Heard of ‘Tuxedo Stripes’? They Might Just Replace the Hotel Border as Bedding’s Chicest Detail
Crate & Barrel’s latest luxury sheets strip the classic hotel border down to a single line – and makes most beds look underdressed
If, one week ago, you asked me to name the most effortlessly elegant bedding detail I know, I would have said the hotel border. You know the one: a crisp, neutral base framed by a contrast embroidered line around the edges. Think Frette. Sferra. Matouk. It’s the signature of some of the best-selling collections from the industry’s most elite bedding brands.
But if you asked me today, I’d tell you the tuxedo stripe – a similar, single-line look that, for now, I’ve only spotted at Crate & Barrel, but hope catches on as a bedding trend quickly.
Instead of an embroidered border running around every edge, it boils the tailored look down to one thick stitched satin stripe. Right now, Crate & Barrel has rolled it out across shams, a duvet cover, bed sheets, pillowcases, and even a bath mat, should you want a better-dressed bathroom, too.
If the tuxedo stripe wasn’t polished enough already, Crate & Barrel will also embroider your initials onto the duvet and pillow shams.
It’s making me question whether a full frame is necessary at all. Just like the hotel border, a bed looks incredibly polished dressed head-to-toe in the coordinating collection. Unlike the hotel border, though, it doesn’t demand it. The tuxedo stripe looks just as good layered with the solid white sheets already sitting in your linen closet.
Will this more minimal take on the hotel border replace it forever? Probably not. You can’t argue with history – Frette famously designed and manufactured its now-iconic double-border linens in 1899 for Venice’s Grand Hotel Royal Danieli, before going on to supply institutions like The Ritz-Carlton and The Plaza.
But this is the first sheet style in a long time that’s made the hotel border feel less like the obvious choice. If the hotel border is black tie, the tuxedo stripe is the dinner jacket I’d actually reach for.
After years of reporting on bedding, I’ve slept on enough luxury sheets to furnish a boutique hotel. I have some unfortunate news: they’re often worth it.
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