How do you identify a highboy dresser?
1. Assess if your dresser possesses two portions—essentially, a top and a bottom.
- If your item is one fluid piece, you likely do not have a highboy, but rather a chests-of-drawers.
2. Determine if the lower section of a highboy dresser is wider than the upper portion
- This stacked effect is generally done to lend the piece a graceful, balanced look.
3. Consider whether your dresser’s top portion consists of drawers or an armoire.
- There is some discrepancy about whether a highboy dresser is interchangeable with a tallboy dresser. While the two are used synonymously in contemporary times, it’s generally believed that a tallboy refers to a dresser topped with an armoire rather than a dresser stacked with another dresser.
How did the highboy get its name?
It is believed that the word “high” refers to the dresser’s height, while the word “boy” comes from the French word for wood: “boi.” Alternatively, some believe that “highboy” may be an Americanized version of the European term “tallboy.” Today, the term “highboy” is often applied to any tall dresser composed of four or more vertically stacked drawers.
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Lead image by Claudia Uribe Touri