Towels!

November 21, 2005 4:55 PM

I want to purchase the very best towels money can buy.

Soft, absorbent, and not perpetually fluff-shedding. I can't find a robust source of reviews (who would review a towel, after all?) but I'm tired of spending too much money on too little towel. For example, amazon has one or two reviews that don't tell me much for almost every decent-looking towel in their inventory (I searched on Egyptian Cotton).

Any recommendations? What should I look for?

posted by jewzilla to home & garden (12 comments total)

nice tags. I'm happy with the various high end stuff from The Company Store.
posted by kcm at 5:08 PM on November 21, 2005

The Company Store (fixed) [I'm guessing]
posted by tiamat at 5:16 PM on November 21, 2005

er, yeah, sorry. weird. I swear the submission had correct HTML, that would have been fairly obvious.
posted by kcm at 5:18 PM on November 21, 2005

Yuppie, try Turkish towels. They're thicker, softer but strangely feel rough.
posted by raaka at 6:03 PM on November 21, 2005

Paradigm 802 Towels from Restoration Hardware.

Google Answers Says:

"There are three things you must consider when choosing a towel, the quality of the material, the length of the loops and the density of the loops.

For towels of identical material, a towel that has longer loops will be softer and having a greater number of loops per square inch will mean increased absorbancy. Both of these point towards a heavier towel being more absorbant and soft. You should therefore look for a heavier towel with longer loops and the weight is usually what is indicated on towel packaging. A figure of approximately 600 gsm (grams per square metre) is usually said to indicate a typical "good" towel."

The Paradigm towels are an 802 gsm towel, and are frankly the bestest towels I have ever used or tested. Plus the big ones are big enough to go around even big people.
posted by anastasiav at 6:09 PM on November 21, 2005

Frette towels are supposed to be the best and I got some, but eh. They are very very very soft and luxurious, but I want that thick rough-yet-soft effect you get with fancy hotel towels. I think raaka may be on to something.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:32 PM on November 21, 2005

Thanks! I will look into the Turkish towels too. I bought a "good" towel from bed bath and beyond, but it doesn't do a good job because it feels "slippery". I miss the roughness from my old el cheapo towels.
posted by jewzilla at 6:57 PM on November 21, 2005

Pottery Barn also has 802 gm towels, made in Turkey. Very absorbent.

I also prefer roughness and exfoliation, so never use fabric softeners on my towels and line-dry them when weather permits.
posted by theperfectcrime at 7:32 PM on November 21, 2005

Your real name isn't Arthur, is it? Ford maybe?
posted by kc0dxh at 8:17 PM on November 21, 2005

I'm just a frood who really knows where my towel is...
it's at pottery barn.
posted by jewzilla at 8:22 PM on November 21, 2005

If you have a TJ Maxx where you live, give it a visit. They carry off-season department store goods for deep discounts.

Just dive in and see what feels best to you.
posted by macinchik at 12:01 AM on November 22, 2005

For what it's worth, Ralph Lauren 100% cotton towels which I've had for years are almost identical to the Ritz-Carlton bath towels. (I use both regularly, don't ask. LOL!)
posted by jerryg99 at 9:54 AM on November 22, 2005