A pillow top or featherbed requires even deeper pockets. Travelers are being exposed to fine linens in France and Italy and want them for their own homes, says Nancy Townsend of Cover Story in Los Altos, which carries high-end European lines like Pratesi and Yves Delorme. The finer the quality, the longer they wear. Our clients see them as heirlooms they ll hand down to their children. Stephanie Todd, manager of the new Frette store in San Francisco, an upscale Italian linen retailer, notes, You spend 12 weeks a year sleeping.
Fine bedding is the ultimate way to indulge.
Some see it as building their trousseau. Primarily craftsmanship and fabric. Cotton is the most popular material and comes in several grades. The highest quality in the world is Egyptian cotton, a strong, lustrous yarn grown in the Nile River Valley. Once you sleep on Egyptian cotton, you ll be so spoiled that you ll never go back to anything else, says Laura Weaver of Maid s Quarters in Los Gatos.