Are PJs Back In Fashion?

After a head teacher in Darlington said that parents wearing pyjamas to school may not giving a “good example” it becomes hard to believe that ...

16:35 02 February 2016

... pyjamas were once haute couture.

 

A head teacher of a British primary school has urged parents not to wear pyjamas when bringing their children to school, for fear of setting them a bad example. However, pyjamas were once at the very apex of fashion.

 

In 1870s, pyjamas were mainly nightwear for men as it was considered adventurous for women to wear trousers of any kind particularly in public. However, French designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel decided that baggy pyjama-style trousers – complete with a loose-fitting shirt or a sleeveless top – could spell out elegance and comfort.

 

Journalist Robert de Beauplan wrote in 1931: "There is a town in France, where summers start at the beginning of spring and ends at the end of autumn. There, you can see women wearing strange dresses. It's strictly speaking Pyjamapolis."

 

In the same year, Vogue magazine was advertising pyjamas as "woollen suits for the beach".

 

Fashion historian Amber Butchart added: "Throughout the 1930s the styles spread further and could be seen lining the beaches of Britain, yet trousers for women remained somewhat taboo outside of the relaxed dress codes of the beach or the privacy of the home until later in the century.”