Men's dressing gowns: what actually matters

Men buy dressing gowns badly, and almost always in the same way: they pick a colour, check it is not too short, and stop. Three of the four things that decide whether you still like it in two years are not visible in a photograph. Here they are, in the order they matter.

1. Whether you wear it wet or dry

This single question settles the fabric, and it is the one nobody asks.

If you put a robe on straight out of the shower, you need towelling. Looped cotton is the only common fabric that genuinely absorbs water rather than pushing it around. A fleece robe on wet skin feels warm for thirty seconds and clammy for the next twenty minutes, and that is not a quality problem — it is what polyester does. See our men's towelling dressing gowns.

If you put one on over pyjamas in a cold house, you want fleece or flannel. They warm up in seconds, weigh very little for the heat they give, and cost less. Absorbency is irrelevant.

If you want something you can wear to answer the door, cotton or waffle looks like a garment rather than a towel.

2. Chest measurement, not S / M / L

Men's robes are sized by chest in inches far more reliably than by letter, and the sizes on this site are labelled that way for a reason: an "L" from one supplier is a 40 in chest and from another a 44 in.

Measure round the fullest part of your chest, over a t-shirt, and buy that number. A robe is meant to wrap and overlap by a good hand's width at the front — if it merely meets, it will gape every time you sit down. If you are between sizes, go up.

Shoulder width is the one measurement people forget. A robe cut narrow at the shoulder pulls when you reach forward and will always feel restrictive, whatever the chest says. If you have broad shoulders, look at the shoulder figure in the size guide before the chest one.

3. Length, and why height matters more than build

Most men's robes are cut to mid-calf on a 5'10" frame. On someone of 6'2" that is above the knee; on someone of 5'6" it is nearly at the ankle.

• Floor length is warmest and the right choice for a cold hallway or a draughty house. See our men's full length dressing gowns.
• Mid-calf is the default and suits most people.
• Knee length is for a warm flat, a hot summer, or a robe you wear for ten minutes.

If you are over six foot, buy from a tall range rather than sizing up. Going up a size adds inches to your chest, not to the hem.

4. The collar tells you more than the label

A shawl collar — the wide rolled one — is the warmest and the most forgiving, because it closes high on the neck without a fastening. It is also the heaviest look.

A kimono collar lies flat and narrow. Lighter, cooler, and better under a dressing gown's own weight in satin or cotton. See our men's kimono robes.

A hood keeps wet hair off your shoulders and off your neck, which is the whole point after a bath. It adds bulk when the robe is hanging up. See our men's hooded dressing gowns.

What "GSM" means on a towelling robe

Grams per square metre — the weight of the cloth, and the honest measure of a towelling robe's quality.

• Under 350 gsm — light, quick-drying, hotel-style. Good for summer and travel, thin in winter.
• 400 to 500 gsm — the everyday range. Absorbent, warm, dries overnight.
• Over 550 gsm — thick and luxurious, and it will still be damp the following evening in a cold bathroom.

Higher is not automatically better. It is better if your bathroom is warm and ventilated, and worse if it is not.

Satin, silk, and the difference worth knowing

Satin is a weave, usually in polyester — smooth, cool, and inexpensive. Silk is a fibre, and costs several times more. A robe described as "silky" is almost always satin. Both look the same in a photograph and feel quite different on: silk warms to your skin, polyester satin stays cool against it.

We keep them apart: our men's silk dressing gowns page says which is which on the product itself.

What to spend

Under £35 buys a serviceable fleece. Between £40 and £70 is where cotton and real towelling begin, and where the seams and the pile survive a hundred washes instead of thirty. Above £80 you are paying for fibre and weight, and the improvement is real but not proportional to the price.

The short version

Wet skin means towelling; dry skin means fleece. Buy by chest measurement, not by letter. Buy for your height, not your build. And if you are choosing between two, the one with a shawl collar and patch pockets is the one you will still be wearing in three years.

Browse all men's dressing gowns.