Here is a question for you- why aren’t all clothes as comfortable as PJ’s? I’m seriously at my absolute most comfortably when I am putzing around the house in pajama bottoms, a bathrobe (I have one of those big, thick, terry-cloth ones- with pockets!), and slippers. Why can’t all my clothing feel like that? That Hugh Hefner might be on to something.
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henqiguai
I’m going with my own thinking along those lines and positing that a lose of a few (10’s) of pounds are in order. No ?
abo gato
I dunno, but you are making me laugh at the image of you.
A non PJ wearer, I have nothing to say. I sleep in a T-shirt and undies.
PurpleGirl
PJs tend to be larger and maybe not as tight as regular clothes, and usually people don’t wear underwear with PJs. Ditto for a bathrobe… large and roomy.
Blackfrancis
This is wrong:
https://www.pajamajeans.com
Pavlov's Dog
I switched to sweat pants with pockets 24/7 about ten years ago – Comfortable as PJ’s, but you can also leave the house in them to go out to eat and run errands. Can’t hardly stand to wear jeans anymore, feels like the belt is cutting into my waist every time I sit down.
The Dangerman
Speaking of comfort, I’m picking up a pair of Vibram Five Fingers tomorrow; test drove them yesterday and read reviews today. They are incredibly comfortable; I switched back to my regular shoes after the test and damn near bought them on the spot.
parsimon
Haven’t you noticed that increasing numbers of people wear sweatpants in public? There was a time when I’d have said that this was unacceptable, but my standards have relaxed over time: there’s something to be said for comfort, and we’d be lying to deny it.
@henqiguai: There’s a point there, true.
Blackfrancis
@parsimon: I have talked my wife out of wearing heels by lobbying for her comfort.
maye
or the bedoins.
MikeJ
I wear jeans when I hike, the ever more comfortable flannel trousers[1] if I have to see non programmers, chinos for hanging with the techies, cargo shorts knockin’ about the house, and sometimes in deep hack mode I just let my freak flag fly.
[1] Why are the most formal clothes I own the most comfortable? I swear if I didn’t have to worry about dry cleaning and premature wear I’d be far more dressed up all the time.
asiangrrlMN
@Pavlov’s Dog: I’m with you. I wear sweats for the most part. I haven’t worn jeans in about ten years. I sleep nekkid, so no PJs for me, either.
Michael D.
During non-work time, indoors, I wear shorts and a polo shirt, almost invariably. Even in winter.
mr. whipple
My Santa nightshirt is even more comfy than PJ’s, lets the boys breath.
tkogrumpy
I have been fortunate to be acquainted with a very talented seamstress/fashionista, who when suitably inspired can by persuaded to make me anything I want in any fabric I desire. I suggest you cultivate a similarly talented friend.
stuckinred
Sweats until it gets hot, then champion hoop shorts!
demz taters
What do you think the velour track suit is about?
Catsy
When I was growing up, my father worked in an ER, and he brought home a lot of pairs of scrubs. I started wearing them because they’re comfortable around the house, but they also make a great lightweight second layer underneath your pants; I much prefer them over long johns.
Maude
I wear flannel pj bottoms, a large Hanes white tee and my little blue LL Bean softie thing with long sleeves and buttons. And socks with the tops folded down below the ankle bone. I am lovely.
If they would make pjs that I could wear outside. I’d wear them.
My fashion statement is Sloberina.
stuckinred
Zona makin a run.
stuckinred
@demz taters: About 30 years dead. I have a picture of me on my yamaha RD 350 wearing a blue and red warmup. Ukin fugly.
bookcat
let’s be honest. we’ve all let ourselves go. and we’re ok with that.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@maye: I think the Bedouins have a much cooler style. Though I recognize that it’s a matter of taste.
stuckinred
Williams is a fucking BEAST!
Frank
Wasn’t it Jerry Seinfeld who said that once you’ve made the decision to wear sweats in public, you’ve pretty much given up on being attractive to your fellow human beings? Of course, he was exaggerating to make a comic point, but I do think that sweats are both a little frumpy and too revealing (for guys… women don’t have quite the same proper-fit challenges). Yup, quite comfy, but I no longer wear them in public unless I’m working out. Jammies at home though? Yes, about as comfortable as it gets: flannel pajama bottoms, a favorite long-sleeved tee-shirt… sign me up!
