Towels Buying Guide: How to Buy the Best Towels

Prior to launching my business, I worked in a bed and bath buying team which taught me a lot about textiles. I have since learnt more from partnering with prestigious mills and manufacturers. Here are my tips for buying long-lasting, super soft and absorbent towels.

1. The Finest Cotton 

Cotton first: 100% cotton is the supreme option for a towel, in our opinion. Linen can be a great option though if you live in a hot climate. Whether you prefer a waffle or Terry cotton towel is personal preference. 

The finest raw fibres: long staple cotton is softer, stronger and more durable than poorer quality fibres.

2. Towel construction - the "towel lingo" to know

Combed cotton: a process whereby the cotton is brushed to remove the shorter and lesser quality fibres, making the towels softer and longer lasting. 

Zero twist: a zero or low twist towel will be more absorbent, softer and more plush. Ours are zero twist and can be described as "marshmallowy". 

3. Fabric weight for plush towels

This is typically defined by gsm (grams per square metre). We think the sweet spot is 550-600gsm. This balances a plush, weighty towel with its ability to dry well after using. 

4. Provenance

The capabilities of the manufacturer - their ability to process the cotton and construct the towel in the best way is obviously a key quality indicator. Italy and Portugal have considerable heritage when it comes to manufacturing towels. Passing on knowledge through generations has become proprietary, helping to make super soft, long lasting and all-round fantastic towels.

Choosing the best size

Our towels are available in the following sizes

Face towel - 30x30cm a great universal size for a face towel

Hand towel - 50x90cm a generous size, also suitable for tying hair up 

Bath towel - 80x125cm slightly bigger than the standard size to dry your body, this size is great for those with small towel rails and don't like to properly cocoon in a towel. 

Bath sheet - 100x150cm our most popular bath towel size. It's luxurious in dimensions and great for wrapping around you and hitting at approx your knees (dependent how tall you are!)

Our custom towels are also available as an extra large bath sheet 120x180cm for full cocooning.  

 Discover our collection of piped-edge bath towels and bespoke towels.