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Towel choice is intensely subjective — for every full-throated waffle obsessive, there are plenty willing to argue the merits of a flat-weave Turkish set. Still, there are a few characteristics that are vital across the board: No matter the style, a towel needs to absorb water, dry quickly, and stay soft after a couple hundred runs in the wash. After testing a bunch, I noticed that even classic terry styles can vary in weight, feel — and how “thirsty” they are. Some can have a rougher hand feel, others super soft, but despite those differences, they still get the job done.
There’s also a (newish) crop of very handsome towels that can gussy up an otherwise drab bathroom. So if aesthetics are important to you, there are several striking options to choose from. To find towels that are just as good-looking as they are efficient, I tested many myself and spoke to 29 designers, hoteliers, and shop owners — unearthing styles inspired by antique prints and textiles, and one that has held up through years of “emergency potty-training accidents.” Whether you’re looking to swap out your fast-drying waffles for something super-plush to swaddle you in winter, or you simply want to outfit your bathroom with cheerful colors, check out 16 of the best towels below.
Update on August 22, 2024: Added images of Matouk and Frontgate towels in situ; updated prices and checked stock for all products.
What we’re looking for
Absorbency
The most important quality of a towel is its ability to absorb water from your body while staying plush, not getting soggy. Absorbency is measured by GSM, or grams of fabric per square meter. The higher the GSM, the thicker, softer, and more absorbent the towel is going to be. A good, medium-to-plush towel will be in the 500 to 600 GSM range, and most of the traditional, terry-style towels on this list will be in the 600 GSM range or higher. Not all brands list GSM, but we’ve included it where available. (To learn more about GSM, head to my explainer here.)
Material
Most towels will be made from cotton, but within cotton, you’ll find several types. Egyptian cotton is known to be some of the best in the world because of its long- to extra-long, durable fibers that result in soft, plush, and particularly thirsty towels. (Be aware, however, that not everything labeled “Egyptian cotton” is grown in that region and will be of the highest quality. You can read more about the nuances of the material in my explainer here.) Turkish-cotton fibers are shorter, which means they’re lighter and faster drying than Egyptian-cotton towels (if not quite as absorbent). Then there’s American-grown Supima cotton, which has extra-long fibers like Egyptian cotton but might not feel quite as plush. My top picks are all made from either Egyptian, Turkish, or Pima cotton, ensuring that whichever one you choose, you’ll be getting a high-quality towel.
Style
Over the past few years, brands like Tekla and Dusen Dusen Home have made swirly, striped, dotted, and otherwise over-the-top printed towels popular. But, of course, it’s still easy to track down ultrasoft whites (and monogrammed towels with tempered trims) if your style skews more classic.
Best bath towel overall
Absorbency: Medium (550 GSM) | Material: Long-staple zero-twist Egyptian cotton | Style: 23 colors
After using this towel for the past five months, it has become my favorite one. It’s incredibly soft, cushiony, bouncy, and just really nice. Although it’s one of the most expensive options on this list, at $54 for a single bath towel, you get what you pay for, and that’s a luxurious towel made from long-staple zero-twist Egyptian cotton (some of the nicest cotton out there). I couldn’t stop touching it when I first took it out of the box, and putting it through the wash over the past several months hasn’t affected its initial fluff at all. In fact, the towel seems only to get softer. The most surprising thing to me was that it occupies that rare space between plush and lightweight, making it so easy to use. It takes up water immediately and dries quickly post-bath, too. Using it after a shower always feels like a treat, as if I were at a high-end hotel spa.
The Milagro towel is also a favorite of both home stager Meridith Baer and interior designer Ariel Okin. Okin says it holds up “for years,” washes well, and never sheds, and Baer agrees. “I love their luxurious plushness and the durability — even with constant use and washings, the plushness remains,” she says. Baer also loves the fact that it comes in 23 vivid colors. “The color range is perfect,” she says. “I love using the blues, greens, and yellows for clients’ children rooms for a playful pop.” I happen to agree. I got it in canary yellow and it’s a delight to behold.