Gina
On a guy it would look weird, but my PJs are usually leggings and a tunic with a v-neck or really loose crew, all black. Then, when I have to walk a dog at some weird hour, I can go out and look as though I’m wearing clothes. Or trying to be a ninja.
On another note, I picked up my foster rottweiler girl today. She was taken in a big raid in Texas, over 200 rotties, plus 39 horses, two tigers, a couple of wild cats, some primate and some other types of dogs. Most of them have now been placed in rescues or foster homes, it was a bad puppy mill situation writ large. She’s a little timid, and has to learn new concepts like “stairs” and “bowls” and “indoor living”, but she’s already showing signs of being a quick learner and you can see the confidence building just in this one day. It’s very exciting, but scary too :-)
General Stuck
I lurves my PJs, but wouldn’t be caught dead in a bathrobe, though a pipe and buxom blonde hanging on my arm could persuade me /
malraux
I keep waiting for the day when Cole sheepishly admits that he just got done yelling at some kids to stay off his lawn.
Roger Moore
ISTR that there was a trend for college students to wear PJs to class a decade or so ago, so the idea of PJs outside the house is not new. I think the main reason it hasn’t caught fire is because people are worried about the bottoms slipping down in public.
demz taters
@stuckinred: Are you wearing Adidas sneakers too?
Roger Moore
@Blackfrancis:
There’s a woman at my work who wears those, or something very much like them. Don’t knock them until you’ve seen a woman with the right figure wearing them.
stuckinred
I guess living in a college town makes all this “what I wear in public” totally irrelevant. Or, as Groucho said, “Irrelevant, I shot an irrelevant in my pajamas today. How he got in my pajamas I’ll never know”!
gnomedad
I’m reminded of this Dilbert cover.
stuckinred
@demz taters: Then, yep. Now, New Balance in the cold and Sacouny once it warms up now.
erlking
One year, for Yule, my mother gave my 3 three brothers and I flannel pjs, robes and slippers–Mom loves a theme.
We looked like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: The Christmas Story.
I’ve never worn pjs, robes or slippers since–give me sweats.
arguingwithsignposts
you people must not spenf much time on college campuses (a joke). morning classes are often full of pajamas.
Eta I see othees got there already.
rikyrah
this was just a funny post.
I think it’s because, as a woman, I could care less about if my hair is done, or makeup, and I can just ‘be’, in my nighties.
stuckinred
@arguingwithsignposts: thanking you
gogol's wife
@arguingwithsignposts:
Mostly on men though. It’s kind of cute.
Jaquandor
This is why I live in bib overalls. (Seriously.)
Poopyman
Have you thought of accessorizing with Cheeto’s? I hear that’s what all the cool kids are doing.
stuckinred
@Jaquandor: My bride calls em Overhalls!
RedKitten
I’m a big fan of the yoga pant. Not that I have the yoga ass, but what are you gonna do? Black yoga pants and a nice waffle-knit henley, and I’m good to go. I can even run out to get the mail, or down to the corner store for milk. But then for the latter, I really do feel like I’ve got to put on a bra, so at that point, I just say “fuck it” and do the full shower/get dressed routine.
Maude
@arguingwithsignposts:
I went to a college where there were a lot of witches and warlocks. They were the sweetest people I’ve ever known.
We all dressed informally.
stuckinred
Sweats at the plate!
Yutsano
@RedKitten: No matter what I’m wearing, I can’t leave the house without a shower. I have to do at least that much, even if it’s the weekend and I’m just running out to get a quick bite. Quirk of my personality I guess.
stuckinred
It’s a barn burner in Anaheim!
asiangrrlMN
Go ‘Zona. Making the game interesting.
stuckinred
The Huskies prevail!
mr. whipple
Phew. Good games today.
CaseyL
You can find non-PJs as comfy as PJs. The two things that make PJs so comfy are the thinness of the fabric, and the elastic waistband.
The trick is to find street clothing also made of thin-fabric natural materials. Old Navy seems to specialize in clothes made of very thin, light cotton. The clothes are not terribly durable (I machine wash but line-dry them, and they still develop holes after a few months) but my god are they comfy.
