towel off!

topic number seven: towels for the taking

I have always wondered exactly who decided on the size of bathroom towels. From guest towels and hand towels to bath towels and bath sheets, these categories seem pretty self explanatory. However, for me, they are a bit misconceived.

I don't know about you, but why buy bath towels for your body when they are only big enough to wrap around your head? Let's call bath towels what they really are! Thus, I have stopped stocking up on head towels and have bought big beautiful bath sheets instead.

Several years ago, cousin Joey introduced me to Williams-Sonoma Home's bath sheets-800 gram/100% Turkish cotton towels. These large towels are thick, highly absorbent and are very durable. I then discovered Waterworks' bath sheets during my stay with cousins Don and Steve. These towels are wonderful too, known for their excellence and luxurious feel.

Whether Turkish or Egyptian cotton, it is the percentage of content as well as the length of the cotton staple (fiber) that factor into a towel's quality. It is well worth the investment- both in time and money to find the ideal bath mate.

I also find that hand towels are too big for hands and too little for hair. So I think they should be renamed facial towels instead. And as for traditional guest towels...don't you think there is a disconnect drying one's hands on decorative embossing and fringe?

Here is a riddle: there are two guest towels in the powder room and you are 1 of 12 guests which will need to use them. Which part of which towel is yours to use? And how many different types of germs can be spread from guest 1 to guest 12? I hate riddles as I could never figure them out. Instead, I prefer washcloths or cloth-like paper towels, stocking the powder room with one to two dozen cloths at a time.

So before bringing home yet another towel "set" (aka washcloth, facial and head towel), you may want to re-examine your towel needs both in quality and size, tissue to toga.