Housewife or Oxford?
Housewife Pillow Cases are what we all recognise and regard as ‘standard’ pillow cases, and traditionally feature a plain, sewn edge which fits snugly around standard rectangular pillows. There’s no fuss and no additional features; this design simply does exactly what it says on the tin.
The Oxford pillow case is the Housewife’s fancier cousin, and is made with an additional fabric border which surrounds all four edges of the standard case. This additional flat border is usually around 5 cm in width, but can be up to 10 cm in some designs and is purely decorative in nature.
Both the Housewife and Oxford Edge pillowcases fit snugly around the pillow, but the Oxford has a wide stitched flat hem round the outside to create a border. The Oxford Edge looks bigger, but the internal dimensions for the pillow are the same. Housewife or Oxford does not mean they are standard size, you can have square Housewife pillowcases, square Oxford edge pillowcases, King Size Housewife pillowcases, etc. Housewife or Oxford just basically means that they have no border (Housewife) or they have a border (Oxford). This applies to all sizes of pillowcases and also to the duvet covers, you can have Housewife duvet covers or Oxford Edge duvet covers.
Which one is best for Me? Both types of pillowcases are equally functional, so your choice of Oxford or Housewife pillow cases will come down to preference alone.
It all depends on whether you’re looking for something basic and purely functional or if you want your bedding to look more decorative and fancy. Housewife pillow cases, with their basic rectangular shape, are relatively plain and simple, but can be made to look more appealing with the addition of attractive bedding designs.
