March 1, 2006
Pajama Crisis, But Not the Band
A Phillyist reader sent us an email discussing a growing problem in Philadelphia street style:
Dear Phillyist Style Guru (ed. note – “guru?” Flattery will get you EVERYWHERE, Joanna): Please tell me that I’m not turning into some crazy crotchety old lady. I can’t be the only one who thinks that wearing pajama bottoms out in public should NOT BE DONE.
While I dig Old Navy for their reasonable pricing and wide range of sizes, I hate them for what they have let loose on the streets. Any thoughts on when this fad will die?
Thanks,
Joanna
Joanna, you may, in fact, be turning into a crazy, crotchety old lady. Phillyist can not comment on that. However, what we can say is that on the pajama pants issue, we support you in your cause 100%.
Phillyist distinctly believes that certain clothes were created for certain purposes. Pajama bottoms definitely fall into this group. We also will extend this to work-out wear. No matter what some would have you believe, there is no reason for sweats and other work-out gear to be worn unless you are a) in a gym, b) on your way to or from a gym, or c) sitting on your sofa and not actually expecting to be seen by anyone.
Yes, we mean the sweat pants, the track suits, the bike shorts, the leotards -- these were created for exercising. They are functional, not fashionable clothes. They were not created for style, and therefore for the most part they’re horrifyingly unflattering. And, especially on men, they can be more… shall we say… “revealing” than most of us are comfortable with.
Looping back around to our main point, pajama bottoms are similarly functional items. No matter how cute the print (Phillyist is currently wearing ones with skulls on them!), the fact remains that they were created for the purpose of comfort and relaxation. Wearing them outdoors says of a person “I’m so lazy, I couldn’t be bothered to actually dress today!”
So yes, Joanna, we do agree, and while we cannot guess at when the fad will peter out, we can join you in hoping that it will be soon.
Feel free to write in your own style gripes and raves.
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Oh my god, I hate the sweatpants in public! HATE!
It's comforting to know I'm not alone :)
I hate to be the voice of dissention (ok, I don't really hate it), but I quite wish pajamas *were* acceptable in public. In fact, I often mourn the fact that they are not.
I think that the pajama bottom/gym wear issue is particularly bad in West Philly, as we have so many college kids here...While I understand the reasons why people want to wear them out of the house (comfort, mostly), they just aren't flattering at all. Also, really cute pj bottoms take the attention off of the person wearing them...you only really focus on the cute skulls, in the Phillyist's case...
glad to have you back, btw.
You think this is bad, you should come to China, where the PJ prints are horrendous (cute and scary) and ubiquitous!!! Ask the people at Shanghaiist.com