I love them so far. Although the color was as expected, I was not initially impressed with the feel. However, after washing, the towels fluffed up considerably and I am now very happy with them. They are soft, fluffy, absorbent and also seem to dry faster than expected. Use extreme caution with the colored towels if you use any products containing benzoyl peroxide. I purchased the taupe, and, unfortunately, the color bleached out quite readily. Other towels I have had for longer do not show the same level of bleaching as these towels. I will buy more but will stick to white to avoid bleaching issues.

FYI, the pattern/lines run parallel to the short sides of the towels.