Best (less expensive) bath towel overall
Absorbency: High (700 GSM)| Material: 100 percent fine-combed, long-staple Turkish cotton | Style: 27 colors
These are the towels I’ve owned the longest, and after three and a half years of near-constant use, they’re still as soft, absorbent, and lofty as when I first purchased them. They have a GSM of 700, making them plusher than the Matouk, but are just as thirsty and pretty quick-drying, too. They’re a good medium-weight towel if you don’t want anything too heavy or too light. They’re also Oeko-Tex certified and made of 100 percent fine-combed, long-staple Turkish cotton, which gives them a soft, plush hand-feel.
When I first bought them, I was going for a classic, white, hotel-towel look in my bathroom, and Frontgate’s five-inch wide “dobby” border puts them in that category. I got them in white — aside from a few dark stains that I’ve failed to get out, they don’t look dingy at all — but if that feels too risky, there are 26 other appealing colors to choose from, including “obsidian,” “French blue,” “dahlia,” and “Aegean.”
Best plush bath towels
Absorbency: Very high (820 GSM) | Material: 100 percent zero-twist Turkish cotton | Style: 10 colors
If you want something extremely thick and sumptuous, consider Brooklinen’s Super-Plush towels, which have a GSM of 820 — the highest of any towel on this list. It’s a hefty towel that’s extremely absorbent with a really good hand-feel thanks to the long-staple Turkish cotton that’s woven in a zero-twist loop. (This type of finish contributes to the overall softness of the towel, as the cotton fibers are looped instead of twisted, which results in a rougher hand.) I will reiterate that they’re thick — among the thickest I’ve ever owned — but they absorb water quickly and efficiently, and feel quite indulgent after a shower. After using them in rotation for the past ten months, they’re still as plush as when I first got them.
As architectural designer Madelynn Ringo puts it, they’re “more robe than towel … incredible at soaking up water, and the threads are really durable, no snagging.” They admittedly take slightly longer to dry than my other towels, but I haven’t noticed any odors so far. I got it in a now-discontinued vibrant pink, and I imagine that the 10 colors that are still available — including marled black, eucalyptus, and ocean — will be just as nice.
Absorbency: Very high (800 GSM) | Material: 100 percent Australian cotton | Style: 5 colors
For a towel that’s just as bouncy but a little more affordable, I recommend Italic’s Ultraplush towels. They have a GSM of 800, just 20 shy of the Brooklinen above, making it a great value. I tried this towel in the bath sheet size and the first thing I noticed was how thick and hefty it was, more than the Brooklinen, even while taking the size difference into consideration. It’s incredibly absorbent — perhaps the most absorbent towel I’ve ever tried — and got me dry as soon as I wrapped it around my body.
Strategist writer Ambar Pardilla agrees. “It soaks up bathwater like the best sponge you’ve ever had,” she says. Pardilla also loves how “ridiculously plush” they are, “truly, like how I would imagine a cloud feels.” I will say, however, that the towels’ absorbency and thickness make them heavy, perhaps even a little bit cumbersome to handle, if that is something you are considering. As for how quickly they dry post-shower, despite their high GSM and weight, they didn’t take significantly longer to dry than the Brooklinen towels.
Absorbency: Very high (800 GSM)| Material: 40 percent bamboo viscose, 60 percent cotton | Style: 6 colors
Sizing up from a regular-size towel to a bath sheet, which is typically about 50 percent larger than a standard towel, can really upgrade your post-shower experience. Former Strategist writer Latifah Miles swears by the bath sheets from Cozy Earth. “Straight out of the box, they were noticeably weighty and felt like luxury spa towels,” she says, adding that their plushness “felt like three ordinarily soft towels put together.” But it was their size — they measure 40 by 65 inches (the brand’s standard towel is 30 by 58 inches) — that appealed to Miles the most: “As someone who is taller and curvier than the average towel can accommodate, I love how the towel hits my shins and wraps completely around my body (and my hips specifically).” And while the towels are super-absorbent, with a GSM of 800, “I don’t find that they take a really long time to dry.” Made from a blend of cotton and bamboo viscose, they’ve stayed “soft and smooth, even after being washed and dried,” according to Miles. She and her fiancé like them so much that he, “a longtime towel snob,” insists on doing laundry just so they can put the two they have back in rotation.
