Trying out Turkish (aka Fouta or Peshtemal ) Towels

I know it is a major trend right now, but I decided to give Turkish or Fouta or Peshtemal towels a try. I actually tried them years ago when I was in college and visiting Istanbul for a few days while studying abroad. At the time I was confused and definitely not convinced. I thought these sheet like things are suppose to be towels? They seemed stiff (possibly starched) at the time and not at all luxurious (of course I was staying at an inexpensive hotel not really made for tourists).

So anyway, back to now. I have been seeing them pop up on a number of the sale sites and in some of the catalogs I get in the mail. I couldn’t believe how pricey they were ($40-60 a piece), although they are super colorful with fun patterns. But what finally convinced me to give them a try was reading a review of them on House*Tweaking. She is using them on hooks (like we do) and said that they dried more quickly. We have problems in the summer with the towels drying out properly, which leads to going through a lot of towels and spending more time then I would like ensuring that they are washed properly to get the mustiness out. Dana recommended this etsy shop. They have them in the $24 to $28 range, which compared to some of the other prices I have seen, wasn’t bad, but it still felt a little pricey for something I wasn’t totally convinced about.

So I had the idea stewing around in my head for a while.Then I saw a link on Little Green Notebook for a company that I hadn’t seen before called Nine Space. And as a bonus they are offering 20% off with the her discount code (LGN20). So I went over there and found some awesome deals in their sale section.

I ended up with the Lapiz Fouta Towel in navy. It is now listed at $29 but  a couple of weeks ago they had it for $16.99 + 20% off. So I decided to order 2.

So the verdict? These are generously sized at 40×71 and I quite like them. It is definitely a different feel, but I felt like it did as good of job as a plush towel. They are suppose to get more absorbent the more they are washed, so we will see how I feel about them in a couple of months. Mr. S. is still deciding undecided/not fully convinced. I think my favorite part is the nice texture of the cotton.  They hang nicely and up close the weaving is very pretty. I also picked up a turquoise one for the pool and to use as a wrap, which I think will be a much needed stylish upgrade.

Has anyone else given these a try?