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I have seen and heard the word many many times but every time I ask "Was bedeutet Schickimicki?" they don't give a conclusive answer.
I just saw it on the journal Zeit and just thought I didn't know exactly what it is.
This is the phrase:
Doch wohl nur von den Journalisten und der Schickimicki.
What I get is:
Exactly only from the Journalists and the Rich-classy-arrogant-people.
Well, the translation hits the spot.
"Schickimicki" is a strongly depreciatory or derogative term for "snobbish-arrogant-rich" people that (at least appear to) use lots of money on their appearance.
This, in general, also implies that they would be more suited for a prom-night than for walking out in the streets.
My favorite translation is »fancy-schmanzy« → people having an air of being divorced from reality, snobbish characters, celebrating themselves and making a name for themselves through boasting about their money and stressing that money isn't an issue for them.
Be aware that »Schickimicki« is rarely used anymore. It was popular and widely used in the eighties and the early nineties. It was also used in the media [with the obligatory tounge-in-cheek smile when it comes to these tpoics].
I can't really name a term used as broadly as back then.
This wikipedia article relates to »Schickimicki« to Schickeria, which I would translate as »Party People« in the meaning of, well, as above. The article also explains
And then there is the Austrian German term
I found »Adabei« most often used in Vienna, especially used as the Austrian version of Schickimicki but could possibly being dated back into the 1950ies, I guess.
Schickimicki as a very derogatory term referring to people who have money enough to buy expensive products and regard themselves as being right in there with regard to fashion, style, taste, etc without realising that in fact they are simply flashy and vulgar and impress no one except other Schickimickis. They are to be found in the sort of Eurotrash, particularly German, French and Italian, that frequents 'fashionable' coastal and skiing resorts where they can show off their flashy clothes, cars and yachts and total lack of taste and discernment.
The British English equivalent would be poser – someone who likes to be seen, or as the Kinks once sang a dedicated follower of fashion but meant in a derogatory way. It also applies to C-list celebrities – people who believe themselves to be famous for being famous (or somehow associating with the famous), with no obvious talent themselves, but who behave arrogantly and condescendingly towards others. The sort of people who might feature in magazines such as Hello and OK.
Despite the comment above about it being outdated and rarely used, it is still frequently used in my part of Austria especially to describe certain types from Munich and Vienna who believe themselves to be far superior to the “local peasants”.
A good English equivalent would be "hoity toity."
The origin is in the group of people, friends of Mick Flick (Mercedes; owner of art gallery) considered people chic.
schick - chic mick is the nickname
I don't speak German but I instantly saw it as "mucky-muck".
mucky-muc: A pompous person of importance (often of imagined and real power) (Urban Dictionary)
Another spelling is:
muckety muck (plural muckety mucks) (US, colloquial): A high muckamuck; a person (especially self-important) in a position of power, authority, or status ()
