The bath towel feels so ordinary that it is easy to imagine people have always stepped out of the water, reached for a fluffy rectangle, and wrapped themselves in cotton.
They did not.
The modern bath towel is the result of thousands of years of bathing culture, textile development, household wealth, mechanized weaving, indoor plumbing, washing machines, and changing ideas about privacy and personal hygiene.
No single person invented “the towel.” It evolved from simple cloths into a specialized textile as bathing, weaving, and domestic life changed.
The History of Towels at a Glance
| Period | What people used | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient world | Linen and other woven cloths, plus bathing tools such as the strigil | Drying was only one part of a broader cleansing routine |
| Medieval and early modern Europe | Flat-woven household linen for hands, tables, washing, and personal use | Fine linen reflected labor, wealth, and household status |
| Ottoman era | Flat-woven hammam towels and elaborately embroidered bath textiles | Towels became part of public bathing, ceremony, dress, and status |
| 19th century | Mechanized terry and “Turkish” towelling | Raised loops increased surface area and absorbency |
| 20th century | Mass-produced cotton bath towels in coordinated household sets | Indoor bathrooms and machine laundry made towels everyday essentials |
| 21st century | Cotton, waffle, bamboo-viscose blends, recycled fibers, and fine-fiber plush | Towels are now designed around softness, weight, drying speed, lint, and lifestyle |
Before the Bath Towel
Humans made woven textiles long before they made anything resembling today’s plush bath towel. Linen, wool, cotton, and other fibers were used for clothing, wrapping, furnishing, ritual, and household work.
The Victoria and Albert Museum’s textile collection spans more than 5,000 years and includes material from Predynastic Egypt onward. That long textile history shows that sophisticated cloth production is ancient, even though a surviving piece of linen cannot automatically be identified as a “bath towel” in the modern sense.
Historical caution: People certainly used cloth to wipe and dry, but the exact function of an ancient textile is often difficult to prove. The modern bath towel did not appear fully formed in one place or year.
Ancient Greece and Rome: Oil, Scraping and Bathing
Ancient Greek and Roman bathing routines could look very different from a modern shower.
One important tool was the strigil: a curved metal scraper used after oil had been applied to the skin. The Science Museum Group explains that Roman bathers rubbed the body with oil and then used a strigil to remove the oil along with dead skin and dirt.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art notes that strigils were associated with athletes in the Greek world, while Roman bathing culture made them part of ordinary personal equipment. Some were mass-produced.
Cloths were still useful for wiping and drying, but the strigil reminds us that a soft absorbent towel was not always the central tool in bathing.
Water first, towel last
We wash with water and cleanser, then use a towel to absorb remaining moisture.
Oil, scrape, rinse and wipe
The strigil physically removed oil, sweat, skin and dirt before final wiping or drying.
Medieval Household Linen
In medieval and early modern Europe, linen cloth was a valuable household material. Producing it required growing or obtaining flax, processing fibers, spinning yarn, weaving, bleaching, sewing, washing, and maintaining the finished cloth.
Flat-woven linens served many purposes: hands, faces, tables, kitchens, beds, religious settings, and personal washing. The same household might own different grades of linen, from rough working cloths to finely woven and decorated pieces.
The English word “towel” itself came through Middle English and Old French. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica traces “towaille” through Old French and medieval Latin forms linked with washing.
At this stage, a towel was generally a flat cloth rather than the thick looped terry textile now associated with bathrooms.
Ottoman Hammams and the Turkish Towel
The Ottoman hammam helped shape one of the most important towel traditions in history.
Hammams were not simply rooms for washing. They were social spaces connected with community, ceremony, hospitality, beauty, and status. Bath textiles could be practical, decorative, and highly visible.
Flat-woven hammam towels—often known today as peştemal or peshtemal—were lightweight enough to wrap around the body, carry easily, and dry relatively quickly.
Surviving Ottoman towels could also be elaborate luxury objects. A 19th-century towel in The Metropolitan Museum of Art is made from linen and embroidered with silk, metal-wrapped thread, and tinsel. The museum explains that bath accessories could signal the wealth and social standing of a bather’s family.
