Is it Covid? Did we all get so used to sitting at home in quarantine with the elastic waistband that stretched wide enough to accommodate super-sided Haagen-Dazs binges that we have now taken to walking the streets in our pajamas? I mean, it’s straight up out of the bed and into the bowery, these days. More importantly, pajamas have made their way onto the fashion runways and our favorite celebrities have embraced the loose and lightweight trend.
It used to be fun to wear pajamas outside of the house on special occasions like Halloween, Christmas Eve, or for a sleepover. But since our whole life became a sleep over for several months last year, things have changed.
Unlike sweats, which have also seen a huge increase in sales in the last 18 months, pajamas can be luxurious as well as comfortable. Wear the cheap washable kind or the richest silk that’s strictly dry clean only. It’s your choice.
They not only look cute when kids sport cartoon characters on their drop-seat footie pjs, but they make elegant prints pop with vibrancy as well. Bright primary colors, leopard or muted earth tones all shine on pajamas.
And, again, unlike sweat pants, pajamas can be sexy, showing skin and shape as desired, but unlike a negligee, you can also run at top speed to hail your cab in them, if need be.
They’re good for travel and won’t constrict you on those long cross-country flights.
Decades ago, Victoria’s Secret used to have the silk shifts that everyone started wearing as dresses. You’d throw a suit jacket on them and they’d look as good in the boardroom as they did in the bedroom. It’s not unusual to see a cami worn as a blouse, either. But today, we’re no longer just mixing and matching sleep clothes with conventional ones. We’re wearing sleepwear exclusively now.
In the eighties, Prince assembled a trio of female singers called Vanity 6 and he had the group wear lingerie for their promotional appearances. It was thought to be a risque look back then and a fittingly salacious idea coming from the guy who penned the song Head.
That was 40 years ago, proving that Prince was, indeed, ahead of his time. Like pajamas, exposed lingerie is now a trend.
Remember the Seinfeld episode when Elaine freaked out because she saw an old acquaintance of hers openly wearing a bra while walking down the street? Poor Elaine couldn’t handle the world we live in now. But at least everyone is making themselves comfortable.