A bathrobe, also known as a housecoat or a dressing gown, is a loose-fitting outer

garment Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...

robe A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils" ...

) worn by people, often after washing the body or around a pool. A bathrobe is considered to be very informal clothing, and is not worn with everyday clothes. A bathrobe is a dressing gown made from towelling or other absorbent fabric and may be donned while the wearer's body is wet, serving both as a

towel A towel is a piece of absorbent cloth or paper used for drying or wiping a surface. Towels draw moisture through direct contact. In households, several types of towels are used, such as hand towels, bath towels, and kitchen towels. Paper towels ...

and a body covering when there is no immediate need to fully dress.

Fabrics and fibre types

Fabrics

Bathrobes can be categorized by the weave of their fabric: *Flannel:

Flannel Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, b ...

is a soft woven fabric, made from loosely spun yarn, usually cotton or wool. *Terrycloth:

Terrycloth Terrycloth, terry cloth, terry cotton, terry toweling, terry, terry towel, or simply toweling is a fabric woven with many protruding loops of thread which can absorb large amounts of water. It can be manufactured by weaving or knitting. Terryclo ...

is a pile fabric, usually woven of cotton, with uncut loops on both sides, used for bath towels and robes. The longer and denser the loops are, the more absorbent the bathrobes are. *Velour:

Velour Velour, occasionally velours, is a plush, knitted fabric or textile similar to velvet or velveteen. It is usually made from cotton, but can also be made from synthetic materials such as polyester. Often, it contains a percentage of elastane, ...

is a pile fabric where the loops woven into the fabric have been cut. Velour bathrobes are typically made with a terrycloth lining, as terrycloth absorbs water better than velour. Velour can make a bathrobe appear more luxurious, cosier, and makes the garment soft to the touch. *Waffle fabric:

Waffle fabric Waffle fabric, also known as honeycomb fabric, has raised threads that form small rectangles. It can be made by either weaving or knitting. Waffle weave is a further exploitation of plain weave and twill weave which produces a three-dimensional ...

has good water absorbency, with a lightweight weave and a distinctive "gridlike" appearance. These bathrobes are designed for their light weight over their absorbency. Bathrobes and bathrobe fabrics can also be categorised for their fibre types, and are generally made of four different fibres: *Cotton:

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

is a natural fibre consisting primarily of

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...

and is one of the most commonly used fibres in textile manufacturing. Due to the

hydrophilic A hydrophile is a molecule or other molecular entity that is attracted to water molecules and tends to be dissolved by water.Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. In contrast, hydrophobes are no ...

nature of cellulose, cotton absorbs water easily and is frequently used by the beach, pool, or following a shower. Cotton robes are especially suited to use in hot climates because cotton tends to absorb

perspiration Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distrib ...

. *Silk:

Silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

dressing gowns are popular because of their look and feel, but can be relatively expensive. Silk robes are very thin and lightweight, and are not particularly suited to wet situations because they lack the surface area and polarity necessary to absorb water. However, silk dressing gowns are the traditional choice, since they are not worn after bathing. *Microfiber:

Microfiber Microfiber (or microfibre) is synthetic fiber finer than one denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometers. A strand of silk is about one denier and about a fifth of the diameter of a human hair. The most common ty ...

is an extremely fine

synthetic fiber Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants (like cotton) ...

, typically made of cellulose or polyester, that can be woven into textiles to mimic natural-fiber cloth. Modern microfibers are developed to maximize breathability and water absorption and can be thinner than the width of human hair. Much like silk, robes made out of microfiber are light in weight and are very soft to the touch. Microfiber is

flammable A combustible material is something that can burn (i.e., ''combust'') in air. A combustible material is flammable if it ignites easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable mat ...

. *Wool:

Wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

bathrobes are common in colder climates. *Nylon:

Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

is a synthetic fibre occasionally used in inexpensive dressing gowns. It is valued for its ability to be cleaned easily.

Design and construction

Most bathrobes are designed as a wrapped-front garment with belt loops and a matching belt, intended to be tied around the waist to hold the garment closed. However, bathrobe designs vary, typically in collar and closure design, with some garments featuring an open front or fastened closures in place of a belt. Varieties of

collar Collar may refer to: Human neckwear *Clerical collar (informally ''dog collar''), a distinctive collar used by the clergy of some Christian religious denominations *Collar (clothing), the part of a garment that fastens around or frames the neck ...

design include: *Shawl collar: So-called because the collar closes around the neck like a

shawl A shawl (from fa, شال ''shāl'',) is a simple item of clothing from Kashmir, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, which is often folded ...

. The shawl collar is borrowed from its use on men's evening wear on the

dinner jacket Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...

and

smoking jacket A smoking jacket is an informal men's style of lounge jacket originally intended for tobacco smoking, designed in the 1850s. A classic-styled smoking jacket comes in a shawl collar, turn-up cuffs, toggle or button fastenings, or simply be closed ...

, and is common on traditional dressing gowns. *Kimono collar: Similar to the collar found on the

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

, a traditional Japanese garment, the collar forms a thin strip of consistent width, wrapping around the front in a Y-shaped manner. *Hooded: A hood is sewn into the neckline, which can be worn over the head to keep it warm and help to dry wet hair.

Fabrics and fibre types

Fabrics

Design and construction

See also

References

Further reading