In the hammam, a towel could be a drying cloth, garment, modesty covering, ceremonial object, and display of status at the same time.
From “Turkish Towelling” to Terry Cloth
The word terry now refers to fabric with raised loops that increase surface area and help hold water.
Historical sources often called this “Turkish towelling,” reflecting the strong European association between looped bath textiles and Ottoman bathing culture. By 1911, the Encyclopædia Britannica distinguished huckaback towelling from rougher-surfaced Turkish towelling used for baths.
The transition was not a single documented invention. Weaving technology developed gradually as manufacturers learned to create and control pile loops more consistently.
Patent records show specialized terry looms operating by the late 19th century. A US patent granted in 1891 described a loom for weaving “Turkish towels or like terry goods,” including the ability to alternate pile sections with patterned borders.
The key innovation was structural:
- A flat towel presented only the surface of the woven cloth
- A terry towel added rows of raised yarn loops
- The loops created more surface area for contact with water
- They also created the thick, cushioned feel now associated with bath towels
Industrialization Made Towels Ordinary
Before mechanized production, textile labor made household cloth expensive. Industrial spinning, weaving, bleaching, dyeing, and sewing changed the economics.
Terry looms made looped pile increasingly repeatable. Factories could produce towels in standard dimensions, colors, borders, weights, and coordinated sets.
By the early 20th century, terry technology was sophisticated enough for patents to focus on details such as rough and soft pile surfaces, colored piles, decorative borders, and improved yarn twist.
The towel was becoming a designed product rather than a generic piece of household cloth.
The Bathroom Changed the Towel
Towels became more central to everyday life as private bathrooms, piped water, domestic showers, and regular bathing became more widespread.
A household with a dedicated bathroom could support:
- Full-size bath towels
- Hand towels
- Face cloths
- Bath mats
- Guest towels
- Coordinated colors and designs
The modern “towel set” reflects architecture and domestic routines as much as textile engineering. Once bathrooms became permanent private rooms, towels could be stored, displayed, matched, and rotated there.
Washing Machines and Dryers Changed Expectations
A large plush towel absorbs more water and takes more work to clean than a small flat linen cloth. Modern laundry equipment made it easier for households to own and wash several thick towels.
Machine laundry also changed what consumers expected:
- Towels should survive repeated washing
- Colors should remain reasonably stable
- Hems should resist fraying
- Pile should remain soft
- Sets should stay coordinated
- Drying time should fit household routines
The Rise of Hotel Towels
Hotels helped establish the cultural image of the thick white towel as a symbol of cleanliness and luxury.
White towels could be laundered together, visibly inspected, and coordinated across many rooms. Their weight and generous pile communicated abundance—even when the extra bulk also increased laundry and drying demands.
“Hotel quality” later became a broad marketing phrase, but it has never referred to one universal fiber, GSM, size, or construction.
From Cotton to Modern Fine-Fiber Towels
Cotton terry dominated the 20th-century bath-towel market, but towel design continued evolving.
Traditional absorbent loops
Natural staple fiber, familiar texture, and a wide range from lightweight to dense hotel styles.
Open textured construction
Lower bulk and faster drying with a flatter, more architectural surface.
Lightweight moisture handling
Polyester and nylon blends can provide low lint, fast drying, compact storage, and plush engineered surfaces.
Mixed performance goals
Modern towels may combine fibers to balance softness, strength, weight, absorbency, and drying.
The Towel Became a Lifestyle Product
Today, towels are marketed around highly specific preferences:
- Maximum softness
- High or low GSM
- Quick drying
- Low lint
- Natural fibers
- Compact travel
- Oversized coverage
- Minimalist design
- Lower laundry weight
- Gift-ready presentation
The towel is no longer just a piece of cloth used after washing. It is part of bathroom design, personal comfort, travel, fitness, skincare, hospitality, and home identity.
Mallo Towels and the Next Chapter
Mallo’s two main collections reflect two different branches of towel history.
