Vintage bedlinen

Having bought a new duvet, after 47 years of good service from the one received as a wedding present (we requested a pair of single duvets - now there's forethought!), I realised that the "vintage" damask cover cover was a bit frayed and looked online for a replacement. What joy to find a pair of cotton damask duvet covers, vintage 1960s Germany. The postage was £20, reasonable as they came from the Netherlands (www.minoucbrocante.etsy.com) - and they arrived the other day, carefully packed and with nice cards included -

I condensed the story of my relationship to damask duvet covers, and my lifelong history of duvet use, into an instagram post (click on the pic to enlarge) -

I knew from the online description that there was "some fading" - confined to one edge of one of the covers - so into the washer it went. Hanging it up to dry, I noticed the lovely buttons -

What pleasure these details give! All this for the total price of just one 21st century cover of a lesser quality.