The 17 Very Best Bath Towels

Absorbency: Very high (800 GSM) | Material: 100 percent Australian cotton | Style: 4 colors

If you’re looking for something more affordable, consider Italic’s “Ultraplush” towels, which Strategist writer Ambar Pardilla swears are “so ridiculously plush. Truly, like how I would imagine a cloud feels.” She was sent a pair to test by the company, which manufactures its towels (and other goods) using factories that luxury brands like Chanel and Calvin Klein have employed in the past, but without charging designer prices. Not only do the towels “soak up bathwater like the best sponge you’ve ever had,” they also “dry off incredibly quickly post-shower so you’re not stuck with something soggy, dripping into the carpet.” And after several months of weekly washing, Pardilla says “they’ve stayed in exactly the same shape.” With a GSM of 800, just 20 shy of the Brooklinen above, the towel comes in a set of two for just $32.

Absorbency: Very high (800 GSM)| Material: 40 percent bamboo viscose, 60 percent cotton | Style: 8 colors

Speaking of bath sheets, if you want something you can truly swathe yourself in, consider sizing up from a regular-size towel to a sheet, which is typically about 50 percent larger than a standard towel. Strategist writer Latifah Miles swears by the bath sheets from Cozy Earth, which were sent to her as a sample. “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. Plus, she says, “They make me feel wealthy. I would give these towels as a gift.”

Absorbency: Medium (550 to 800 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 product description provides a GSM range of 550 to 800). 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.

Absorbency: High | Material: 100 percent Supima cotton | Style: 9 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.”

Absorbency: Medium | Material: Deadstock Turkish cotton | Style: Rainbow hoop-weaved

This towel dries so quickly, says former Strategist writer Sanibel Chai, even in her small, steamy bathroom, that she is able to use it after a morning and evening shower. That’s thanks to the weave, she adds, which “simulates thickness. If you look closely, you can see gaps between patches of towel because every other square is left blank,” meaning that the “the terry loops that are usually densely packed on a normal towel are staggered. So water is only being absorbed into half as much fabric.”

Absorbency: Medium (500 GSM) | Material: Turkish cotton | Style: Ribbed, four colors

Fast-drying towels don’t necessarily have to be woven (like the Bathing Culture option above) or waffled (see below) to be effective. 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.”

Absorbency: Very high (700 GSM) | Material: 100 percent Turkish cotton | Style: Patterned, reversible

Dusen Dusen’s striped 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 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 olive and stone 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, 11 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.