Elastic-waistband pants are no longer an automatic crime of fashion, although this might be one area in which men’s fasions lag behind women’s. My jeans are all “jeggings”- thin fabric and elastic waistband – and I adore them.
Just Some Fuckhead
I think the hoodie is the most perfect article of clothing.
Yutsano
@Just Some Fuckhead:
I always knew there was something not quite right about you.
gbear
Pajama pants are the rule at my house when just hanging around, but I don’t like bathrobes because the front won’t stay overlapped. I’ve got a XXLT flannel shirt that I throw on as a top.
I have seen a few young bucks in my neighborhood wearing pajama pants out in public. One of them even wore them with the pockets pulled inside out. So cool…
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@CaseyL:
You stole part one of my argument, dammit!
Part two: I just went to the grocery store. It’s 30 degrees and windy outside. What I lost in tactile sensation and range of motion by wearing a hoody under leather was made up in warmth.
MikeJ
@arguingwithsignposts:
My gfriend went in boxers and my button down, when she could get away from me. Nothing hotter than a girl in your shirt.
JGabriel
John Cole @ Top:
In fact, Chinos / Khakis started sartorial life as pajama bottoms:
So, it’s quite possible that today’s pajamas will be the basis for tomorrow’s daily business casual wear. Many would argue that, in the blogosphere, this has already happened.
.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
John Cole proving he ain’t too proud to bleg for an invite to the Playboy mansion.
Litlebritdifrnt
I have to admit that on the weekends I live in my PJs, they are so cute, with dragonflies all over them. I would never however go to the store in them, I am one of those anal people who get changed from PJ to jeans and a sweat shirt to go to the store, and I would never in a million years think of going to court in them like so many people I see do. I mean seriously you show up for traffic court in PJ bottoms?
JPL
Must be Saturday night because the BJer’s are talking about comfy clothes.
Buck
A friend of mine once said Michael Jackson could record a fart and people would rush to buy the album.
I think he’s onto something there.
WaterGirl
@asiangrrlMN: You guys have this all wrong. PJs are what you wear around the house after you get home for the day, and nekkid is how you sleep. All those other clothes are for whenever you leave the house.
I went to Iowa for the 10 days in January just before Iowa primary. It was cold and snowy and you’d tramp from house to house, and you only got to canvas until about 5:30 or 6:00 at the latest. In almost every case, if a woman answered the door after 4:30 she would be wearing PJs, usually flannel, always cute or fun.
Litlebritdifrnt
@RedKitten:
A bra is a luxury for me, I was blessed with small boobies, so I can still pass the pencil test at age 50. I have discovered however that wearing anything that is heavily embroidered (like many of my sweatshirts) is torture on the nipples if going bra less. I have now chosen to wear camisoles as opposed to bras. Works for me.
WaterGirl
@stuckinred: Why the different brand of shoes for different weather?
asiangrrlMN
@WaterGirl: Well, I do sleep nekkid. I just don’t have PJs. I have comfy sweats instead. Same diff.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Litlebritdifrnt: You would not believe some of the things people show up for court wearing. And it doesn’t help that everything is so casual now. Used to be, you could tell a client “dress like you would for church/temple/a funeral,” and they would look quite presentable, or even *really* dressed nicely and formally. These days that speech will get you chinos and a clean henley on a good day. Sigh.
WaterGirl
@RedKitten: What are yoga pants and where do you get them?
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
mmm girls in yoga pants. that is all.
WaterGirl
@stuckinred: That’s the stuckinred I knew!
Gary Farber
Oh, wait, another open thread with only 68 comments! Was trying to point to this on The Most Dangerous Professor In America, Zeno’s background, etc.
Omnes Omnibus
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I once had a client show up for a hearing in cargo shorts, flip-flops, and an Ed Hardy t-shirt.
S. cerevisiae
UMD beats #1 ranked Yale to advance to the Frozen Four. GO BULLDOGS!!
Scott P.
I absolutely hate pajamas. I got rid of mine 20 years ago (except a couple of pairs that I keep when I visit relatives) and have never looked back. I do use a robe when it’s cold, however.
