Selling It

Judith Davidsen -- Interior Design, 3/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

The lip shape entered the design pantheon in 1934, when Man Ray's lover, Lee Miller, left her lipstick on his collar, inspiring him to paint A l'Heure de l'Observatoire—Les Amoureux, a huge rendering of her lips floating over Paris. (He went on to photograph the piece, which now appears on posters and postcards around the world.) Two years later, Salvador Dalí designed a sofa based on Mae West's mouth and upholstered the piece in Elsa Schiaparelli's shocking pink. He kept the original and made two slightly different versions for a patron.

Mass production didn't enter the picture until 1971, with the Bocca, a love seat manufactured in polyurethane foam covered in lipstick-red nylon. If Man Ray and Dalí were the obvious godparents, Studio 65 and Gufram were the proud parents. The following year, the 10th anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe, Stendig imported the Italian design, and Eleanor Stendig renamed it Marilyn.

Three years ago, Heller released an indoor-outdoor version in soft resin. Something similar called Lolita came out more recently, but it seems to have disappeared. And then there's lipstore.com, online source for all things lips.

From left: Andy Warhol, Mr. 15 Minutes, leaves a lasting impression. No tiara could outshine this chandelier, marketed as "jewelry for the home."

From left: John Stuart tips his hat to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza—and just happens to mention that he made the furniture. Philadelphia artist Shirley Tattersfield, who did the murals for the DuPont Tarleton Hotel in Miami, proudly advertises that fact.

Dunbar Furniture's Edward Wormley teaches a lesson on quality and taste.

From top: As long as Dracula's busy with paperwork, our jugulars are safe. Fabrics are intended to send designers and their clients into orbit.

From left: The well dressed man wears a tie that matches the bedspread. The hat and the gloves make the lady.

For the love of Marilyn, Stendig imported and renamed Studio 65's Bocca sofa.

From left: A woman simply couldn't have too much pattern. And she dressed for furniture shopping as she would for the opera.

From left: When in Rome. . .protect the window treatments. Head over heels for Billy Baldwin, this company reintroduced five of his designs.