Recalling faded memories from frolicsome pyjama party student nights at university; I felt a nostalgic tinge of excitement writing this post. Previously confined to the section of my wardrobe dedicated to behind-closed-doors, ugly apparel; the loyally overstretched pyjama set has been at the receiving end of a serious style overhaul.
Only a few days ago, American designer Rachel Roy attended the New York premiere of One Day in a piped two piece that eerily resembled slumber garb. Had she rolled out of bed and onto the red carpet? I won’t say for fear of reprisal, considering Roy is a fashion body and with NYFW only a few weeks away; tainting a designer’s appearance would equate to fashion sacrilege.
But her audacious fashion move made me suddenly gush with an unusual sense of entitlement. Entitlement to proudly gambol, publicly, confident I’m ‘in the know’ about sleepwear trending. Seeing Roy on a red carpet in pyjamas (or ‘pajamas’ for the super-finicky) was enough for me to conjure up mental images of men’s ‘towel skirts’ or bathing robes in luxe suede replacing Burberry trenches (OK, extreme I know), becoming all the rage.
You may wonder how my enthusiasm for sleepwear to be legalised as daywear came about. It was while browsing a mega-famous blog last year that I was introduced to the idea of antique ‘cocktail pyjamas.’ So lush in all their striped silk, wide-legged glory, and paired with a heart-warming, matching silk top; for me they were an instant hit and a predictable item of lust for the deeply style conscious. But more importantly, I could see their tyre-concealing benefits when guilty of downing carbohydrates by the bucket load.
Loungewear’s louche and secretive feel has been upgraded to lunchtime appropriate by replacing cotton with delicately breezy fabrics such as silk; making them far too prized to wear to bed. For pajama perfection look to the Resort 2012 collections from Suno, J Mendel and The Row.