Absorbency: High (650 GSM)| Material: 100 percent Supima cotton | Style: 16 colors
Here’s another bath sheet but with a slightly lower GSM than the one above that’s still very much soft to the touch. Made from American-grown Supima cotton, this Lands’ End towel is a favorite of Haand’s creative director, Mark Warren. “They are so thick and soft it makes taking a shower feel very luxurious,” he says. Plus, the bath-sheet size is “super-plush and huge and stands up to hundreds of washings.” And those aren’t light-use washes: “I have a kid and am a pretty dirty person, and these have withstood a few years of what is probably excessive wear and tear, including cleaning emergency potty-training accidents.” While Lands’ End’s towels come in a range of sizes, Warren recommends checking out the bath sheet, saying, “You will never be able to go back once you start using them.”
Absorbency: Medium (670 GSM) | Material: 100 organic cotton | Style: 8 colors
For a much more affordable option that’s equally ensconcing, consider Casaluna’s bath sheet from Target that Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst loves. Made of organic cotton, it measures 65 by 33 inches and offers a medium-plush feel, according to Denton-Hurst (the bath sheet has a GSM of 670 and the towel size a GSM of 700). She loves that it’s “very soft, sturdy, dries me pretty quickly,” and washes well. But, she adds, “I’m most amazed by the fact that it wraps all the way around my body, which I know bath sheets do, but my standard towels give a hospital-gown vibe.” This bath sheet, which Denton-Hurst owns in a rich bronze color, costs literally a fraction of the Cozy Earth at $20. I also tested this bath sheet and agree that it’s an incredible value for its size, absorbency, and feel. It’s more lightweight than other bath sheets I’ve tried, making it much easier to use (i.e., not too heavy) and faster-drying post-shower.
Best medium-weight bath towels
Absorbency: Medium (500 GSM) | Material: Turkish cotton | Style: Ribbed, 5 colors
A super plush towel isn’t for everyone. As I mentioned above, they can get heavy and take slightly longer to dry. If you prefer something easier to use that’s also fast-drying, consider a towel in the medium-weight category, which will have a GSM between 500 and 600. Strategist senior editor Crystal Martin swears by this terry style as the middle ground between extremely cushy and overly sparse towels. “It’s the perfect towel for people who don’t like super-plush towels, for someone who is tempted to use a Turkish towel but knows deep down that that’s just too thin,” she says. What impresses Martin the most about the towel is how well-balanced it is. “It’s so plush and has a really beautiful texture — and the absorbency is great,” she says, but it doesn’t “take so long to dry that it gets a mildew smell.” But it’s not thin, either. “Something about the ribbing allows it to feel lighter than a regular cotton towel but still plush. It’s the best towel I’ve had.”
Best fast-drying waffle bath towel
Absorbency: High (370 GSM)| Material: 100 percent cotton waffle weave | Style: 12 colors
Waffle-weave towels, which are woven with a raised honeycomb pattern, feel more like a piece of cotton fabric than terry towels do, and are incredibly thin and lightweight. But they’re also highly absorbent, thanks to the fabric’s 3-D design, without the added weight of a plusher, traditional towel. These waffle towels from Hawkins are a favorite of two designers, including furniture-and-lighting designer Lulu LaFortune, who says, “The more you wash this towel, the softer it gets, like a vintage T-shirt.” (She also likes how fast-drying it is.) And Decorilla lead interior designer Devin Shaffer, says the towel is so comfortable he often finds himself “waking up from a nap wrapped in it in bed after a shower.” (While these have a lower GSM of 370, the waffle weave makes it highly absorbent.)
