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I don’t understand the infatuation with linen sheets, I’m done with them. They’re more expensive, less soft, and much less durable than high quality long staple cotton sheets.

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Oh, I can answer this! I left a relationship and bought all new bedding last fall. I've posted this a few times before but here are my thoughts on the brands I've tried. Magic Linen - (Duvet cover, $255) - I purchased via their Etsy store during their Cyber Monday sale, I'm very pleased. The duvet cover has loops for securing the duvet and nice coconut wood buttons. The cloth is very thick in an impressive BIFL quality way. It was very rough out of the bag but has softened with wear and washing. The pillow covers that come with the duvet cover have an inner flap so the pillow does not show at all. Shipping was extremely fast, about a week to the US! Magic Linen's pictures best match the product I received in real life. If I could go back the only thing I'd do differently is getting a king duvet/cover for an oversize look on my queen bed, but that oversize aesthetic is just personal taste. Looking at their sheets, it looks like they only offer a regular and deep option for depth. Their flat sheet is also not as large as the Lenok flat sheet even accounting for the extra 2” not listed. Quince - (linen duvet/sheet set $271, all season goose down comforter $280, waffle towel bath & hand towel set $75, robe $75, linen table napkins (4) - $25, Turkish baby bath bundle - $55) - I bought a plain white set of everything. It was all very soft out of the bag, softer than all the other brands I have. The sheet set is the thinnest and softest of all the linens I have. The softness makes it feel very luxurious. It's held up so far just fine being rotated with other sheets but I am concerned about how much life I'll get out of it. I bought the queen and the fitted sheet is pretty tight with very little extra room if I wanted a mattress topper. The flat sheet doesn't have a lot of extra room for tucking in. There is no option for a deeper size. It is a very good deal and I am happy with how it has held up so far, but given the thinness of the fabric it might be best for lower usage linens (like a guest bedroom). The duvet cover is the same quality fabric. It has plastic buttons to keep it closed and loop ties for the comforter, I prefer the contrast aesthetic of the wooden buttons on the ML cover but if you don’t like the contrast look the clear buttons on the Quince duvet will appeal to you. The goose down comforter has a nice amount of fluff, kept me warm all winter and I'm happy with it overall but don’t have anything else to compare it to. It's hot for the summer so I've been using a throw blanket. The waffle towels are my favorite purchase from Quince, they are extremely soft and make shower time very spa like. They dry your skin quickly and then dry on the towel rack quickly. I recently also purchased the waffle robe, linen napkins and Turkish baby set. The robe is very nice, the same fabric as the bath/hand towels. I do wish it had a shorter more stylish option but the mid calf length gives it a spa feeling so that’s nice. I use the baby towels as dedicated face cloths, love them! The linen napkins are also great - cheap enough to buy a few sets for everyday fancy feel. If you are dithering about the sheets, get the napkins to see how you like it, they are the exact same fabric. I honestly wouldn’t want the rougher European linen as a napkin fabric. As napkins, the softness of the Quince fabric can’t be beat. The label is annoyingly large on it, but you can always cut it off. Lenok - ($258 queen 16” linen sheet set, $215 queen 12” set) This was also an Etsy Cyber Monday deal, though Lenok routinely runs 30% sales on their Etsy store, not just during holidays. Definitely wait to buy until a 30% sale is going on, it happens like once a month. It took about 3-4 weeks to arrive to the US as everything is made to order. This linen is the same quality as the Magic Linen, very thick and rough out of the bag, quality BIFL fabric. It feels like it will hold up for years. They have several options of mattress depth so you can really customize it to your set up. Everything is sewn to order and they will even custom make you a specific depth upon request. The fabric has a decent amount of stretch too. On my 16” queen set the pillow cover was just a plain insert type, with no flap to hide the pillow. On the 12” queen set the pillow cover did have a flap. I’m not sure why the difference, if it matters to you message the seller before purchase - Maya is very responsive! The Lenok flat sheet is the most generous of all the flat sheets I've seen, it's 105" x 110" so tons of extra room. The flat sheet has a hem across it, demarcating where you should turn down the comforter. I don't hate it but wish I had known about it before purchase. After looking back I do see the seam in one picture but it's not very obvious, their pictures are more artsy than product representational. The sage green color appeared richer/darker in person vs the swatch picture on the website but the antique white was a good color match for the website pictures. If you have time to shop and aren’t sure about your color choice I'd encourage you to get swatches, their photos are not the most representative, not in a fraudulent way or anything but they could do with more representational product pictures. I ended up gifting the sage set to a friend as a housewarming present as I felt it was too dark for my current bedroom set up. I am very happy with my antique white set and both sets had the same excellent fabric and sewing quality. I will purchase from them again. West Elm (gifted, probably $250?) - I was gifted this sheet set by a friend, it's a good in between of Quince and the Etsy linens both in terms of softness out of the bag and thinness of the fabric. The fitted sheet is very generous but the flat sheet is not, there is not a lot of extra room for tucking. After reading some reviews I honestly wouldn't bother with west elm unless it was a crazy good sale, they seem to tear around 1-3 years in with normal use. The price point is too similar to LenOk on sale that I would just spend my money on the better quality stuff and do cheap minimal use linens from Quince. My advice in a nutshell would be Magic Linen, Lenok or a comparable Eastern European brand, you can find many on Etsy, look for a store with a lot of sales and reviews. Properly cared for Eastern European linen can last 5+ years with daily use. Linen sets made in China seem to be thin and prone to tearing 1-3 years in after daily use, though this hasn't happened to me personally yet. If you are furnishing a guest room and want to save money since the linens won’t be subject to daily use, Quince is a terrific choice. More on reddit.com

