Let me tell you about the morning I became obsessed with a towel
I was staying at a nice hotel—the kind with fluffy white towels, rolled perfectly on a heated rack. As I reached for one, I noticed something I’d seen a thousand times but never really thought about: a set of thin, woven bands running across the bottom of the towel. One was navy blue. One was sage green. One was a subtle gray.
I assumed they were decorative. Just a little flair to make the hotel towel look “fancier” than my towels at home.
Then I mentioned them to a friend who used to work in hospitality. She laughed. “Those lines aren’t decorative,” she said. “They’re a code. They tell you exactly how to use the towel.
I had no idea what she meant. So I went down a rabbit hole of textile history, hotel operations, and European laundry standards. What I found was fascinating.
