Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me start out by saying, I'm 5'3" & 170 Lbs. with an oddly shaped torso - very short waisted. I bought the X-Large size to accommodate my shape and light grey for helping to hide cat hair. That being said, here's my assessment. The packaging was excellent, the robe folded professionally. I was very excited to get a robe that hit the floor, not stop at mid thigh; my expectations were met, and then some. Right out of the package, the robe was too long while wearing regular slippers - I had to kick it out of the way to walk and not trip. However, while sitting down and in curling up with knees tucked, the circumference covered me up. There are no inner ties, but that can be easily remedied even by a non-sewer. The hood is great, another feature I wanted. The sleeves are a bit on the short side for anyone with longer arms. With two belt loop choices, longer torsos than mine don't have to worry about where the tying hits for comfort. I took a few moments to decide whether to keep the robe and live with what I got. Decision made, I got to work. The fabric is like that of a pool-side towel at a hotel - not very thick, but will dry a body off if put on right out of the shower. It is about as soft/not soft as said towel. I don't use fabric softener, so can't comment on whether that would help. If someone has OCD like I do, they will go over the entire garment trimming loose threads. The hems of the sleeves, the bottom, the belt, and the hood are rough stitched - no fold over. The pockets and main seams are all double stitching and appear well done. I have a microfiber, fleece plush robe that is too hot and has an over-thick shawl collar that drives me nuts, so the lack of thicker material was not as much of a concern for me as it might be for others. With PJs on, I feel it will be warm enough; for outside, fall has not quite hit so I can't speak to outside warmth either. I also run hot, so in this area I might be unfavorably biased. Ignoring general washing instructions and removing all tags for comfort - I'm all in at this point- I washed the robe in warm water and dried it for an hour on medium heat, following up with 20 minutes on high heat. At that point, I tried it on again. The overall length shrunk about 1+ inches, the sleeves about 1/2+ inch and the hood also shrunk some. For me, this worked - I was not tripping on the bottom - as the robe was just grazing the floor. The sleeves still hit my wrists while arms hanging down, rising on slightly when extending arms out in front/to the side. The hood still came to the front of my head. While sitting down/curling up, each side of the robe overlap still covered both knees. As to whether it will hold up in use and through future washings, time will tell. Bottom line, I gave this garment 4 stars because it works for me with features that I wanted. I hope my description helps give a better idea to other buyers as to whether the robe will work for them. Unless a piece of clothing is pristine, ready to wear right out of the bag, and holds original sizing after washing, I will not give it 5 stars. Happy lounging!