I have done numerous stories on bathroom towels with retro style. I usually focus on the towels’ design. But anyone who has ever used and washed a bath towel a gazillion times knows that how the towel wears — or doesn’t — is even more important, in terms of making it a household favorite, not to mention a wise expenditure. We’ve had plenty of pretty towels start to unravel, or get pilly, or rough, way too soon. I am most definitely not the princess & the pea, so this doesn’t tend to bother me. But, other family members are *sensitive* types. Which means they are constantly, and annoyingly, wanting to try other towels every year or so. This is expensive! Towels should last a lot longer than a year! So now we get to the recommendation:
The recommendation: Simply Vera Vera Wang Simply Soft towels… but…
BUT, UPDATE Oct. 23 — The family now has washed the towels and bad news, some of the towels did not hold their color. They got that blotchy rusty look in spots. Dear Husband went online and found complaints. Although, there also seems to be info that these spots are caused by face care products. For this reason — and for other key reasons — recommendation: WITHDRAWN.
Where to find the best bath towels: Buy them vintage on etsy.com or ebay or at estate sales or thrift shops
Read through all the comments and maybe like me, you will come to the conclusion that the best value in bath towels is to buy them VINTAGE. That’s right. The bath towels made in th 50s, 60s, 70s — maybe even into the 80s — seem to have been much better made. They last forever. They may be “thinner” than the plush towels today — but *plushy comfort* aside, they seem to be more absorbent. They don’t pill… again, they seem to last on and on.
Where to find them: Search etsy.com — where I usually can find a good selection, including New Old Stock. Check ebay, too. These sellers probably found these towels at estate sales and thrift shops like Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Also check with family — parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles — they might have extras (including New Old Stock they never opened) that they would be happy to give you, once you admired them.
Debra Raver says
I know the kind of spots you have noted on your Vera Wang towels on other towels , some quite expensive brands ruined after just a short use. After some investigation, I read time after time that an ingredient in many acne medicines–benzoyl peroxide–may be the culprit. If you have teens or young adults using the towels, this might be bleaching the color. I also noted that the use of some bathroom cleaning products can mist in the air and land on towels, leaving rust-colored permanent blotches on my dark towels. Expensive lesson learned.
Kate says
I still have a few of the JC Penny towels that I got for my 1st wedding in 1980!!! The edges are frayed and they are a little thinner but the best I’ve ever had. Not too soft and dry us off fast.
I tried going to Pennys last year to get new ones, I told the person what I wanted and the ones he recommended as a equal replacement sucked. (And it wasn’t water). I gave them away.
So I keep using my orignals for me.
There’s just times you can’t replace “vintage”!!
Sara says
The best towels I’ve ever experienced are Macy’s Hotel collection towels. They are so durable, soft, fluffy and well-made. Can’t say enough good things about them. I think they are completely worth the price. No other department store, including higher-end ones, seems to compete.
Nanne says
Hello, all! By far, the best towel I’ve ever used (and I’ve bought too many others at all price points to count over the years) are Espalma Seven Hundred 100% Cotton/Algodon. Mine say Made in Brazil on the tag. I bought the regular size, as I can’t stand unnecessarily huge towels that take forever to dry. I still have the original set purchased at steep discount over 8 years ago and they remain beautiful, dry quickly and fluff right up with their relatively short pile. They also have a great mid-century minimal banding design. In fact, I’m still grieving the loss of the one towel that my mother in law mistakenly filched while visiting us in their motorhome a couple of years ago, leaving behind a similar color towel that was hers. That’s how much I love my Espalma!
wendy says
I miss Mervyn’s! I bought a bunch of their store brand towels in the mid-late 1990s that i’m still using. Their Celebration line had oodles of colors and they’ve held up really well. Now, I wish I’d stocked up when they were going out of business. Seems everytime I try a new towel, it disappoints. sigh.
vee says
I worked for Cannon Mills in their NY office in the ’70’s. I still have towels from that job that are in excellent condition without fading. They were demoted to my weekend house 15 years ago becuase all the browns and oranges of the era looked better in the more country style of the house. All the deep tones of these
towels are still intact 35 years later.
I gave away so many towels and sheet sets because I just got tired of looking at them which I now regret . Nothing is comparable in quality (unless you spend a fortune) to the towels that were manufactured for their so called value/low end line, Monticello, much less their luxury line Royal Cannon.
I still have a few terry distowels from that era that are still going strong and unfaded despite hot water bleach and hot dryers.
One of the things I look at when I hit a tag sale are towels, if they were made in the US, I will buy them if they are in decent shape.
I have bought some very expensive sheets over the last 5-10 years, mostly made in portugal and they don’t hold up to use. I have multiple sets so they are rotated and a set I bought about 3 years ago (400 threat count) had so many
holes, they went to the recycling center in the rag, not donate bin.
pam kueber says
Yes: I look for and buy vintage towels at estate sales. I have some tremendous towels!
nicole says
A few years back I picked up some towels at the thrift store to use for the gym. These are the nicest towels ever (Cannon made in the U.S.) They were in beautiful shape but bright gold, yellow and cream. Same thrift trip I picked percale sheets in a hippy flower print. Great sheets!
I say try thrift stores!
Karen Day says
Thanks for the update on the VW towels! After your initial recommendation I went to Kohl’s website, read the mixed reviews, and thought “hmmmm, they don’t sound so great….but Pam usually knows what she’s talking about”. Thought I still might try them next time they went on sale at 50% off, now I won’t bother.
Ima Pam says
Replaced BB&B Suite Collection towels. They held up alright (5+ years) substance-wise, but the stripe puckered terribly and colors faded quickly. Purchased Jaclyn Smith Traditions from KMart for a vintage violet colored bath. Right colors, right price. So far, so good…minimal fading, no puckering. These are not super plushy. For a pink and green bath I bought Katie Brown 100% Pima cotton towels from Meijer. These towels are of the thick plushy variety and richly colored. So far so good on those too, but currently out of stock on the website. http://www.meijer.com/s/katie-brown-orchard-pima-cotton-plush-towel/_/R-163836
I use Gavin’s strategy: LOTS of towels. Also dry on medium low heat and teens use theirs twice. I gotta say-some Charisma towels by Fieldcrest Cannon-are over 20 years old and still presentable. No towels purchased in the last 15 compare.
Tressa says
When we moved to our new house in June, we bought new bath towels. I don’t remember the brand, but we got them at Bed, Bath & Beyond and they’re embroidered with an initial. They are like new after many washings. Who knows what they’ll look like in a year, but I’ve found that you can tell the quality of a towel after four or five washings (sometimes even just one). So we’re happy with them.
I got married 12 years ago and the towels I put on my gift list are still going strong today. I got them at Macy’s or Penny’s or some such mall store as that.