It’s a common belief that men and women look at chairs differently: Men see their function—or what they lack in function—and women see their design. Here, we’ve selected chairs that anyone might appreciate as much for their forms as for their function.

Drew Kirby says he took a page out of Ralph Lauren’s book when he conceived his Kirby Collection (page 32), a line of traditional leather chairs that can be embossed with the seal or insignia of your prep school, college, country club, or other distinguished institution. "Ralph Lauren doesn’t believe in fashion," says Kirby, whose Darien, Conn., company has built chairs for Lauren; "he believes in design." Fashion, says Kirby, is fleeting, but good design is timeless. He notes that the styles of some of the chairs in his collection have been around for 200 years. In reference to the embossments that he can add to a chair, Kirby says, "They’re subtle and elegant; they’re not in-your-face."

The Formula One Race Chair, part of the PitStop Furniture line from Intro-Tech Automotive of Chino, Calif., is not so subtle—especially when rendered in red and black—and certainly not traditional. It has been designed to look and feel like the seat of an F/1 racecar. The armrests feature embossed tire treads and are held up by shock absorbers, and the seat adjustment knob is billet aluminum and looks like a gearshift. Intro-Tech also makes a racecar-themed desk. "When you sit in the chair behind the desk, it’s like being in a racecar," says Rich Van’t Hof of Custom Auto Accessories in Peachtree City, Ga., one of the leading dealers of the PitStop line. "If you’re an auto enthusiast, it’s right up your alley."

Somewhere between a Kirby Club chair and a PitStop Formula One lies (or better yet, sits) the MLS Design Low Ride (page 34), a chair that’s based on a car, but on a classic car—or cars. It’s intended to evoke a ’57 Chevy and/or a ’58 Corvette, says the Low Ride’s creator, Michael Smith, the MLS of MLS Design. "Guys who are into Chevys say, ‘Oh yeah, I see the ’57 Chevy,’ " says Smith. "And guys who are into ’Vettes say, ‘Oh yeah, I see the ’58 Corvette.’ Collectors and other car enthusiasts really dig it."

Like a collectible car, the Low Ride is as enjoyable to look at as it is to sit in. The same might be said for the rest of chairs on the following pages.

Gloster l Fushion Sling Lounger
The sleek yet comfortable lounger’s sling is a mesh fabric made from a vinyl-coated, high-strength, low-maintenance polyester yarn that molds to the shape of your body. The frame is stainless steel. Gloster is known best for its teak furniture, which it has been making since 1981, when it was founded in the United Kingdom. At that time it made only seats and benches. In 1992, the company was sold, the manufacturing operations moved to Indonesia, and the product line expanded to include folding chairs, dining tables, and lounge chairs—all in teak. More recently, Gloster began designing furniture with man-made wicker, stainless steel, and slings.

Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers l Kinesis Chair and Ottoman
The Kinesis chair and matching ottoman, the New York Times declared, “are as much sculpture as seating.” David Moser, the chair’s designer and the youngest son of the company’s founders, also mentions sculpture when discussing the organic form of the chair’s bronze base, saying that the base was influenced by his own sculpting of human forms. Moser says that the word kinesis is defined as movement in response to stimulus, and that the chair’s name refers to the chair’s effect on your eyes, that as you view the Kinesis, your eyes keep moving over all the different surfaces. The chair and ottoman together are priced at $8,500 in cherry and $9,300 in walnut.

J. Robert Scott l Barkley Lounge Chair
The leather Barkley, which is more than three feet wide and three feet deep, beckons you to grab a book or the Sunday paper and have a seat for an hour or more. The chair is made in J. Robert Scott’s factory in Inglewood, Calif., near where the company was first established, in Los Angeles in 1972, by acclaimed designer Sally Sirkin Lewis, who still serves as the company’s president. J. Robert Scott now owns showrooms in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas, and London.

Robb & Stucky l Horn Chair
Ivy Leaguers may have the Kirby Collection, but University of Texas alumni also have a chair they can call their own. Actually, the Horn Chair will appeal to anyone who enjoys Western or rustic designs. The chair is available in brown leather or microfiber that looks like suede and is priced from $1,000 to $1,100.

Kreiss l Zebrano Wood Chair
The promotional literature for the nearly three-feet-wide Zebrano Wood Chair describes it as Cubism made comfortable. It has a hardwood frame and a Makassar wood veneer with a distinctive grain and a glossy finish. Kreiss is a seven-decade-old, family-owned company that designs and builds all of its furniture at its headquarters in San Diego and sells it through its 20 showrooms throughout North America.

First Impressions Theme Theatres CinePalais Lounger
This full-motion recliner, shown here in leather, is the most popular of First Impressions’ CineLounger collection, a line of customizable theater chairs. The CinePalaisLounger has solid carved wood corbel drink holders, a curved wood crown on the headrest, and braided piping applied to the scalloped back design. It is available as a single chair, a love seat, or a sofa in a straight or custom curved shape. Options include a heat and massage feature, dual-motion motors, power lumbar support, illuminated corbel faces, built-in storage trays, and a customized housing for a touch screen. First Impressions Theme Theatres is a 35-year-old architectural, design, and manufacturing firm in Miami that, in addition to making the CineLoungers, specializes in conceiving and building opulent, theme-oriented home theaters. The company has built theaters throughout the United States as well as in Singapore, Germany, France, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.

Kirby Collection l Club Chair
The Club chair, which can be ordered with an ottoman, is one of 11 chairs in the new Kirby Collection. Each of the chairs can be custom-ordered with an embossed insignia or seal. Company owner Drew Kirby, who has been making chairs for designers and architects for the last 10 years, is a licensee of all the Ivy League schools as well as Notre Dame and Boston College, his alma mater. He has made embossed chairs for the Harvard Club in Boston and recently took an order for 40 chairs bearing the emblem of the New York Athletic Club. Those chairs will be placed in the club’s card room. The Kirby Collection chairs are made by hand in the company’s Darien, Conn., facility using maple wood and European leather. “They’re instant family heirlooms,” says Kirby. The prices of the chairs range from about $1,500 to $4,000.

Intro-Tech Automotive l Formula One Race Chair
The PitStop Furniture collection is a recent addition to Intro-Tech’s lines of floor mats, car covers, and sunshades, which it has been making since 1991. The Formula One chair is available in black, red and black, and silver and black. It’s priced at $600 and is available through retailers such as Custom Auto Accessories in Georgia. The PitStop collection, which received a Global Media Best New Product Award at the SEMA Show (the annual automotive specialty products trade show) in November in Las Vegas, also includes the Grand Prix Race Chair ($400) and the Race Desk ($400).

MLS Design l Low Ride
If the Low Ride were a car, it wouldn’t be classified as a compact. The lounge chair is 45 inches wide and 57 inches deep, making it as roomy as the 1950s-era cars that influenced its designed. Unlike those cars, the Low Ride has side trim that’s stainless steel, not chrome. The legs also are made of stainless steel. The Low Ride is priced at $5,500. MLS Design, which is based in St. Petersburg, Fla., and owned and operated by industrial designer Michael Smith, also offers the smaller GT, which is priced at $3,000. “The GT has a more contemporary look,” says Smith. “It looks a little bit like an F/1 racer.”