Best (less-expensive) fast-drying waffle towel
Absorbency: High | Material: 100 percent Supima cotton | Style: 10 colors
For a waffle towel that’s slightly more affordable — and just as absorbent and good-looking — Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang recommends Onsen’s bath towels. “Our household prefers something not plush and faster drying, and I’ve just always loved a waffle weave for its textural interest,” she says, adding that a waffle is “not the type of towel to get if you want something plush.” That being said, she loves Onsen’s “slightly rougher texture because it feels more absorbent and also soothing to dry off with.” And because they’re not thick like terry towels, they’re faster-drying and “less prone to getting mildewy and smelly.” Yang has owned them for four years and “they’re in great shape, with no snags or discernible wear.”
Best customizable bath towel
Absorbency: High| Material: 100 percent long-staple organic cotton | Style: 12 colors with border piping; Monogrammable
While you can monogram a couple of towels on this list, including from Matouk, Frontgate, and Lands’ End, Weezie offers up even more customization options than your standard monogram — you can also choose the color of your border piping. The towels themselves are made in Portugal with organic long-staple cotton and come in 12 different options, most of them white with a border made from contrasting piping in gray, blue, green, and pink, to name a few. Weezie’s towels are another favorite of interior designer Okin, who has a set in light blue. “They are really soft and have a classic look to them,” she says. All towels can be monogrammed with initials or words (and numbers) for an additional fee of $15 an item.
Best Turkish bath towel
Absorbency: Medium | Material: Turkish cotton-linen blend | Style: Striped
For those who don’t like a terry towel, flat-woven Turkish towels, which are known for being lightweight, highly absorbent, and super-fast-drying, are a great option. Sabah shoe designer Mickey Ashmore prefers them, especially ones from Oddbird, a company founded by Turkish native Ceren Alkaç-Lee, who now resides in Los Angeles. “There are a lot of cheap Turkish towels out there — machine-made and digitally printed,” he says. “Oddbird’s are shuttle-loomed using a high-quality cotton-linen blend; they get softer with every wash.”
Best patterned bath towels
Absorbency: Very high (700 GSM) | Material: 100 percent Turkish cotton | Style: Patterned, reversible
Brightly patterned towels that are also reversible are a fantastic way to introduce a little color to your bathroom. Dusen Dusen’s patterned towels are a favorite of architecture critic Alexandra Lange’s. She says they are “very plush, the colors hold up well over many washes, and it is kind of freeing that they don’t match anything in anyone’s bathroom.” They’re available in a few colorways, all reversible: Decorator Carrie Carrollo likes the two-tone style with a narrow checkered trim at the ends, while I particularly like the aqua-and-tangerine “sun bath” design.
Absorbency: High (600 GSM) | Material: 100 percent cotton | Style: Patterned, reversible
Autumn Sonata, a new homeware brand founded in Los Angeles and based in Amsterdam, makes towels with some of the most striking and vivid patterns I’ve ever seen. They’re carried at boutiques like the Primary Essentials in Brooklyn and Vestige in Philadelphia, and they’ve become a must-have item among the stylish, in-the-know set. Publicist Kaitlin Phillips, who says she’s never been one to covet towels, loves the brand’s “unbelievably good colors” that she calls “inky, mature (walnut, ecru), and notably forgiving of stains.” The tight collection is designed with prints inspired by ikat weaving techniques, antique Japanese patterns, and 19th-century French trim. (Phillips describes the “legitimately reversible” designs as “reminiscent somehow of Norwegian glazed pottery,” or “late geometric.”)