WaterGirl
@Scott P.: Hey, that’s when I got rid of my iron!
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: I was on jury duty once, and in the deliberation room one of the other jurors said the defendant or one of the witnesses, “She wore a t-shirt. I didn’t believe a thing that she said.”
Edit: I also have to confess that I joked about showing up for jury duty in a t-shirt that would say “You, too, can buy justice”, but at least I was smart enough not to do it.
stuckinred
@WaterGirl: The NB are solid and the Saucoy’s are meshed. We walk very early and my old feets get cold easy.
stuckinred
@Litlebritdifrnt: The itty bitty titty committee!
stuckinred
@WaterGirl: Many years ago I was up on a trumped up A&B charge in Champaign (around the time of that picture). I didn’t own a sport coat so I borrowed that was about 4 sizes too and hung it over my arm and tied my ponytail with a hair tie in court. Coasted through that trial!
WaterGirl
@stuckinred: Did you see the movie Junior High School?
stuckinred
@WaterGirl: Nopester
eta, huh the google says it’s on youtube. You seen Quadrophenia?
MizB
I have a hoodie bathrobe-love it!
Parallel 5ths (Ionian Steel)
John, I feel you. It is motherfucking dish-dash time for the west, if you ask me.
stuckinred
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
RedKitten
They’re basically just a snug, thin sweatpant with a boot-cut leg. You can get fancy brand-name ones, or you can just get ’em in the same place you can find sweatpants, usually.
Roger Moore
@stuckinred:
Does two constitute a committee, or do you know something about brit that the rest of us don’t?
srv
All the girls (even college age) travel in flannel PJ’s now. Only a matter of time before they’re wearing them around town.
Better than the bike short crowd. I made a crazy prediction I’d see someone wearing bike shorts at church by 1999 back in the mid-80’s or so. Didn’t even finish the decade before that happened.
somethingblue
@Poopyman: I can’t believe we had to wait until #40 for the Cheetos allusion.
Roger Moore
Is everybody else (or at least everybody else who isn’t using ad blocking software) getting pajama ads?
Kirk Spencer
One word: fit. If your clothes and shoes fit correctly, they’re very comfortable. If they don’t, they pinch and grab and pull and rub.
Since most of us can’t or won’t pay for clothing and shoes that fit – instead buying off-the-rack – the second best option is a combination of roominess and light weight. Roominess means most of the pinching and squeezing and such don’t happen, and the light weight means when it does happen it’s not very hard.
If you’ve got the money (and someone who is buying a duffel bag of chamomile tea might just fit), get some clothes made by a good seamstress or tailor. Find a shoemaker and do the same for one pair of dress shoes and one pair of shoes to wear when you walk the dog.
I’m speaking as someone who paid a /chunk/ of money several years ago for a pair of boots that I still wear – usually in preference to running shoes – as well as having some well-fit clothes (relative who is a pro seamstress, and I sew fairly well myself).
WaterGirl
@stuckinred: Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it’s on youtube. They have a song about the itty bitty titty committee in that movie, and until you wrote that here, I had never seen that reference anywhere else, ever. I don’t know how the movie would have held up over the decades, but it was laugh out loud material when I saw it.
Quadrophina. Loved the album, cannot recall whether I every saw the movie. I have a good memory, but I have only met one other person who has your sense of recall for details from that long ago.
Edit: I see that the YouTube video is only the opening number. i’m really bummed. My copy of junior high school is on VHS, so I don’t have a way to play it.
WaterGirl
@Kirk Spencer: Kirk, I tried to catch you on another thread the other day. i was trying to remember whether you are the person who was going through a mortgage nightmare (my first thought) or the person whose kitty died shortly after mine did (second thought).
But either way when I saw your name I wondered how you are doing.
WereBear
I cannot STAND clothes that pin and rub and so forth! Fortunately, my geekwear at work is cotton pants or corduroys, with soft sweaters this time of year.
Hanes has cotton knit pants suitable for running out to the grocery store. They are comfy enough for home, or as pajamas.
andy
PJ’s don’t bite and chafe and nobody will look at you funny like they do at work when you have to do a sack adjustment.
