Men's microfibre towel robe, essential

Start with what the garment is for: a towel robe does one job: it takes the water off you and it dries before you need it again. Microfibre is a synthetic spun far finer than a human hair. That fineness gives an enormous surface area, which is what makes it absorb fast and dry fast at the same time. That is the difference between a microfibre robe and one that only looks the part.

In use it shows up as one thing: it absorbs on contact — no waiting and no rubbing: it lifts water the moment it touches skin. The same need shows up in our purple dressing gown.

Men ask about room across the back and enough length in the sleeve before anything else, and they are right to — it is where most robes fall down. In the same vein, have a look at our mens white dressing gown.

• Dry before the next shower — the fastest-drying fabric in the range, by a distance
• It stays light even soaked — useful at the pool and the gym, where towelling turns into dead weight
• Belt loops that hold the belt — a small thing, and the first thing missing on a cheap robe
• It comes back the same from the wash — no shrinking at the cuff and no shape lost at the shoulder

Microfibre is not breathable the way cotton is. For an hour after a swim it is perfect; for a whole evening in a warm room, cotton is kinder. Machine wash at 40°C, air dry. Treated that way, a microfibre towel robe lasts five winters rather than one — the difference between a robe you keep on the back of the door and one you replace every autumn. The same need shows up in our mens blue dressing gown.