Chic was an American pornographic magazine first issued by Larry Flynt, of Hustler fame, in November 1976. The publisher was CHIC Magazine Inc. based in Columbus, Ohio.
Intentionally less controversial than Hustler, but similar overall in layout and content, the magazine was an attempt to emulate the more upscale style of rivals such as Penthouse and Oui. Early issues of Chic were oversized; the magazine changed to typical smaller dimensions in 1978. In 1979, Flynt went on trial for obscenity charges over eight issues of Hustler and three issues of Chic magazine.
In 1984, a Texas woman, Jeannie Braun, successfully sued Chic for publishing a photo of herself and "Ralph the Diving Pig" in the magazine. She had contended that the editor had misrepresented Chic as a fashion magazine.
Chic ceased publication in December 2001.
About the Publisher, Hustler
Hustler is a monthly pornographic magazine published in the United States. It was first published in 1974 by Larry Flynt. It was a step forward from the Hustler Newsletter, which was cheap advertising for his strip club businesses at the time. The magazine grew from a shaky start to a peak circulation of around 3 million; it has since dropped to approximately 500,000. It shows explicit views of the female genitalia, becoming one of the first major US-based magazines to do so, in contrast with relatively modest publications like Playboy.
Today, Hustler is still considered more explicit (and more self-consciously lowbrow) than such well-known competitors as Playboy and Penthouse. It frequently depicts hardcore themes, such as the use of sex toys, penetration and group sex.