Brides get your wish lists ready, Frette, the Italian maker of high-quality linens, has created a wedding registry which recently launched both online and in stores. Now affianced couples can select from linens, home accessories, Frette to Wear for men and women, bath and the Essentials Collection. Upon registration the bride and groom will receive their own personalized his and hers embroidered Frette100% Egyptian cotton terry robes. For every $5,000 worth of purchases off your registry you will receive a $500 gift card. After one year, Frette will offer a one time savings of 10 percent on the remaining items in your registry.

Last month I attended the FRETTE Beverly Hills Designer Event on Rodeo Drive checking out bedrooms designed by Barbara Lazaroff, Mark Cutler and Martyn Lawrence-Bullard Furniture (a few pictures in the gallery below). As a parting gift, Frette was handing out a set of linen napkins (shown after the jump). One commenter chosen at random will receive the napkins, just leave me a note with your tip for an elegant table.

Now that Memorial Day has passed, and it's unofficially, officially summer, it's time to think about switching bed linens from winter coziness to summer crispness. If you're going to freshen your linen closet, the folks that make the fine linens at SFERRA have a message for you: stop obsessing about thread count.

Most of us use thread count -- that is, the number of threads per square inch of fabric -- as a proxy for quality. And it is definitely important -- just go to any good linen department and give the samples of different thread count a good stroke and scrunch. But it's not the only thing that matters, nor is it what matters most: the quality of the fiber matters more. (You could have a sheet of densely woven straw, for example, and you wouldn't want to sleep on it.) Egyptian cotton is most used in luxury linens because it produces a long fiber, or staple, which means it's easier to spin into smooth, fine yarn.

After that, the weave that's used influences the feel of the sheet. For summer consider linen, a loose weave of long flax fibers, like SFERRA's Classico line fitted queen sheet for $210, king flat sheet for $315. Or go with percale, a tight uniform cotton weave that results in a matte look and a smooth, crisp feel. For example, pictured here is SFERRA's Sereno line, fitted queen sheet for $410, king duvet for $1,080. But okay, just because you're not obsessing about thread count doesn't mean you have to forget it entirely: the Sereno line has a very luxey thread count of 800.

Learn more about SFERRA's "Lose Count" campaign by friending the company on Facebook.

Even the most formal of brands have to relax once and a while. Frette, purveyor of elegant and expensive linens, has come out with a new more relaxed line targeted at the younger, aspirational customer with a lower price point (components for a standard bed are in the $400-$450 range). The collection is named Edmond after Edmond Frette, the company founder and it ranges from sheets and pillows to throws and blankets made of fine merino wool and cashmere. The new sub-brand pays homage to Italian style with black and white geometrics and exotic animal prints. The brand will be sold at the Edmond Frette shop in London and at all 10 Frette boutiques in the United States this fall.

Actress Eva Mendes has become the latest celebrity with a home decor line. Her new line Vida, created with her partner George Augusto offers five bedding styles that she terms, according to a press release, "easy luxury - the colors, fabrics and textures that I live and love, brought to life in a stylish, comfortable and affordable way." The bedding will be sold at Macy's and will include four-piece bedding sets starting at $340 with completer sets of decorative pillows and shams selling for $100. The style shown above is Bettina.

When it comes to gifts usually it's what's on the inside that counts, but that's not necessarily the case for the gifts Edwina Rogers gives -- she wraps her presents in money. Uncut sheets of real, government-issued, dollar bills.

The wife of Washington lobbyist Ed Rogers gets the money sheets from the United States Bureau of Engraving (you can order them for yourself here) and then slices and dices as you would any wrapping paper to best fit the gift and get the best pattern on the front of the package (in this case it's lining up Washington's face just right). No matter that she regularly cuts several bills in half in the process, to be frugal she sticks to the dollar paper and only uses it to wrap "small" gifts.

A sheet of money paper consisting of 32 $1 bills sells for $55.

Via Trendhunter

Frette's holiday collection is always something special. In 2006, we had Sophia, a line inspired by ancient brocades and damasks used by royal dynasties across Europe. In 2007, we experienced Helena, a golden set inspired by Helen of Troy. This year the inspiration was 17th Century Swedish Queen Christina and her stirring portrayal by Greta Garbo in the 1933 film. The dramatic collection rendered in rich reds with a tapestry look consists of just 64 numbered sets in an ebony box containing a duvet, two Euro shams and two pillows. The retail price is $6,000.

