It can be hard to find new-old-stock vintage towels, and if they are not “new”, well, that can be kind of grody. Until recently, most bath towels available in today’s stores were solid colors. But I’ve definitely noticed a trend toward towels with vintage designs. Yay! This is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to push the retro envelope. Above: Anthropologie offers this style reminiscent of vintage Cannon bath towels– which I will dub “sculpted plush jacquard” style. There probably is a *real* term for this style of towel, though: Help welcomed.
Fresno towels from Anthropologie. I’d call these bohemian 60s or clashy 70s – is that close, do you think? Am I imagining that we used to have towels like this?
Click here to see the bath towels at Anthropologie.
Avocado and harvest gold for your bathroom, anyone? I’m pretty sure my Grandma Aggie had some towels that looked like this in her and grandpa’s 1960s retirement tract house in Oceanside, California. These towels are from Pottery Barn, and there is a shower curtain, so you can go matchy-matchy. The design is called Palampore – from an ancient technique in India. I don’t think Grandma’s had that kind of pedigree. Palampore towels and shower curtain from Pottery Barn.
There is a little sculpted plush jacquard action going on down at the Kmart, too. The quality *might* not be as good as the premium brands above, but for sure the price is far less. Sculpted Country Living towels from Kmart.
I also recall a reader report of sculpted-plush-jacquard style towels at Target. I don’t see them online, and my Target is a dinky version. Anyone know for sure? If so, can you snap some pics for us if you see them?
To be sure, if I found these, there are likely more, or more to come. This industry runs in packs, I think — and now, they are running in ours. Buwuahauahau (evil laugh of glee.)
What ever happened to fringed ends on towels?
gavin, yes, i remember the fringe…a more expensive way of finishing a towel and therefore no longer manufactured. the fringe was not long, as i recall.
Usually one inch.
For my parents’ wedding in 1959 someone sewed scalloped seashell trim to towels (one set mint green and white and the other butter yellow and pink). I loved those towels and took them away to college with me. I was crushed when they finally wore out. Someone with minimal sewing ability could make a set of fringed towels if they really wanted to.
Yeah the fringe was about 1 – 1.5″ long. I still have some of the gold, brown and cream terrycloth material that we had as shower curtains back in the ’70s. It’s arranged in 1.5 x 6″ rectangles, kinda reminds me of stained glass.
All the fringe seems to be reserved for ‘fingertip’ towels these days. Why is that?
I shudder to think what anthro is charging for those towels, but they are awesome.
Try $68 for one of the patterns.
But didn’t you used to be able to get towels like this for free in a box of laundry detergent in the ’60?
Dolly Parton said, “They’re so PERTY.”
I clicked so you wouldn’t have to. $68. For a towel. Shower curtains are $118. I am wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes now.
I think you’re right about Target having offered some sculpted-plush-jacquard style towels recently. I ran across a single blue and white washcloth of said variety a few days ago at my local Target. It was on clearance, and sadly I couldn’t locate any of its family members.
Have you thought about looking for the towel family on-line? I’ve had great luck getting stuff from Target that way.
Oddly enough, when my parents got married in 1962 they got every bath towel made by Fieldcrest. My Grandmother worked at Kaufmann’s in Pittsburgh and the entire collection ended up in a giant package on the loading dock for my mother. Those towels are STILL in use, looking as good as they did back in the day.
I love those Anthropologie towels. At those prices it would have to be one “dress set” for the guest bath, then plain towels to follow up, but what a statement! Vernon in Sky for my hopefully new pale aqua and white bathrooms.
Home Goods also gets some beautiful towels.
Yellow ones=cute cute cute.
When I was growing up, we had “the good towels” (reminicent of the first variety shown above, but in green, pink and yellow, 2 bath towels of each color) and we had “the towels.” One was NEVER and I mean NEVER to use the “good towels” – when I was born in ’59, the “good towels” already existed. I grew up knowing that I could never, EVER touch the “good towels.” Fast forward, to around 2008, my parents are now in assisted living. I go to visit one day and there, on the bathroom floor is a GOOD TOWEL!!!…I ran into the living room, holding the used towel and said, “You KNOW you can’t use the good towels!!!” I scooped all of them up, took them home and very carefully washed them. I still have “the good towels” in my master bath today. Every time I see them, I think of my Mom and Dad.
I remember the ‘good towels’ too. So does my husband. Imagine his face when he and I went to visit his parents for the first time after we were married, and were offered the ‘good towels!’ His younger brother and sister were shocked! They eventually got to use them after they were married, too. Here’s the kicker – they still have them and we still use them (after 35 years) though they are getting a little threadbare…
BTW, the second stack of towels is reminicent of the towels my Mom made us matching “moo moos” out of in the mid-60s. The flowers were more “flower-power” like…
Hi! My mom made “moo-moos” (with an empire waist) out of towels for me and my college roommate. The idea was to slip them on after a shower, I guess. This was 1968, and they were a flower sculpted print , and truth be told, not that comfortable, but it was a blast to have your comment and remember those days!
We had those, too! Wore them as swimsuit cover ups, as I recall.
i bought some retro-look towels at home goods a few months back – avocado green and medium blue, giant paisley pattern on a light blue background – not sculpted, but reminded me of some towels my mother had in late 60s early 70s. i’ll take a pic and sent it in.
While the yellow Anthropologie towels are gorgeous, I can’t imagine spending nearly $40 on a towel.
Kmart’s towels are better priced and different enough!!
Hopefully this means towels of this kind will start making appearances at TJ Maxx and Homegoods.
I went with red/yellow/blue/green tie-dyed beach towels from Lands’ End for the kids’ bathroom – they look 60′s retro-ish, and also kid-ish.
