Vossen Dressing Gowns: Cotton Velour, Sizing and Care
A Vossen dressing gown is cotton velour, and that one fact explains most of what people like about them. Velour is a towelling loop that has been sheared flat, so it keeps cotton's absorbency but feels smooth rather than nubbly against the skin. It dries you after a shower like a towel and sits like a soft coat afterwards, which fleece cannot do and plain towelling does clumsily.
At a glance
- Cotton velour is sheared towelling: absorbent like a towel, smooth like a jumper.
- Vossen size in Austrian chest measurements, so check the number rather than the letter.
- The Dallas robes run to around 111 to 113cm in length, which is mid calf on most men.
- Wash warm, tumble briefly, skip the fabric conditioner. It coats the pile and kills the absorbency.
- A robe is the most used gift in this shop, and the least often bought for oneself.
- What cotton velour is
- Sizing and length
- Washing without flattening it
- Buying one as a gift
- Robe or pyjamas
What cotton velour is
Towelling is made of loops. Velour is those loops sheared off level, which leaves a dense flat pile with the cut ends facing out. Water still travels into the cotton, so it dries you properly, but the surface has none of the scratch of a rough towel. That combination is the reason a good velour robe gets worn every day and a fleece one gets worn in January.
Weight is worth checking too. A heavier robe feels substantial and takes longer to dry on the hook. A lighter one is easier to live with in a warm house. Vossen sit at the heavier end, which suits an old British house in February and can feel like a lot in a modern flat.
Sizing and length
Vossen are Austrian, and their sizing runs on continental chest measurements rather than a British small, medium and large. The letter on the label is a translation of the number, and the number is what to trust. A medium covers roughly a 42 to 48 chest, a large 46 to 52, an extra large 50 to 56, which is a wider spread per size than most British nightwear.
- Buy for your chest, not for how loose you want it. There is generous overlap built in.
- Length on the Dallas styles runs 111 to 113cm, which lands at mid calf on an average height
- Sleeves are cut long deliberately, so they can be turned back at the cuff
The whole range is in Vossen, alongside the wider dressing gowns and bath robes.
Washing without flattening it
Warm wash, normal cycle, no fabric conditioner. Conditioner works by coating fibres, which is precisely what you do not want on something whose job is to absorb water. One wash with it and a velour robe stops drying you properly, and it takes several washes without to recover.
A short tumble on medium lifts the pile back up after washing. Over drying does the opposite and starts to harden the cotton. Hang the robe on a hook rather than folding it damp, and give the belt loops a look every few months, since that is where the stitching goes first on any robe.
Buying one as a gift
Robes are bought as gifts more than any other piece of nightwear we sell, and there is a reason: almost nobody replaces their own until it falls apart. If you are buying for someone else, the chest size matters less than usual because of the overlap in the sizing, so err towards the size you think rather than a size up for comfort.
Colour is the safer risk here than size. A deep red or a green reads as a present. A navy reads as a replacement, which is fine if that is what is wanted.
Robe or pyjamas
They do different jobs. A robe is for the half hour after a shower and the hour before bed, worn over something or nothing. Pyjamas are for sleeping in and for answering the door to a delivery without a scramble. Most men who own both wear both, and most men who own one think they do not need the other.
If you are choosing between them, the robe is the one that gets used daily in a cold house. Have a look at the pyjamas if it is sleepwear you are after.
Frequently asked questions
What is cotton velour?
Velour is towelling with the loops sheared off level, leaving a dense flat pile with the cut fibre ends facing outwards. Because it is still cotton, it absorbs water like a towel does, but the surface feels smooth rather than nubbly against the skin. That combination is why a velour robe works both straight out of the shower and as something to sit around in afterwards. Fleece feels soft but does not absorb, and plain towelling absorbs but feels rough by comparison.
How do Vossen dressing gowns fit?
Vossen are Austrian and size on continental chest measurements, so the letter on the label is a translation of a number and the number is the reliable part. As a guide, medium covers around a 42 to 48 chest, large 46 to 52, and extra large 50 to 56. That is a wider spread per size than most British nightwear, so buy for your actual chest rather than sizing up for room. The Dallas styles run about 111 to 113cm long, which is mid calf on an average height.
How should I wash a velour dressing gown?
A warm wash on a normal cycle, with no fabric conditioner at all. Conditioner works by coating the fibres, which is exactly the wrong thing for a fabric whose job is absorbing water, and one wash with it will leave the robe sliding over you rather than drying you. A short tumble dry on medium lifts the pile back up afterwards. Over drying stiffens the cotton, so take it out while it still has a little weight to it and hang it on a hook.
Is a dressing gown or pyjamas the better buy?
They do different jobs rather than competing. A robe covers the half hour after a shower and the hour before bed, and it is the thing that gets daily use in a cold house. Pyjamas are for sleeping in and for answering the door without a scramble. Men who own both use both. If you can only have one and the house is cold, the robe earns its keep more often, though it will not replace sleepwear.
What size should I buy as a gift?
Buy the size that matches their chest rather than going up for comfort. Vossen sizing already has generous overlap built in, so each size covers a six inch spread and there is plenty of wrap in a robe by design. Getting the colour right is the more interesting decision: a deep red or a green reads clearly as a present, while a navy reads as a sensible replacement, which is welcome if that is what is needed. Come in and see the colours in daylight if you are unsure.
