Love seats were originally designed to fit women’s dresses, not couples.
Source: Original photo by atiatiati/ iStock
Next Fact

Love seats were originally designed to fit women’s dresses, not couples.

The two-seater upholstered benches we associate with cozy couples were initially crafted with another duo in mind: a woman and her dress. Fashionable attire in 18th-century Europe had reached voluminous proportions — panniers (a type of hooped undergarment) were all the rage, creating a wide-hipped silhouette that occasionally required wearers to pass through doors sideways. Not all women wore such full skirts; some historians believe the average woman of modest means owned a mere four dresses with narrower profiles meant for everyday work. But upper-class women with funds to spare on trending styles adopted billowing silhouettes that often caused an exhausting situation: the inability to sit down comfortably (or at all). Ever astute, furniture makers of the period caught on to the need for upsized seats that would allow women with such large gowns a moment of respite during social calls. 

Artist Salvador Dalí was a furniture designer.
Ready to Reveal?
Confirm your email to reveal the answer

By subscribing you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Incorrect.
It's a Fact
While most famed for his surrealist paintings, Salvador Dalí dabbled in interior design, constructing lamps, chairs, and tables. His best-known upholstered work is a red, lip-shaped couch crafted in 1938 that takes its iconic shape from actress Mae West’s pout.

As the 1800s rolled around, so did new dress trends. Women began shedding heavy layers of hoops and skirts for a slimmed-down silhouette that suddenly made small settees spacious. The mid-sized seats could now fit a conversation companion; some S-shaped versions were called the “gossip chair.” But when sweethearts began sitting side-by-side, the bench seats were renamed “love seats,” indicative of how courting couples could sit together for a (relatively) private conversation in public. The seat’s new use rocketed it to popularity, with some featuring frames that physically divided young paramours. While the small sofas no longer act as upholstered chaperones, love seats are just as popular today — but mostly because they fit well in small homes and apartments.

Make Every Day More Interesting
Receive Facts Directly In Your Inbox. Daily.

By subscribing you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Numbers Don’t Lie
Year La-Z-Boy patented the first reclining chair
1929
Competitors in the largest game of musical chairs (in Singapore in 1989)
8,238
Average width (in inches) of a modern love seat
60
Rough height (in feet) of the world’s largest chair
98.5
The bean bag chair’s original name was the _______.
The bean bag chair’s original name was the Sacco.
Ready to Reveal?
Confirm your email to reveal the answer

By subscribing you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Think Twice
The “world’s most expensive love seat” is actually a computer.

The small computers and phones we carry in our bags and pockets are descendants of the monstrously large supercomputers of the ’60s and ’70s — some of which provided their own seating. Originally designed to process data and crunch numbers at super-fast speeds, supercomputers were known for dominating floor space and budgets. One standout — the Cray-1A — debuted in 1976 and was quickly nicknamed the “world’s most expensive love seat” thanks to its 39-square-foot column shape with surrounding bench seating. Considered the fastest supercomputer in the world until 1982, the Cray-1A came with a hefty price tag: $8 million, plus a monthly operating cost of nearly $100,000. 

Article image
You might also like
6 Lesser-Known Firsts in Women’s History
These women broke their own glass ceilings while serving others, smashing records, and pursuing personal passions. Here are a few stories you may have missed in history class.