Saturday, December 21, 2013

Remember when pajamas were for sleeping?

When I was growing up, I had a male cousin who, instead of sleeping in pajamas, insisted on sleeping in his clothes. It would save him time in the morning, he told his mother.

How times have changed. Now, instead of sleeping in their clothes, people wear pajamas during the day. (No word about this trend from my cousin who, last time I saw him, was nicely dressed in an Oxford shirt and trousers. Though I wouldn't put it past him to wear a onesie to a client meeting.)

I'm not exactly sure when the pajama-as-day-wear trend began, but I'm guessing it was shortly after stores like Old Navy (and its chicer retail cousins) began selling mix-and-match pajama bottoms and tops that looked and felt more like lounge wear or apres-ski wear than sleep wear -- that also, btw, looked fabulous with a pair of UGGs. Not.

At first the pajama-wear trend was confined to teenage girls in private schools and on college campuses and weary mothers in SUVs dropping their kids off at school. But now it seems pajamas as daytime fashion has gone mainstream. (I hesitate to call pajamas in public a fashion or fashion statement as I'm not sure what that statement would be: "Look at me! I'm lazy!" or "I couldn't bother to get dressed this morning"?)

Personally, I am okay with people wearing pajamas outside the bedroom -- within limits. You want to wear them around the house or to drive your kid to school in PJs? Super. I think it's also perfectly fine for early morning and late evening dog walkers to do the deed in their pajamas, albeit preferably with something over them (and under them, in the case of males).

However, I draw the line at strolling around in public in onesies, footie pajamas, and, pajamas that clearly look like, um, pajamas.

I especially draw the line at entire families gallivanting around in matching Christmas jammies.



[Dude, seriously, put on some underwear.]

But maybe I'm just an old fuddy-duddy.

Where do you think pajamas belong? In the bedroom? Anywhere inside? Wherever? Let me know via a Comment.

[For more on the "pajamas in public" topic, check out this New York Post article my friend CK sent me.]

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