thailand.

nicodemusgreen.etsy.com

The Shabby Chic for Target line was actually good quality for the price -- though frankly too cutesy for my taste outside a little girls' room. I agree though that part of Shabby Chic's downfall may have been the inherent absurdity in paying a designer premium for anything that could be termed "shabby".

After hearing about the hideous trend of shabby chic interiors I was shocked to hear that it was the name of a store as well. Which was the chicken and which was the egg?

Totally agree with the comment about her blog post being spacey . . .my god there are some pretty badly written things on the internet but that was pretty bad. Maybe some of the weird syntax and the random graphics that interrupted the text were meant to seem "artsy," but the whole thing just meandered all over the place. You'd expect something that's associated with a business to at least have better focus.

I have a white denim covered oversized chair from shabby chic in my bedroom. It's almost 10 years old and the denim covers have held up beautifully through countless washings. I don't really go for the whole shabby chic floral look, but the chair really worked with my all white look and it is super comfy, well made, and exactly what I wanted. The price was high at the time, but I couldn't find anything else close to what I wanted. For a long time it was one of the few pieces of furniture I owned. It was a good choice for me. I still love it. I'm sitting in it now.

However, when I was in their NYC store having my chair order written up and I was looking around I couldn't believe how high price old wood pieces painted white were priced. It totally made me think, "I could do that." And I did. Now armed with a hand sander and a staple gun I'm good to go.

If I see one more beautiful vintage/antique wood piece ruined with white paint and flowery appliques, I will scream.

Too bad no one in that snotty, overpriced Santa Monica shlock house will be there to hear me.

Wow I read all the comments and I think many of you are rather tough with Rachel Ashwell ! The fact is that she knew how creating a concept around a rather English style, but not only that, it's a way of living.
When I go to her Santa Monica store, I often can't afford what I like, but I can tell you her chairs and sofas are so comfortable that I could sleep there right away. Yes, they are expensive but I think the quality also follows. I unfortunately never had the occasion to check by myself, but it seems, according what says occupant222, it is the case.
Rachel Ashwell has been successful during a while and often, people don't like successful ones.
I had the occasion to buy small accessories or even wool throws for a very good price there, because I always check the sales.
Simply Shabby Chic at Target's is a very affordable brand for an also very good quality.
I am really very sad of what is happening and I hope she will get back to her roots as it has been said sooner.
I just don't think it was a smart idea to open so many stores in such a short time, and in such a bad timing, but who could know what was going to happen ?
Sometimes, it's better to be small with an accurate overview of our business, and a solid way to keep our customers, rather than trying to be nationwide, what means a lot of expenses at the beginning, though the money is not there. It's like building a house without securing the foundations.

And the fact that she could be "spacey", I read a second comment which was so mean. Rachel Ashwell is a woman who is a designer, a business owner, but also a human being. It's not because she had success that she is not allowed to have a heart and to put some thoughts in her blog. I found her articles rather touching, chiefly when you know she just lost her mother.
It is easy to criticize because she is in the difficulties now. At least she tried her adventure and has now a setback. I am sure she will come back stronger, because Shabby Chic is a passion for her.
Only people who make nothing will never fail.

I wish her all the possible success in the future. She just needs a little time to learn from her mistakes. And who never makes mistakes ?

To finish, I would say, "hurra to Shabby Chic".
I am sure it will come back better and maybe less expensive ?
Smaller but stronger.

I see there are a mix of opinions concerning the bankruptcy of "Shabby Chic". I personally feel saddened for different reasons...I really loved her inspirations as a woman that was not afraid to go out there and do what she loved and was gracious enough to share that with all of us. I remember watching her TV show and buying her first book (which I still have) and looking at my house in a different way. Rachel's inspirations lead me to appreciate the lovely, tattered things that I had at one time looked at as junk. I also do agree that I was heart broken to see that her line of furniture, etc. was too expensive for the average person to afford. I was happy to see that she had expanded her bedding with Target and I gleefully purchased some. I hope she isn't gone too long and will come back with more of a "dollar friendly" outlook that will make it possible for everyone to support her cause of purchasing for the love of "recycling" and "green". Chin up Rachel....everything happens for a reason.