Designer Towels?

Okay, I realize not all towels are created equal. That being said, I have a towel, which like most modern day towels would have been considered ‘over-sized’ when I was growing up (1950’s), but is now the standard. It is not thicker or softer than most other towels, it is plain white, and is adequate for most body drying tasks.

What separates this towel from my other towels is the tiny, designer logo embroidered at the bottom edge. On careful inspection one can imagine a polo player on horseback. (This requires imagination if one is not overtly fashion conscious, as embroidery on terry cloth is less than legible.) For those unfamiliar with this logo, it indicates that my towel is the product of designer Ralph Lauren.

I, personally am not fashion conscious. I do not see that this alleged ‘designer’ towel is of any better quality than your standard garden variety towel. True, it’s longevity has been impressive, but so have the towels my mother received as wedding gifts in 1945, some of which I am still using.

The towel is white. It’s not ecru, nor eggshell, nor cream, nor any other designer-named color and has no pattern in the weave. It’s just a towel.

We are conservative with resources at my house, so one result is that I do not wash my towel (designer or no) each time I shower. I have scrubbed and cleaned myself well, and the towel (designer or no) will be hung in such a manner as to dry thoroughly to prevent development of that funky mildew smell between showers.

I do, however, employ a system that allows me to know which end of the towel was used for the upper half of me, and which for the lower half (my personal phobias and obsessive compulsive issues at work here.) It’s important to know which way is up.

Typically, the manufacturer’s tag is at what I think of as the top edge, and designs and logos appear near the bottom edge. I dry my face and upper torso with the tag end. My feet and everything below the belly button get dried with the logo end of the towel. Wash, dry, repeat.

Considering my mild disdain for the whole ‘designer’ this and ‘designer’ that, with everything from haute couture to dog food (move over, Rachel
Ray,) the way I see it is that my face gets dried first with the cleanest part of the towel, and Ralph Lauren can kiss my ass.