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We’ll Never Get Tired of an Acapulco Chair on the Patio
Cinco de Mayo is in the books, but we’re still celebrating with an homage to our favorite patio chair.
![Acapulco Chair with a Leggy Stand](https://www.sunset.com/wp-content/uploads/marquee_large_2x/leggy-stand-52015-03-19.jpg)
At or near the top of the list of things we’re grateful to Mexico for—right up there with mezcal and barbacoa—is the Acapulco patio chair. Made out of an egg-shaped metal frame strung with narrow strips of material, like plastic, rope, or even leather, it’s an economical, lightweight, and airy seating option with a mid-century tropical vibe. At home on a beach deck or a city balcony, it’s versatile, affordable, and an easy way to add a hit of fun color.
No one is certain of its provenance. There’s a vague story about a French tourist visiting Mexico in the ’50s who tried his hand at applying Mayan hammock weaving to a chair frame to create a contemporary-feeling chair, right around the time when Acapulco emerged as a glamorous resort town. The Kennedys honeymooned there, and Elvis filmed one of his last campy musicals Fun in Acapulco there in the early sixties. (Spoiler alert: It isn’t very “woke,” but Ursula Andress is his co-star, and you get to see Elvis on a trapeze. Just watch on mute until he starts to sing.)
Regardless of whether the chair was “invented” there, or if the name is just evocative of glamorous mid-century Mexico vacations, Acapulco stuck. The style has been re-invented hundreds of times over the years, using basket-woven strips of fabric, or metal panels in place of the narrow strings. It’s also inspired a close cousin, the Condesa, which is more round than egg-shaped. The chair is so stylish and cheerful that we’re willing to overlook the uncomfortable strap marks it leaves on bare legs. That says it all.
Here, a few of our favorites, in an array of poppy colors and materials.