Just hung them today and we are disappointed that these curtains are not total blackout curtains.  Now...we did order the off white color.  If we had ordered a darker color would that have made a difference in the blackout effectiveness??? Who knows....hence the reason for the ding to a three star rating.  We do love the color, style and the fabric of these Ralph Lauren curtains, so we will keep and try other ways to TOTALLY BLACKOUT the light.