HomeGoods Is Quietly Bringing Back One of My Favorite Vintage Glassware Trends

Last week, my mom and I went on the hunt for a few new items for her guest room. Naturally, our search led us to HomeGoods — and naturally, I wound up wandering a bit further than the bedding aisle. HomeGoods has some of the cutest and trendiest glassware around, so I never miss an opportunity to check out what’s new in the tableware section. 

One particular motif seemed to dominate in the drinking glasses department, and it’s one that any glasses wearer is certainly familiar with. That’s right: It’s a tortoiseshell summer! And this timeless animal print looks just as chic on the table as it does on the face.

The tortoiseshell print certainly isn’t new to the trend cycle — we first saw a resurgence in the pattern around the same time that animal print decor started to take off back in 2023. But it’s always a pleasant surprise to see this classic motif back on the shelves. Tortoiseshell almost transcends trends; in a world where the term “timeless” is thrown around far too much, tortoiseshell might actually be one of the few patterns that truly is, well, timeless. It’s been around for centuries, and I have no doubt it will be around for centuries to come.

In ancient Egypt, the material was created from the shells of the hawksbill turtle, according to Encyclopedia Brittanica. But thankfully, that practice was outlawed in the 1970s — and it’s easy to recreate the look with glass or other materials today. At HomeGoods, I spotted several different styles of tortoiseshell drinking glasses (pictured above), but there are countless other ways to interpret the trend, too. 

From pitchers to goblets, there are so many ways to get in on this tabletop trend! Hit up your local HomeGoods store to shop similar tortoiseshell pieces IRL, or check out a few of my favorite online finds below.