Tips for buying the right towel at the right price

By ELLEN WARREN | Chicago Tribune • Published October 14, 2009

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"How'd you like the towel?" I asked a guy in my household.

"It was a towel," he said.

"But was it better than the one you used yesterday?" I persisted.

"I forget."

In a lot of families, towels get no respect. If they suck up water, they're considered good enough.

But, it turns out, there's much more to making good choices than that.

Determined to help you get the most dry for your dollar, I tried out a half-dozen towels at prices ranging from $4 to $30 and talked to experts about what to look for. Want to make the most prudent use of your cash when outfitting your linen closet? Read on.

I didn't need a towel expert to tell me the single most important thing I found out on my shopping expedition: Never pay full price. Somebody, somewhere always is holding a sale. Or is about to. One example: I was about to plunk down the full $40 for a thick Macy's Hotel Collection towel, but when I complained about the steep price, the salesman tipped me that store soon would hold a one-day sale. I waited and paid $29.99 - 25 percent off. Yes!

Higher cost does not always mean higher quality. Do you get what you pay for? Is a $40 towel four times better than one that costs $10?

"I seriously doubt it - if your primary purpose is to absorb water," says E. Linwood Wright III, a 53-year veteran of the U.S. textile industry.

"It has little to do with price. People sell pretty expensive towels that are pretty bad," says Tom Muscalino, a former president of two U.S. bath and bedding companies who now sells his private bedding and towels directly through thomasleeltd.com.

Walk into the bath department of any large department store, and you will see dozens of choices from well-known designers (Ralph Lauren) to familiar brands (Cannon) to store brands (Macy's). It's daunting. How's a customer to choose?

"It's incredibly confusing, and the poor consumer doesn't have a prayer knowing what they're getting into," Muscalino says. "It's impossible to tell by the labels."

Just because the towels are tagged Egyptian, Turkish or bamboo doesn't necessarily make them better than others.

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