It’s hard to resist a luxuriously thick, plush towel. Towels shouldn’t come with sticker shock. A price tag that touches on three digits makes it easier to say no. The Italic brand gets rid of sticker shock with a membership business model to offer luxury products at significantly lower prices than their high-end competitors, like Parachute and Coyuchi. I tested to see if the Italic Serene Towels live up to the promise of luxury at cost, so I put the Serene towels to the test. My first impression of the Serene Towels wasn’t the best. It had nothing to do with their quality, packaging, or even their design. Both towels arrived with snags. I’ve tested other Italic products and been pleasantly surprised at their quality and luxury. To open this box to find two towels with long, snagged loops was disappointing. However, as far as the quality goes, that’s the only issue I had. How a towel feels and its absorbency are my top considerations after price. The Italic towels don’t disappoint on those points. They’re surprisingly plush and soft from the moment you take them out of the box. The manufacturer recommends washing them before the first use, which I did. That first wash released the full fluff and plush factor. With 800 grams per square meter (gsm), these are not lightweight towels. Towel gsm ranges from 300 to 900, putting the Italic towels at the high end of the weight range. It gives them their dense, plush feel, which I liked. They’re packed with twisted cotton that absorbs like a sponge. It is almost as if these towels can see water and magically soaks it up. Water everywhere should beware these highly absorbent Italic towels. The Italic towels have the right balance of weight and absorbency, but they’re also a luxurious size. At 30 by 54 inches, each towel provides plenty of square footage for people of all sizes. I liked that they wrapped around me more than once, letting me stay in the towel while brushing my teeth and combing my hair. The only time the towel weight was a hindrance was when I wrapped the towel around my hair. The towel wasn’t so heavy that it came off, but it weighed down my head and neck enough that I avoided doing a towel head wrap. Overall, I liked these towels. The price tag made me like them even more. However, the snag issue bothered me. I paid close attention to them after each washing (about four times over the three weeks I tested the towels), and no other snags showed up. I wonder if something happened to these particular towels during the manufacturing process rather than snags being a problem for the Italic Serene Towels in general. I’m not sure which it is. I trimmed off the snags, and no new ones appeared (even after the testing period).
How many towels are included in a set?
Italic sells the Serene Towels as a two-piece bath towel set or a six-piece towel set that includes two washcloths, two hand towels, and two bath towels. Either set offers a great deal for a heavy, 800 gsm towel set.
Do the towels come in different colors?
The Italic towels only come in two colors—white and light gray. I’m a neutral towel person myself, so I didn’t have a problem with either color (I chose gray). However, if you’re the kind of person who likes your towels to provide a pop of color, these aren’t going to do it.
Do I need an Italic membership?
Italic used to rely on a membership business model, which meant that you had to be a member to shop their premium, low-cost products. As of October 2021, this is no longer the case; however, you can still opt-in for an annual membership to get extra savings and other perks. Italic products come at a great price and offer excellent quality. They compare their products to premium brands like Parachute and Coyuchi, which offer luxury organic and eco-friendly items. Though I’m not sure I would say they’re the premium quality of some comparable brands, these towels came close. The yearly membership fee might be worth it if you buy a significant number of your household items from Italic. They carry everything from cookware and luggage to clothing and shoes.
Are the Italic Serene Towels organic and eco-friendly?
The Italic Serene Towels are not organic. Nothing in the product description or labeling would suggest that they are. The Italic website says the Serene Towels are “OEKO 100 certified”. However, the official name o the certification is “OEKO-TEX Standard 100.” The website says the manufacturer is OEKO 100 certified, not necessarily the towels themselves. That can sometimes mean they were made in an OEKO 100 certified facility, but the towels may not have been through the testing needed to get an OEKO-TEX Standard 100 label officially. The OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification assures that the towels’ cotton is free of harmful chemicals and substances. The towels do not have an OEKO-TEX label on them anywhere, which makes me question whether these towels have been tested or not. If they were, they should have the appropriate label on each towel.
Are the Italic Serene Towels worth the cost?
The Italic Serene Towels are definitely worth their price. They are luxury towels at an affordable price.
Italic Serene Towels vs. Calla Angel Luxe Chain Egyptian Cotton Bath Towels
The Italic towels are affordable luxury. So I wanted to compare them to luxury towels that come for a higher price—the Calla Angel Luxe Chain Egyptian Cotton Bath Towels. These Egyptian cotton towels are heavy. They feel like a heavy blanket and also have incredible absorbency. In comparison, they’re heavier than the Italic towels, but the absorbency is about the same. I preferred the Italic towels because they dried out better than the Calla Angel towels. The Calla Angel towels were almost too much for the humid climate where I live. The Italic towels provided a balance of absorbency and luxury without staying damp and turning towels sour, which happened when I tested the Calla Angel towels. These towels are a great deal, especially if you have an Italic membership. They’re plush yet quick-drying, and only get softer with each wash. However, their lack of color options might be an issue for some.
