This list doesn’t include all the shower curtains we’ve tested and dismissed — just the ones that are still available for sale.
Printed by hand on tight, medium-weight cotton, Block Shop Textile’s shower curtains are high-functioning works of art that look beautiful and also repel water impressively well. Unfortunately, their availability fluctuates, and they are currently out of stock. But if you manage to find one, we think it’s a great curtain.
A previous upgrade pick, the Crate & Barrel Pebble Matelassé White Shower Curtain is an all-cotton shower curtain with a pebbled texture that can imbue any bathroom with an air of luxury — but its price reflects that. The Target Waffle Weave Shower Curtain provides a similar feel for a quarter of the price.
We wanted to love the IKEA LÖJTNANT Shower Curtain. For one, the price is incredibly low, and it promised to repel water, which we hoped could make it suitable for use without a shower liner. However, when we tested it, water immediately seeped through its polyester fabric, and it was so thin that it was nearly sheer.
The Urban Outfitters Allover Fruits Patterned Shower Curtain arrived with a slight plasticky smell, and after washing and drying, it shrank 2 inches vertically and 4 inches horizontally and bled a goos amount of dye. What’s more, the stitching on this curtain wasn’t even, creating crooked edges. Some reviewers online also mentioned hook holes that aren’t open. Still, it’s not too expensive, it looks cute, and some Wirecutter staffers have used it for years without complaint. Like the other curtains from Urban Outfitters that we’ve tested, this one is frequently in and out of stock.
Society6 offers hundreds of design and pattern options, and the company works with independent artists. But we read too many negative reviews about uneven print quality and a confusing return process. Also, the one we tested—Soft Shapes by City Art—was not waterproof, and water from the shower sprayed straight through it, despite its being 100% polyester.
We liked the three shower curtains we tested from Urban Outfitters (the Camille Floral Shower Curtain, the Kiko Shower Curtain, and the Myla Floral Shower Curtain), but they constantly went in and out of stock.
This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Joanne Chen.
