On Bedlinen and Crinkly Complexions

I've been a fan of white bedlinen for many years. Again, as a result of living in rented London accommodation where redecorating was not an option. Wallpaper is fine and good, but when it's not you who has chosen the pattern in your bedroom you'll rarely like it... When I discovered The White Company some 12 years ago I found a way to calm the energy of my sleeping quarters with all-white bedlinen. And that was it - I have hardly bought anything but white bedlinen since.  Moving away from IKEA and Habitat, not to mention the beautiful printed delights of Descamps, I've roamed the shelves of Laura Ashley, The White Company and Cologne & Cotton for white white white and now have a decent collection to chose from. Always with a bit of texture or a detail around the edge of the pillow though, I'm not going for the hospital look.

However, in the last couple of years I have had to stop using my favourite honeycomb pillow cases as the soft indents they make on my cheek had started taking ages to fade. Walking around with a honeycomb print on your cheek is just embarrassing. Where my skin used to pop back to smoothness straight away it now seems to take on the relief of the fabric I'm sleeping on. So the honeycomb and other textured linens have been relegated to the guest bedroom. Let the guests come down to breakfast with prints on their faces, not me. I am not ashamed to admit that I am vain, and I have switched to smooth.

My latest acquisition is a set of cotton sateen 'Marchelle' from The White Company, in their spring sale on-line. Super smooth! And the reason why I'm mentioning it is because upon opening the parcel yesterday I discovered to my disappointment that one of the pillow cases had a faint yellow mark - but a quick call to TWC resolved it: overnight they have sent a new pillow case and a postage label for me to return the faulty item. Now that is good customer service.

Photo: The White Company