The rest of the holiday collection includes mink slippers, a mink throw, wool blankets, cashmere scarves and a few selected high-end pieces of loungewear. The collection will be on display in Frette windows in November but you can catch a sneak peek in the gallery below.

[via Home Textiles Today]

Cittadini, founded 18 years ago, specializes in high-end, luxury linens. Made in the region of Florence, Italy, the styles are detailed and feature much embroidery. You can order custom bed or table linens, as well as towels. Select from 10 flange styles, 50 towel colors, 100 sateen colors, and 200 embroideries (0 up charges). If you're in the NYC or Long Island area, there's a showroom on Fifth Avenue (by appointment) and a boutique in Manhasset. For more info and prices, contact the company.

This is one expensive bed, and we are not even talking about the bed itself, just the coverings. Purveyors of pricey sheets, Frette have created a new limited edition sheet set. Helena, inspired by Helen of Troy, is a duvet set with a cover, two square shams and two boudoirs which are a modern interpretation of antique silk damask with gold brocade. The sets are made of silk and silk shantung with golden lame threads. The set is a limited edition of 99 pieces which sell for $6,000 per set. To match the set Frette has also created a throws and cushions in natural brown Barguzinski Silvery Sable, backed in burnished gold shantung silk. It sells for an astounding $85,000. You can admire the collection in Frette windows starting in November.

The very fashionable Olatz store was created by Olatz Schnabel, the wife of artist/director Julian Schnabel. Olatz's sheets came into being when Julian Schnabel, who also sometimes turns interior designer (the Gramercy Park Hotel being the most shining example) had created a limited edition of raw steel beds and needed sheets to go with them. The sheets come in linen or cotton in a variety of styles varying from modern to classic. The most beautiful are the ones that feature designs embroidered by hand from artists in the Madeira region of Portugal. The design shown above is from the Victoria Collection and sheets start at $700.

The April issue of W has a piece on Loretta Caponi, the 82-year-old designer who sells beautifully embroidered towels and tableware as well as children's clothing and lingerie from her elegant shop in Florence, Italy. The company has made silk gowns and pajamas for some of the most celebrated people in the world including royalty, both the crowned and the Hollywood kind. The children's line consists of the type of delicate garments that are handed down generation to generation. My favorite pieces however are the boat accessories like this colorful set of towels.

Luxury sheet maker Frette's new Sophia line is a holiday fantasy. The years designer duvet set also comes with the chance to outfit yourself in luxury as well with a red velvet robe and a pair of slippers. The Sophia line was inspired by ancient brocades and damasks used by royal dynasties across Europe. Garnet-colored silk is interwoven with natural linen to create a surprisingly modern jacquard. The duvet set includes a cover and two rectangular shams in an ornate pattern and two striped square shams and boudoirs. The line takes its name from Queen Sophia of Bourbon, the last queen of a Spanish dynasty to rule on Italian soil. Each robe comes with a 24-carat gold numbered plaque for the engraved name or initials of the owner.

We tend to look for Egyptian cotton for our bedding without really considering the connection to Africa. Sahelia is a new luxury linen line that incorporates elements of African design. Sahelia's founder, Fatim Thiam, was born and raised in West Africa, and educated in France, Canada, and the United States. Each of the nine collections is named after an African city and uses rich colors and designs. The sheets are made in Italy of Eyptian cotton. The sheets shown here are from the Ife collection and prices start at $234 for a Queen fitted sheet.

Luxury items at Sears? We've seen luxury come to Costco and Wal-Mart and now Sears is trying to tempt buyers with items that skew toward the higher end. Because Kmart and Sears merged, Sears has the right to sell Martha Stewart goods in Sears Roebuck stores but they aren't taking that option since Martha recently announced to that she will be selling her higher-end wares at Macy's. Instead Sears has a new strategy to sell ready-to-assemble furniture, add more Lands' End mini-stores inside Sear's stores and create a private label line of bed and bath products called Everyday Luxe. The Everyday Luxe line is already for sale on the internet and features 400-thread-count duvets and 500-thread-count sheets. Sheet sets start at $99.99 for Queen.

The spring collection from John Robshaw, one of my favorite fabric designers is out, and if you're looking for lightweight pillows and bedding, you can't do better than his stuff. With an Indian-Asia-boho feel, his designs are simply lovely. His web site is pretty sparse, but does list retailers. Online sites like Nochalant Mom and ShopatGood also carry his line.