This article originially appeared on realsimple.com.
As an editor who writes about home design, one of the most common questions I get is: “Which bath towels should I buy?” It’s not surprising this purchase is a word-of-mouth kind of thing for lots of people because, honestly, when you’re browsing stacks of folded towels in a store or clicking around online, the classic cotton ones all seem the same.
A few years ago another editor turned me on to the Lands’ End towels ($24, landsend.com), and for a while I thought those were the answer. Fluffy, great colors, good value, long-lasting. But then Parachute, an artisanal bedding company, launched a line of luxury bath towels at a reasonable price ($29 each), and I was instantly hooked.
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The Parachute towels are exceptionally thick and soft—like the ones you would find at a high-end spa—and they’ve stayed that way the entire time I’ve been using them. They hold up well, because they’re made from long-staple Turkish cotton using a special spinning process that makes them extra-absorbent and quick to dry (so they never get icky or musty). They also come in calming neutrals that look beautiful in a bathroom: white, gray, tan, and a light grayish green. They’re so spa-like, actually, that I made the mistake of loaning them to my two daughters one day when they were playing “spa” and then, naturally, they wouldn’t give them up. Now I’m just waiting for Parachute to come out with their classic bathrobe in kids’ sizes, so I can check ‘birthday gifts’ off my list.