This past week, I have taken some time to re-vamp my dorm bedding. It is hard enough to find something in a twin XL necessary for standard college beds, but it is even harder when you know what you are looking for. I had a pretty specific idea of what I wanted. I searched online as well as in store to find something in orange or maroon. After at least four stops and hours in store, I was ready to give up and purchase a basic bedding set in a neutral color.
After finally finding what I was looking for online, I reflected back on my "shopping journey" to find something interesting. There was and is a clear divide between men's and women's bedding. In Bed Bath & Beyond, there were no signs that stated "Men or Women," however it was clear in use of color and pattern where the line laid. This is made especially obvious online where you can find gendered tabs for bedding. I also noticed that the items available for women far outweigh those available for men.
The colors in, you guessed it, the men's section are usually minimal. You could probably name them all on one hand. Gray, white, blue, green and black in a striped, plaid or solid pattern accounts for 99% of what I saw. Meanwhile, in the other sections you could find pretty much any color incorporated into a larger pattern. Curiously, the section for women mostly contains mandalas; which, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, is actually a religious symbol and aid for meditation.
Unsurprisingly, the women's section also boasts floral patterns and bright colors. I would go so far as to say that these bed sets are the polar opposite of the simple, almost bland sets that comprise the men's section. Perhaps the worst offender of gendered bedding is Pottery Barn. Here they have sports and team patterned bedding available exclusively in the "Boy's Bedding" section of the site. Based on what I have seen in the past week, this is where the most color comes into play. The store is listed by BuzzFeed as one of the best places to purchase bedding. Where I found my luck turned was on the site "Society6." Here you could find any pattern in more variety than anything I saw elsewhere. The best thing about this site just might be that there are no visible tabs for men and women while in any section baring apparel. I feel that this site offers the best variety as it is not split up into sections that deter me from shopping. I hope that in the future, this is where bedding and home styling heads, to a wide variety without labels that make shopping limited.