I made an osso bucco today, but lacking PJs I just wore my underwear.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40964542@N08/5562395043/
WaterGirl
@andy: Kind of afraid to click the link, it’s not clear whether we will see osso bucco OR some guy just wearing underwear. :-)
Corner Stone
@srv:
It’s fucking crazy, right? Go to IAH or Hobby and just look around at all the girls in fucking PJ’s. They’ve got PJ bottoms, some soft cotton t-shirt, flip flops and over the ear headsets connected to iPods.
I’m like, “where the hell are you going? 8th grade?”
Corner Stone
@MikeJ:
Actually, there is one thing hotter.
Corner Stone
Who does this?
If I’m in my house it is not safe for neighbors to open the door. We have a long standing tradition of getting “comfortable” once inside the house.
WaterGirl
@Corner Stone: What bothers you about that? I think it’s great. Why not be comfortable?
WaterGirl
I’ve been thinking about the workers in Japan who are risking their lives at the nuclear facilities. When the miner’s were trapped in Chile, we knew there were 33 of them, we saw their pictures, we knew who was married and all sorts of things about them.
I believe these guys are risking their lives; some have died and others have been hospitalized, but we don’t know a thing about them. I’d like to see their photos lined up in a row like the 33 miners. They are nameless, faceless heroes, and i think we should be hearing about them.
I’d also like to see pictures and details about the idiots who were in charge and made the bad decisions (lack of inspections, etc) that contributed to the problem, which would make it obvious that the ones who got us into this are not the people who are risking their lives now.
mclaren
If you wear a sarong or a kimono, they are. Only Western clothes are uncomfortable.
suzanne
@Roger Moore:
I was an undergrad a decade ago, and I have no problem admitting that I did this with a fair amount of regularity. Not because I gave a flying fuck about any fashion trend, but because I often rolled out of bed right before class.
I am growing tired of jeans, too. I have a small waist and a big arse, and it’s nigh impossible to find jeans that don’t show the entire world my asscrack without looking like fuckin’ mom jeans. Yoga pants from Old Navy fit the bill nicely in the winter, and I wear sundresses most of the summer. I have to dress all professionally-like for the new job, so I am looking for skirts.
Southern Beale
Stephen Colbert did a parody of the Snuggie ads that answers that question.
FlipYrWhig
Are we talking clothes to wear around the house, or clothes to wear in public? Because I believe wholeheartedly that those two areas should be _sharply_ demarcated. I’m only wearing sweat-anything to a place where I will make a concerted effort to make myself sweat.
Southern Beale
Oh yeah and men who complain about how uncomfortable clothes are can bite me. Women are supposed to wear high heels and stockings and brassieres and all manner of uncomfortable restrictive crap because society dictates it. Fuck that shit. I’m glad I’m self employed.
I had a boss tell me I had to wear nylons to work once. I said forget it, I didn’t want the job that bad.
hilts
@WaterGirl:
Great idea.
licensed to kill time
If you’ve ever spent time in Central Asia, you will have known the joy of wearing shalwar kameez. Absolutely the most comfy clothes around and quite a bit like wearing your pj’s all day. I always reluctantly put them aside on returning to the West and our horribly restrictive clothing.
mclaren is spot on with the sarong/lungi choice, too. Pretty much requires a tropical climate though.
JenJen
Late to the party, obvs, but Cole, it’s time to mix up some White Russians, go bowling and be done with it.
Pat
I guess John hasn’t visited any Wal-Marts lately.
bob h
In Shenghai you do see men out and about in their pajamas. Mostly in the evening, if I remember.
Nylund
Ever try to chop wood in a tux? The vest, cumberbund, coat, and tie really restrict your movement. You can’t do manual labor comfortably in fancy clothes. That’s the point. You’re signaling to the world that you are so above the low-class world of manual labor that you can wear clothes that make it impossible for you to actually do manual labor. By contrast, for a long time, anything comfy or durable signaled that you were low class.
But, in this case, I think its cuz a bathrobe would really suck if worn out in the rain. You don’t necessarily want outdoor clothes to be soft and absorbent.
denali
Here’s the answer, John:
pajamagram.com – no I do not work for the company, but I do live in the fleece tops and bottoms all winter at home.