Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the folding lawn chair. This mainstay of tailgates is also one of the most enduring symbols of American postwar identity. Popularized as the country moved from wartime to leisure time, the cheery plastic-and-metal chair emerged as an indispensable recreational accessory when an increasing number of Americans were entering the middle class, buying homes, and taking road trips.

The MoMA Design Store in New York has helped secure the classic lawn chair’s legacy, but the seat does, in fact, have precedents in high modernism, including Marcel Breuer’s elegant Tecta D4—with aluminum tubing and all—from 1926.

Keep reading to see our six favorite designs—and hear how they arouse nostalgic thoughts for Aric Chen, the general and artistic director at Het Nieuwe Instituut in the Netherlands.

Piana by David Chipperfield for Alessi

Armchair by Dengô

Classic Lawn Chair by MoMA Design Store

"I grew up in Chicago, so there are a lot of wonderful midwestern vignettes where these chairs play a prominent role in my mind. I have an image of people pulling folded ones out of the trunks of their cars at the beach or Fourth of July barbecues, carrying a 7-Eleven Big Gulp in one hand. They represent that archetypal, postwar suburban lifestyle, and that makes them icons of Americana.” —Aric Chen

Fifty by Dögg & Arnved Design Studio for Ligne Roset

Trip by José A. Gandía-Blasco and Borja García for Diabla

D4 by Marcel Breuer for Tecta

Read more: Our Favorite New Takes on Classic Outdoor Chairs

Edited by Meredith Mendelsohn
Selections by Gabrielle Golenda