These are great! And at least K-Mart’s within my (low) budget.
I just checked K-mart’s website & they have a style very similar to the one shown above at 50% off through 2/10. Better yet, it even comes in PINK! http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_096B8854000P?
Oh! I just love those..I notice the pink says ‘sold by sears’-its sister company. I must have them for my bathroom!
Yes, I remember it well…these towels were so pretty that they were for GUESTS only….my mom had a decorative towel rack (in our MCM home) with these textured towels that were only for guests….she would rotate the display according to the season or holiday. Thanks for bringing back great memories, Pam!
I’ve got some vintage Fieldcrest and Cannon numbers, as well as some vintage K-Mart beach towels circa 1970 in BRIIIIIGHT orange and canary yellow, mostly giant flower power looking designs.
Beautifully made as opposed to the flimsy bindings on most new towels that fall apart after a couple of washes.
While clearly not as perfectly retro as those yellow Anthropologie towels at the top, I love Amy Butler’s towels, which have a retro feel to them… and they’re only $17 for a bath towel, not $68.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=120648&RN=0
I remember these towles, my Grandma had lots of them. Thank you so much I can’t wait to get some of my own.
I just have to share. I read this post yesterday afternoon and kind of smiled about these towels because I can remember Grandma having some in pink and white.
Then I went to my neighobr lady’s house last night. The towel laying in the garage for wiping dog feet was an old harvest gold floral print towel. I just made me smile.
So glad this style is making a comeback. I know that my collection of vintage bath linens will eventually fall apart and I really don’t like today’s “greige” and bland towell styles.
Vintage towels were so wonderfully made, and made right here in NC, USA.
It’s hard to throw away a good towel. That’s why 35 years later, both my brother and I still have some of these hand towels in use, including some with fringe.
And no, they were never “saved” – they just hold up. I use lots of hand towels that don’t “match” the bathroom cause I don’t have company every day and why buy more when these are still good? And no, they are not even threadbare, and I’m sure they were not expensive or we would not have bought them.
Target has some sculpted jacquard towels in stock right now, they are in the bath accessories section–supposed to be guest towels. They’re not as plush or as ornate as the gold number above, but they’ll convey the look.
Since moving into my grandparents house I have used nothing but towels from the 1960s (nearly ALL with fringe!). Like someone else said, they must have just made them better back then to last all this time. I distinctly remember using most of the towels I use now the entire time I’ve grown up!
Also recently my mom gave me many sets of towels that she and my father received as wedding gifts in 1972. And get this, they are still in the boxes people gave them to them in, they’ve never been used! They had gotten ‘lost’ in the rear of a linen closet that was rarely opened. They are sculpted like example one but much more colorful along the lines of example two. So now the wedding towels are my ‘company-is-a-comin’-put-out-the-GOOD-towels’ towels!
I keep searching estate sales for gently used sculpted towels, found a set last month, I love it! I saw the sculpted towels at Kmart, they are nice, but too heavy for me (I hate heavy towels) and larger than I like. That’s why I like the older towels, smaller and not so heavy that they take an hour to dry. (I’m surprised they haven’t started making towels smaller, you know how all the manufacturers are making everything else smaller, you know the 16 oz pkg that is now 14.5 oz).
I looked up those Towels sold by Anthropologie:
They’re made by Fresco Towels of Los Angeles – Yes, Made in the USA!
http://www.frescotowels.com/about
Many more styles and colors available directly from them – Including pillows, tote bags, beach towels and bathmats – also from their store in Beverly Hills.
The only bad thing about those print towels, they fade badly and then look bad! I haunt estate sales for the older towels without that woven band towards the end of the towels. Those shrink badly and then, once again, a terrible looking towel.
Back in the day, way back when, we didn’t have automatic dryers and we hung our clothes on the line to dry. We had lines in the yard for summer, and lines in the basement for winter and rainy days. It was my job to hang the clothes out, and one of the important things to do was stretch those bands. First you picked the towel out of the basket, grabbed each end of the band and pulled for all you were worth. They would creak and stretch. Then you pegged the towel to the clothesline, and for good measure, stretched the band some more. It was important to do this, and the towels did keep their shape.
When I took the clothes in, I was taught to fold them as I took them down and put them in the basket. It was all done by categories, towels, bedding, mom’s clothes, dad’s clothes, my clothes, sissy’s clothes, and so on.
Hmmm, I still live partly “back in the day” as I use a clothesline all spring, summer and fall (this year, I used it on Dec. 31st!). I still don’t understand why more people don’t use clotheslines! My clothes smell sooo good after bringing them in. To me it’s therapeutic!
I like that job as well. I don’t have a good place for a clothesline at my house though, too many trees and bird feeders. I’ve thought about putting up a line many times. I end up hanging things in the kitchen, along the top of the windows, on the tops of the doorways….
Funny, we had a nest of tree swallows on a long pole at one end of our clothesline when I was a kid, and they never made any messes on our laundry. They would swoop us in nesting season though.
Alright Pam! Stop bringing up Grampa’s 60′s retirement house in Oceanside California! You are making me want to “go home again” and you can never go home again.
I am just kidding about not bringing up your Grampa’s house anymore. But it does make me miss being a kid. My Grampa also retired in the 60′s (late 60′s), moved to Vista, Ca (the town next to Oceanside) from Maryland and bought a new tract house. I grew up there and I have lots of great memories of my Grampas house. It too was an extreme example of the time period.
I really miss Oceanside/ Vista but it is so different today then it was when we were kids that it truly is a totally different place. Hence, “you can’t go home again”. I live in OKC now and, god willing, I’m not moving!