Fashion’s Latest Command: Pajamas for Daytime

­ Wednesday 6 Jan, 2016 in Fashion Leave a Comment

Loungy, silky sleepwear shows up on runways, at events and on the streets

Showing up at work in pajamas is a recurrent theme in many nightmares, so why do man-style PJs keep appearing on red carpets and streetwear blogs? The fashion industry seems bent on killing every taboo in the pursuit of newness.

Still, this is one crazy trend that has legs (literally). More chic than yoga wear and just as forgiving, pajamas are surprisingly versatile and can make sense as day wear or formal wear.

“It’s a languid, approachable way of [addressing] this season’s new eccentricity dressing, which Gucci is really owning right now,” says Sarah Rutson, vice president of global buying for luxury retailer Net-a-Porter. A favorite subject of street style blogs, Ms. Rutson traipsed about Milan in a set of big-floral print jams from the label For Restless Sleepers last September. She paired them with velvet heels, as a nod, she says, to the velvet slippers that are traditional men’s lounge footwear.

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Sarah Rutson wore pajamas from For Restless Sleepers at Milan fashion week this fall. Photo: Daniel Bruno Grandl

Worn head to toe, this is a high-fashion look. It’s best suited to social gatherings and formal affairs, where—paired with dressy shoes and a belt or shimmery blazer—elegant pajamas offer an eye-catching alternative to a gown or cocktail dress. New York-based stylist Heidi Bivens says that fine black satin PJs for formalwear “can be a hit, and not just with the eccentric crowd.”

Few offices or courtrooms are ready for this look. But analyzed in the clear light of day, it isn’t all that nutty. Pajama tops are a roomy version of a buttoned shirt or blouse; they’re easy to wear tucked into pants or a skirt or left loosely untucked. Pajama-style pants are forgiving enough to work for many figures. The best fits are slightly tailored with a firm flat waistband in front and elastic at the back. High fashion doesn’t get much more practical or comfortable than this.

Pajamas, in fact, have been appearing outside the bedroom since Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn wore them as androgynous loungewear. Hugh Hefner accessorized his PJs and bathrobe adroitly with a pipe and cravat. (Careful accessorizing is a key element of success in the pajamas-in-public look.)

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Pajamas for spring from the label For Restless Sleepers Photo: For Restless Sleepers

Pajamas had a moment in the 1980s when designer Marc Jacobs—one of the globe’s major trendsetters for the past quarter century—was earning his chops. Mr. Jacobs, who has been gadding about in PJs for years, has probably played a role in keeping this look smoldering for long enough that it seems poised to become a fashion perennial.

Celebrities from Rihanna to Rashida Jones have been making public appearances in pajamas for several seasons, and plenty of labels are catering to the whim.

Stylist Joshua Liebman created a pajama look for the Paris-based Maiyet label’s Resort 2016 collection by pairing a hammered silk pajama bottom with a tailored blazer. “The most important thing for women and men to keep in mind when looking to sport the sleep-wear look in the waking world is contrast,” Mr. Liebman says.

 

Heidi Klum in a pajama look at Los Angeles International Airport. Photo: Splash News/Corbis

Restless Sleepers was launched two years ago by Francesca Ruffini, who says she designed them because they’re the clothes she likes to wear casually. Ms. Ruffini, whose husband, Remo Ruffini, is chief executive of Moncler, makes pajamas in fine silks and cottons from Como, Italy, that are so well tailored that they border on being pantsuits. Net-a-porter began carrying them this fall and Ms. Rutson says they “blew out of stock.”
Two London labels—Yolke, and Sundays London— have nailed the crossover appeal, making roomy but sleekly tailored pajama sets intended to be worn to bed or out on the town. Thakoon, Alexander Wang, Dolce & Gabbana and other labels have been sprinkling pajamas fit for public wearing into their collections.
For more affordable versions, try pieces from Topshop or Zara. Customer reviews of Anthropologie’s “Chirpy” loungers—pajama pants with an eccentric bird print (unfortunately sold out) show that the pants were worn on planes and to run errands despite being billed as “sleep pants.” Some brands are riffing off the theme, such as Club Monaco, with its “Pajama Piqué Polo” shirt, which has PJ-like piping at the collar, sleeves and pocket.

 

A pajama-like top for spring on Sonia Rykiel’s runway. Photo: Getty Images

Bedroom slippers, too, have been making an appearance on runways—most memorably paired with Gucci’s kangaroo-lined slides, which the label has had to re-produce several times since last January to keep up with demand.

“Sleepwear is chic wear in the coolest closets,” says Neiman Marcus fashion director Ken Downing, who attributes the emergence of pajama pants on the streets to the widespread acceptance of track pants as fashion. “Stripes, florals and foulard prints, shimmering satins, and piped-edge details all add up to a fashion trend that translates as casually cool, day into evening.”

As with any look that borders on outré, it takes a deft touch to avoid looking like a fashion victim when heading out the door in pajamas. Remember: No childish prints. Leave the teddy bears for bed. Go with luxe fabrics like silk, satin, or fine-spun cotton.

 

 

A look from Thakoon for spring Photo: Getty Images

Accessorize conservatively. Go light on the jewelry. Those jams should be the center of attention. Dressy heels or flat sandals are a must. And don’t pair them with bedroom slippers.
Add a belt or sash for a more fitted look. Layer a dressy blazer over them to tighten the look up, or add a fine-gauge sweater.

Tanya Gill, a Los Angeles-based stylist and founder of the Iconhouse fashion and art blog, has worked with pajamas with clients such as Jane Fonda, who wore a Nicholas Oakwell robe to the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscars party. “The trick is to find a balance and mix the masculine with the feminine,” she notes, as well as a bit of “rebellious spirit.”