Senior editor Simone Kitchens, who first saw them on designer Katie Lockhart’s Instagram, also recommends them for their surprising patterns, which she says would be easy to mix and match. “You could have any assortment and they would look good together,” Kitchens says, adding that they would look particularly nice in a “super minimal tiled bathroom.” Phillips, Kitchens, and I own the Ester pattern, a navy-and-ecru print inspired by traditional Katazome stencil practices. As for how the made-in-Portugal towels feel, they’re on the thinner (and smaller) side compared to all the other terry-style towels I’ve tried, but they’re very absorbent and dry superfast. While the towels come with unique washing instructions to prevent pilling and prolong their lifespan — when you first get them, wash once with distilled vinegar or baking soda, then a second time with detergent; machine-drying on low heat is fine, but line-drying is preferred — I have treated them like all my other towels (machine wash, dry on medium) and they look and feel just as good as the first time.
Absorbency: High (600 GSM) | Material: 100 percent organic cotton | Style: 10 styles, including checkerboard, grid, ribbed, and striped
Nick Spain, founder of multidisciplinary design studio Arthur’s, loves Melbourne-based brand Baina’s checkerboard-patterned towels, also stocked at Ssense and the Break. “Even though lots of brands are using checks in bright and bold colorways right now, executing them in this velvety brown gives them a decadent, old-world feel,” he says. Carrollo also loves this dark colorway. “Brown and black might not seem like an obvious color combination — especially for your bathroom — but these add just the right amount of moodiness,” she says. In addition to the checkered pattern that’s available in a couple of a different colorways like caper and chalk and paloma sun and ecru, Baina makes a reversible grid-patterned bath sheet with stitching detail, which the brand sent to me as a sample, as well as other graphic designs. I found the towel to be on the thinner-to-medium side, with a nice hand feel and quite thirsty. Despite the oversize dimensions, it wasn’t heavy or bulky to use and dried rather quickly. It also looked quite handsome hanging from the towel rack.
Absorbency: High (600 GSM) | Material: 100 percent organic cotton | Style: 14 solid colors, 12 striped
Several of our experts, including designer Beverly Nguyen, named this as their favorite-looking towel. The Copenhagen-based design studio offers 25 different solid color options and stripe combinations. Laura Reilly of the shopping newsletter Magasin owns the bath sheets in Racing Green, a white towel with thin dark-green stripes, and likes to feature them prominently in her linen storage “in open shelving in public view.” She says they have “a great bounciness, almost like a marshmallow.” Tekla sent me the kodiak stripe style (brown stripes) to test, and I was immediately struck by how the stripes were almost like pinstripes and narrowly spaced, making them really satisfying to look at. The towel itself is very soft to the touch (more so than the Baina) and did a good job of absorbing water and dried quickly, too.
Some more bath towels we’ve written about
Our experts
• Leah Alexander, founder, Beauty Is Abundant
• Mickey Ashmore, owner, Sabah
• Meridith Baer, owner, Meridith Baer Home
• Siya Bahal, freelance creative producer
• Jess Blumberg, interior designer, Dale Blumberg Interiors
• Carrie Carrollo, freelance decorator
• Tembe Denton-Hurst, Strategist writer
• Leanne Ford, owner, Leanne Ford Interiors
• Nathalie Jordi, co-founder, Hotel Peter & Paul
• Kelsey Keith, editorial director, Herman Miller
• Simone Kitchens, Strategist senior editor
• Lulu LaFortune, furniture-and-lighting designer
• Alexandra Lange, design critic
• Daniel Lantz, co-founder, Graf Lantz
• Conway Liao, founder, Hudson Wilder
• Crystal Martin, Strategist senior editor
• Latifah Miles, former Strategist writer
• Beverly Nguyen, owner, Beverly’s
• Ariel Okin, founder, Ariel Okin Interiors
• Ambar Pardilla, Strategist writer
• Kaitlin Phillips, publicist
• Laura Reilly, editor, Magasin newsletter
• Tina Rich, owner, Tina Rich Design
• Madelynn Ringo, creative director, Ringo Studio
• Sandeep Salter, owner, Salter House
• Devin Shaffer, lead sales designer, Decorilla
• Nick Spain, founder, Arthur’s
• Mark Warren, creative director, Haand
• Alessandra Wood, VP of style, Modsy
• Winnie Yang, Strategist senior editor
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