Lagom: The new Scandi trend that’s nowhere near as fun as Hygge

It's pronounced ‘la’ as in ‘bar’, ‘gom’ as in ‘prom’

There's now a new scandi lifestyle trend to buy into - Lagom (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

For the last 12 months, the most hyped Scandinavian trend is the Danish term ‘hygge’. From cashmere cardigans to skincare and cocoa, us Brits became committed to the idea of achieving optimal cosiness.

But, there’s now a new Scandi lifestyle trend to buy into - lagom. Pronounced as ‘la’ as in ‘bar’, ‘gom’ as in ‘prom’, it is tipped to be the latest buzzword we’ll all be obsessed with in 2017.

Don’t get your hopes up though, because it’s nowhere near as appealing as hygge.

It’s time to trade in that luxurious throne of blankets and scented candles for three minute cold showers, less alcohol and no central heating.

Loosely translated from Swedish as “not too little, not too much, just right”, lagom is all about being frugal, but after the excesses of Christmas, are we really ready to give up that sense of indulgence carried by hygge?

In an interview with the BBC, Kathleen Bryson, a PhD graduate in evolutionary anthropology at UCL, described 'lagom' as a state of having 'not too much of one-or-the-other, but more a Goldilocks 'just right'.

While Elliot Stocks, the co-editor and creative director of Bristol-based magazine Lagom, said that whereas 'hygge' is a momentary state of bliss, 'lagom' is more of a way of living.

Over the last six months, the BBC reports that Google searches for the term have skyrocketed with ‘lagom’ being tweeted over 13,500 times in the last three months alone.

It might sound like a more sustainable way of living but, it does beg the question, is this all just a clever way to get us to buy more fodder than we really need?

Already, several consumer companies have jumped on the term selling skincare, knitwear and even furniture based on the idea of pinching those pennies.

But, that’s not very lagom is it?