Sunday, September 26, 2010

JC Penny Brazilian Cotton

Travels take me down south, to Port Charlotte Florida where I got the pleasure of reviewing a collection of several towels from a grandfather of seven children.  The towels in the collection were all white and substantial in merit.

As the towels were sorted for review, a winner emerged victorious by was the JC Penny Brazilian Cotton towel.  This large towel had nice edging and was noted by the Grandfather as “that is my favorite!  The bigger the better!  Guys don’t care about all that soft stuff; we just want something that will do the job.  He continued by demonstrating how one side absorbed, while the other seemed to glass the water over.”  The grandfather recommended that the towel be given 1 star.  The visit proved insightful from an older man’s perspective that appreciates utility over luxury and was willing to contribute to my review of towels.

From my perspective, I did notice the JC Penny Brazilian Cotton towels had low unraveling and was really strong when I did my picking test on the loops, and will follow the recommendation of the wise Grandfather by awarding the towel 1 star.

Immediate Con:  This towel does not seem to measure up to my softness test, but hey, who am I to argue with a person who has been around.

In fairness, I did stop by the JC Penny in the area to measure up their variety of towels.  I did not find any that found its way into my basket, so the review of the Grandpa is going to have to stick!

Thank's to the Grandpa for his review.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

SimplyVera by Vera Wang

I am not a name brand seeker, but I sure do lovely quality. 

While browsing the through Khols, I had a full hour to evaluate their towels.  While I would have loved for a sales associate to help, I was on my own this day.  As you may have read previously, I did all of my touching and picking rituals, to conclude that a towel emerged worth taking home to evaluate further:  SimplyVera by Vera Wang. 
This soft Microsoft towel was soft to the touch, and lighter than other towels.  It had striking decorative weaving (dobby) around all edges and as the boarder.  The towel is made from a cotton, Viscose **, bamboo blend.
**Viscose, according to the Khol’s handy glossary guide states “The most common type of rayon manufactured from wood pulp, treated with sodium hydroxide and then mixed with other chemicals. The resulting organic liquid is extruded through a spinneret to form viscose rayon, or viscose as it's commonly referred to. Soft and absorbent, viscose is often found in men's and women's shirts”
Results:  I love the look of this towel, and the comfy feeling it has from the weight.  I have noticed as I am rummaging through my towels; I keep consistently picking up my towel and have affectionately named the towel “Vera.”  I am not sure how objective I can be, especially since I know this towel by name.

Immediate Con: When the towel came out of the dryer I noticed a few unraveled threads.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Martex Bare Necessities

The Martex Bare Necessities Towel a durable manly towel.  You heard me correctly, a strong towel that after numerous washes still stays strong, durabale and absorbs.  I admit this towel is not what I consider Luxurious, but dang if it is not an impressive towel that lasts.

The towle being evaluated is a few years old, resides in a beach condo in Niceville Florida, and  hosts several visitors from around the world.  This towel and several other Martex Bare Necessities Towels are deffinately holding.

Here is what I like:  substantial, thick, no pilling, strong shape, and very absorbant.  The cotton is 100% Egyptian, but unlike other long loops this one has minimal unriveling.

This is one work towel I will definately be adding to my collection!!!

I was not able to find where this towel was purchased, and the condo owner, thinks it may have been from Costco.  After a little bit of digging, here is what I learned about this towel. 

The Martex Bare Necessities Towel is from the South Carolina firm, Martex Fiber Southern Corporation that has partnered with Central America.  Martex is a Fortune 100 company and was founded in 1970.  The company states "Martex Fiber’s advanced sorting, grading, processing and high density baling transforms new textile waste into products for industrial and consumer markets worldwide."


The Towel Queen

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Biltmore Micro Cotton

Towel Review: Biltmore Micro Cotton

Today I traveled to the resort location of Destin Florida and visited the department store Belks.

Together with my friend we inspected all of the pretty fluffy towels. Ok, first I went and rubbed my hand on all of their display sheets. None of those caught my fancy, which is how I ended up in towels.

I evaluated the following towels after speaking to the sales associate who walked me through her opinion of which towels were the best:


• Ralph Lauren
• Lorena Garcia
• Nautica
• Biltmore
The sales associate, my friend and I agreed on the SAME towel, which I decided to buy: Biltmore Micro Cotton. There was the Biltmore Magnificence which was more expensive, however the Micro Cotton, was softer and noticeably lighter. All around, this towel seemed like a winning choice. I will admit, I am keeping my eye on Lorena Garcia and Nautica.

Results: I brought the towel home, washed and dried. Got the towel out, and it was a soft and fluffy as I remembered. Now generally most towels shed like crazy the first few washes, and this was is NO exception. I placed the towel next to the shower and see if my husband comments.

So far I like the softness, weight, and construction of this towel.

Immediate Con: The towel has a red tag, which bled onto the towel. The mark will likely come off, but it is still an irritating factor.

Micro Cotton is a registered name to the Sharadha Terry Products Ltd  company that devlope luxury towels for conusmer brands.  Their website states "MicroCotton brand products were conceived with a desire to evolve and expand the concept of luxury and design for a complete bath experience.