Signature Plush: An Engineered Fine-Fiber Towel
Mallo Signature Plush moves away from conventional cotton terry. It uses an 85% polyester and 15% nylon fine-fiber blend at 380 GSM, sculpted into cloud-like ridges.
The 70 × 140 cm bath towel weighs approximately 250 g and is designed around lightweight handling, quick drying, softness, and a lint-free surface.
Pure Cotton: A Modern Version of the Classic Bath Towel
Mallo Pure Cotton follows the natural-fiber tradition using 100% long-staple cotton at 430 GSM with a CloudLoom construction.
It retains the familiar appeal of cotton while using a more distinctive rounded, cloud-inspired surface.
Two histories, one bathroom: Signature Plush represents engineered modern performance. Pure Cotton represents the continued evolution of the traditional cotton towel.
What Has Not Changed?
Towel technology has changed dramatically, but the fundamental problem has remained the same:
How do you remove moisture from the body with a textile that feels comfortable, dries effectively, survives repeated use, and fits daily life?
Every era answered differently:
Ancient bathers
Combined cloth with oil, water, scraping, and communal bathing practices.
Medieval households
Relied on labor-intensive flat woven linen for many domestic and personal uses.
Ottoman hammams
Turned bath textiles into practical wraps, ceremonial objects, and displays of status.
Industrial manufacturers
Used terry loops and mechanized looms to increase absorbency and produce towels at scale.
Modern designers
Balance softness, lint, weight, drying speed, sustainability, storage, and personal taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented the towel?
No single inventor is known. Towels evolved gradually from ancient wiping and drying cloths, household linens, hammam textiles, and later mechanized terry fabrics.
Did ancient Romans use towels?
Romans used cloths in bathing, but their routine also relied heavily on oil and metal strigils used to scrape away dirt, sweat, dead skin, and excess oil.
Where did Turkish towels come from?
Flat-woven peshtemal towels are closely associated with Ottoman hammam culture. Ottoman bath towels ranged from practical wraps to elaborate embroidered status objects.
When was terry cloth invented?
There is no single universally documented invention date. Terry weaving developed over time, and specialized terry looms were established by the late 19th century.
Why is it called terry cloth?
The exact etymology is debated. Historically, looped bath fabric was often called Turkish towelling, and “terry” became the standard term for the raised-loop fabric.
Why were old towels made from linen?
Linen was a strong, washable household textile with a long history in Europe and the Mediterranean. Flat linen cloths also dried more easily than very thick modern towels.
When did bath towels become common?
They became increasingly ordinary as industrial textile production reduced cost and private bathrooms, regular bathing, washing machines, and dryers spread through the 19th and 20th centuries.
Are modern microfiber towels part of towel history?
Yes. They represent a newer stage in which engineered fibers and surfaces are used to reduce weight, drying time, lint, and storage bulk while preserving softness and absorbency.
Final Takeaway
The towel was not invented in one flash of inspiration.
It evolved from ancient cloth, bathing tools, household linen, hammam culture, industrial looms, cotton terry, private bathrooms, and modern textile engineering.
What began as a simple cloth for wiping became a specialized product with loops, pile, borders, coordinated sizes, engineered fibers, and carefully designed textures.
The next time you reach for a bath towel, you are using the latest version of a textile problem humans have been solving for thousands of years.
References
- Victoria and Albert Museum. Textiles Collection. View source
- Science Museum Group. Strigil, Roman, 199 BCE–500 CE. View source
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bronze Strigil (Scraper), Roman, 1st Century CE. View source
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Towel, 19th Century. View source
- British Museum. Strigil, Hellenistic–Roman. View source
- Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Linen Towel. View source
- 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica: Towel. View source
- United States Patent Office. US454367A: Terry-Loom. View patent
- United States Patent Office. US1666872A: Let-Off for Terry Looms. View patent
- United Kingdom Patent Office. GB375004A: Improved Terry Towel. View patent
- Mallo Towels. Signature Plush Marshmallow Towel Pack. View product
- Mallo Towels. Signature Plush Marshmallow Collection. View collection
- Mallo Towels. Pure Cotton Towel Pack. View product
- Mallo Towels. Pure Cotton Collection. View collection
