Four Southern belles were the focus of the very successful Designing Women, a show that followed the private and professional lives of the sassy quartet. Laughter abounded as these ladies tried to shape the world to suit their needs for once and there were plenty of tear jerking moments as well.

Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker owned an interior design firm and the two sisters were as different as two peas in two different pods. Julia was smart, witty and compassionate; Suzanne was an ex-beauty queen, flighty and self-centered. Julia managed the business while Suzanne brought considerable financial backing into the enterprise, courtesy of her alimony from multiple former husbands. Another designer in the firm was Mary Jo Shively, a divorced mother of two with a pragmatic, at times cynical, attitude. Charlene Frazier, the kind-hearted, naive office manager, completed the quartet. The only man that dared to take on these formidable women on a daily basis was Anthony Bouvier, an ex-con, who helped out around the office and provided a male counterpoint in the action.

The show almost didn’t get off the ground, when CBS cancelled it right in the middle of its first season. Designing Women had already acquired such a strong following however, that angry letters began pouring in, demanding its continuation. And continued it did. More characters joined the Sugarbakers’ world, like ditzy customer Bernice who became a fan favorite after her debut during the show’s second season. Romantic interests for the ladies appeared as well, some working out happily ever after, some ending tragically. Julia lost her beau to a heart attack in the fifth season and audiences across the country sobbed into their hankies for weeks.

Designing Women became the star of CBS’s prime time line up after five years on the air but some of the stars made their exit after that. Suzanne sold her share in the designing firm to annoying Sugarbaker cousin Allison; Carlene came in as Charlene’s replacement; and Allison left after one season in favor of stubborn Texan, B.J. The show lasted for two more years before going off the air, entering syndication as successfully as it had commandeered network airwaves.  

Over the show’s seven-year run, the designing women impressed audiences with their rapid-fire banter and saucy dialogue. The characters’ intelligence and grace served them well in a professional man’s world, though they never surrendered their femininity or hid their sparkling sense of humor.