Most bathrobes are terry — the looped cotton of a bath towel. Ours are waffle weave, and once you've worn one, terry feels like a wet blanket. Here's why, and how to pick between the four we make.
What waffle weave is
The cotton is woven into a grid of small raised squares — the honeycomb you can see and feel. Those pockets trap air, which is what makes the robe warm without weight, and they create far more surface area than a flat weave, which is what makes it absorb and then release water quickly.
Why it beats terry for a robe
- Dries in a third of the time. Hang it after a shower and it's dry by the next one. Terry stays damp for hours and starts to smell.
- Half the weight. A terry robe is a towel with sleeves. Waffle is light enough to wear for the whole morning.
- Takes a block print. Terry's loops hide pattern; waffle's flat grid shows it. Every one of our robes is hand block-printed, which simply isn't possible on terry.
- Wrinkle-resistant. The texture hides creases, so it looks fine straight off the hook.
The four we make
Female and Male — both one size, both $145. The cut is the same relaxed wrap; the prints differ. Choose by print, not by label.
Blue Birdie and Jelly Fish — the kids' robes, $92, one size for roughly ages 3–8. Same waffle cotton, shorter cut, playful prints. The after-bath robe that gets worn to breakfast.
Care
Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle, tumble low or line dry. Wash separately the first couple of times so the hand-mixed dyes settle. Skip fabric softener — it coats the fibres and slows the drying that makes waffle worth having.
One honest caveat
Waffle is thinner than terry. On a cold bathroom floor in January you may want slippers; in every other season, you'll wonder why you ever owned a terry robe.
See all four in the Bathrobes collection. Printed by artisans in Jaipur; each robe's print will vary slightly from the photo.