I’ve done so much research on linen sheets lately, I could write a book. Some popular brands you may want to look at include: Cultiver, Citizenry, Piglet in Bed, The Company Store, Boll and Branch, Coyuchi, Pottery Barn/West Elm, Flax Home, Snowe, Frette, Bella Notte, Matteo, Rough Linen, Morrow, Snowe, Magic Linen, etc. A lot of these are actually similar in quality, and there are plenty of other good brands out there I didn't mention. The things to look for are: You want 100% flax linen, OEKO-TEX certified. Whether it’s called Belgian, French, European, or anything else doesn’t actually matter much. Many linens with this description (even from high end luxury brands) are actually woven and finished in Chinese textile factories. They describe it as European linen because that’s where the raw flax is from. But just because it's assembled in China doesn’t mean it’s inferior; there are some very high end textile manufacturers in China. Many major North American brands actually source their linen sheets from the same few manufacturers, so the quality is very similar. There are several large companies that source their linen bedding from textile manufacturers in Portugal as well (Parachute is one of these), but those are not necessarily better quality. There are a few notable exceptions, which are brands that actually weave and finish their linen in-house. These include the U.S. company Linoto, certain Irish and Scottish "hertiage" linen companies like McCaw Allen, and a handful of small Eastern European sellers like Magic Linen and Lenok (a lot of these are available on Etsy). I can't personally vouch for all of these but many people do report they are extremely high quality. These are often made to order so you have more customization options, but they are also often quite expensive. One of the most important things to look for if you're shopping online is the weight of the fabric. 150gsm or higher is a good, solid weight for linen sheets. You can find up to 210+ gsm, but I think that is probably overkill for most people. Generally the heavier the weight, the longer it will last (with proper care), but it will also feel less soft initially. The material will soften up over time as you use and wash it, which is why a lighter weight linen that is softer out of the box will likely not last as long. There are exceptions, as some companies “stone wash” their heavy weight linen extensively to make it feel softer out of the box. All that does is speed up the the process of breaking in the sheets, which would otherwise happen naturally over the first few washes. The last thing to look at is the finishes. Do you want pillow cases with an envelope closure? A duvet cover with a zipper? Sheets with embroidered edges? Fitted sheets with deep pockets? Do you want all sheets of the same color or do you want to mix and match? This will help narrow down which brands are best for you. After looking into this extensively I ended up purchasing two different brands of linen sheet sets, and I like both of them a lot. I have only had both of these for ~6 months though, so I can't speak to the longevity. They are: Quince . This is a newer company that markets itself as a luxury brand at lower prices, using a direct manufacturer-to-customer business model. I've order a few different things from Quince and they always ship directly from a manufacturer in the country of origin. Their linen sheets come from one of the quality Chinese companies that is the Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) for many north American brands. They are 150gsm so on the lower end weight wise, and very soft out of the box. Because they are light weight I expect they won't last quite as long, but they are still very good quality and with proper care I expect them to last at least 5+ years. I will probably go back to Quince as I gradually replace the sheets in my guest room and kids' rooms with linen; I think they are a very good value for the cost. Magic Linen . This is probably the best known of the Eastern European sellers I mentioned above, that manufacture their products in-house. They don't actually state the gsm for some reason, but I messaged to ask and they said the particular sheets I asked about (Ivory) are 170gsm, but the weight varies slightly for different colors. These sheets feel very luxurious and are definitely well made. I expect they will last a very long time. They actually feel *heavy* when you pick them up, in a way that is different than any other bedding I've ever owned. You can specify the depth of the fitted sheet and get a set that includes king sized sheets but regular sized pillow cases, which I really like. I would buy these again for my own bed, though I don't expect to need new sheets for myself for many years. If you want Magic Linen, make sure you wait for a sale. Look on both their regular website and Etsy page, as they often have different products listed at sale prices, for some reason. My only other advice is to look up and follow the instructions to properly care for your linens. It's not rocket science, but if you're used to cotton or synthetic sheets that you can wash and dry on high heat with all your other laundry, you're going to want to adjust your habits. You kind of have to baby linen sheets a little bit, but it's worth it. More on reddit.com