Opinion: Life is now a pajama party

Nov 26, 2023

Maxim Jago, from left, Marianna, Mo Samb, Mylagnew and Dave DeBorde attend the Cannes Pajama Party on May 18, 2023 in Cannes, France.

When it comes to fashion, I’ll be the first to admit I’m behind the times. Way behind the times, even though we raised four daughters, who thought they were destined to graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology as super models or the next Vera Wang.

I just can't catch up with the times, which means to say I’m lost somewhere in the 1970s, when they were wearing leisure suits and those hip-length Nehru jackets. (I still have mine in the attic.)

On the other hand, I introduced my daughters to natural fibers at a young age, for the greater good of humanity because I wanted to wean them off those nasty petroleum-based polyester fabrics, which brings me to my next point.

If Joe Biden is truly committed to saving the planet, after he saves the border, I suggest that in addition to banning gas-powered vehicles, gas stoves and my oil furnace, he should ban polyester. You’ll never read this in Vogue, but polyester production contributes to climate change, and in one year it emits more than 285 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. You see, the fashion industry is one of the world's worst polluters, so Joe and Anna Wintour better get serious about climate change. It's time to get rid of spandex and all those other synthetic fibers.

As far as fashion goes, my preference is to be out of fashion. A few weeks ago I was wandering through Trader Joe's, looking for the kind of delicacies you can only find there, such as Grade A extra-large brown organic eggs, laid by vegetarian cage-free chickens that are fed antibiotic-free grain and practice transcendental meditation.

While reading labels, which has become my favorite pastime, I bumped into a guy who was wearing the same slippers I own. But mine were at home.

I guess it's OK to wear slippers in public, and I admit that I wear mine to the mailbox, but he was wearing pajama bottoms too. At first, I thought this might be some senior fashion statement because the guy was older than me. Or perhaps to beat the crowds, he jumped out of bed early and drove to the store in his sleepwear.

Shortly after, I got an email from my friend, who gave a talk at the local high school and came away with this observation: "I didn't realize classroom pajamas were a thing. Walking, or more correctly racing, through the hallways between classes made me think the clothing donation boxes had been raided. I just didn't know. My bad."

He was on to something. Pretty soon I started noticing more people of every demographic — teenager, middle-ager and geezer — wearing pajamas in public.

Was this a fashion statement or a revolt against the established order? Sort of a non-conformist, individualist, Henry David Thoreau rebellion?

Occasionally, I find myself running outside in my pajamas when the Amazon delivery man comes at night, but I actually hate pajamas because I can't find a pair that fits, so I plan to take mine for alterations to Franco, my Italian tailor.

After doing a little research, I realized I was still behind the times when I read a column by a fashion writer with the headline, "Why Stylish Guys Everywhere Are Wearing Pajamas in Public."

These fashionistas don't use words like "PJs." They say "loungewear," which reminds me of a term they used in the good old days — "lounge lizard." They were slippery guys whose professional career consisted of skulking around singles bars, making the moves on women.

One of the pioneers in the lounge lizard movement was Hugh Hefner, known for his silk smoking jacket, his pipe and his slippers, which was probably appropriate attire for a guy who spent the day bed-hopping from orgy to orgy in his mansion. Now, I’m not passing judgment. As a young man, I may have even read Playboy once or twice for the articles on nuclear disarmament.

Since I love the relaxed look, the next time I go to the dental hygienist or the dump I may wear my pajamas. As the experts say, " ‘Pajama dressing’ is chic and totally acceptable." My pajamas, however, will be flannel, not silk.

Apparently, the pajama movement has been gaining popularity for some time. The COVID pandemic increased sales of sleepwear because office workers and students were afraid to leave their bedrooms without a permission slip from Dr. Fauci, so they wore pajamas during conference calls and biology classes on Zoom.

Never to be left behind when it comes to conformity, celebrities jumped on board too. When one of them is photographed doing something outre, you can be sure several hundred will be photographed doing the same thing a day later.

Pretty soon the likes of Kirsten Dunst, Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez, Kate Moss and a lot of others were in public wearing luxurious silk and cashmere pajamas and taking selfie photos of themselves to post on social media. As long as it has a designer label, they’re happy. It's the American way.

Former Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time Editor Joe Pisani can be reached at [email protected].