Green’s Dictionary of Slang

small and pretty; usu. in combs. with nouns + the sfx -ette, e.g. I’ll have just a bijou drinkette, ‘just a little’ drink.

[1891		Punch 4 Apr. 160: Here are ‘Commanding mansions,’ ‘Bijou maisonettes,’ and ‘Desirable residences.’].
c.1970		(ref. to 1960s) in Gay News n.p.: We would zhoosh [‘fix’] our riahs [‘hair’], powder our eeks [‘faces’], climb into our bona [‘nice’] new drag [‘clothes’], don our batts [‘shoes’] and troll off [‘cruise’] to some bona bijou [‘nice, small’] bar.
2003		P. Baker Dict. of Polari 14: Although bijou means small, it is also used to indicate a positive evaluation towards something [...] I’ve got a bona bijou flatette just up the road.
2003		(ref. to mid-1960s) M. Quinion World Wide Words 🌐 There are other characteristics of the language of Julian and Sandy. They tend to make diminutives of nouns: would you like a bijou drinkette? for example.
2004		J. McCourt ‘Vilja de Tanquay Exults’ in Queer Street 308: If an old pro may whisper / A bijou wordette in your ear.
2019		P. Baker Fabulosa 289/2: bijou small (can be used ironically on large things) .
2023		R. Milward Man-Eating Typewriter 44: A bijou gift, a meese ventriloquist’s dummy.
2023		R. Milward Man-Eating Typewriter 494: I led Sturgeon [...] to our bijou kitchenette.