Smooth to the touch yet very soft.  My husdand and I are very different sleepers so .. We have a king size bed outfitted with single and full size bedding (very interesting when it come to making the bed) so we purchased two duvets to cover our two heaviest comforters.  Living in the North we switch comforters with the seasons, again my seasons are totally different to my husband's. These duvets were true to color which is important to match our other seasons.  The shams are extra nice for us as they lay more like pillowcases, no extra starchy fabric to make them stand up. We are simple people so we don't tend to dress up the bed too much but if we did these duvets would be beautiful.