Pajamas, but not on TV.

September 4, 2006 10:56 PM

Do any men actually wear old-school pajamas to bed?

Take a look at these plain-old men's pajamas. I don't wear something like that to bed, and never have. I don't know of any of my male friends who do, either.

We've been watching The Wire. In the DVDs for season 1, they mention that the male characters wear these kinds of old-school pajamas, though nobody actually does that in real life. We're watching the show again, and the question came up again. So, hive mind, has anybody spotted these in the wild? Anybody under the age of 40? Once in a while, or every night?

posted by anildash to clothing, beauty, & fashion (48 comments total)

If I'm feeling cold, then I will wear pyjamas (just getting the obvious out of the way). Mine have penguins on them.
posted by alexei at 11:02 PM on September 4, 2006

i never wore a pajamas in my life, and actually have been sleeping in the nude my whole life, come to think of it.
posted by growabrain at 11:03 PM on September 4, 2006

Yes, very similar to those ones, and I'm under forty. But not every night. Of course, I'm in New Zealand, where we don't yet have electric power and I churn butter for my toast every morning.
posted by Paragon at 11:06 PM on September 4, 2006 [2 favorites has favorites]

I just turned 41, and I'm seriously thinking about pajamas, at least for the winter. Thus far, I've pretty much always slept naked, though.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:32 PM on September 4, 2006

Just putting a female perspective and my 2 cents in here, but those are kinda sexy. And you can share the set. Your female partner wears the top and you wear the bottoms. :)
posted by PsychoKitty at 11:36 PM on September 4, 2006 [2 favorites has favorites]

I'm under 40, I do it in real life, and I actually have a preference for pajamas with pullover tops instead of buttons. Not only that, but as far as I know there is only one place within 60 miles of here who sells them in this form. I don't wear them every night, but I do on most nights, and I also have more sheet-y ones for summer and flannel for winter. I live in a warm climate that doesn't dictate bedclothes, it's just something that stuck with me. One thing that it does make practical is sleeping with a window open without having to have the covers half up over my face when the temperature is under 72 degrees.

On a demographic tip, while I do have a personality and some style, you wouldn't know me as a pajama wearer walking down the street. The ladies haven't minded at all, though some have appreciated it particulary as a quirk, and in fact I've found that women like to wear them.
posted by rhizome at 11:36 PM on September 4, 2006

Pshaw. I wear nothing to bed but a few drops of Chanel No 5 and a smile.
posted by Justinian at 11:43 PM on September 4, 2006

I had a pair or two growing up. I think I wore them on Christmas morning, and that was about it.
posted by trevyn at 11:45 PM on September 4, 2006

Growing up I was either in my undies or in sweatpants. Lately though I've been using pajama bottoms (H&M sells them) and, if chilly, a tank top.
posted by Brian James at 11:55 PM on September 4, 2006

My boyfriend used to wear them, but he seems to have traded in the formal tops for something a bit lighter as of late.

Oh, and we're in our (very!) early twenties.
posted by anjamu at 12:12 AM on September 5, 2006

Yeah - I got some recently: it's opened up a whole new world to me. I don't wear them to bed (although I will in the winter), but more as pre-bedwear - after working out and showering in the evening. You actually start looking forward to putting them on, because you equate wearing them with being in a relaxed state. And if you get a nice set, they're so much hotter than sweatpants or whatever else you usually lounge around in.
posted by forallmankind at 12:15 AM on September 5, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

I used to wear them until a year ago, but I've since foregone them in favour of underpants and haven't looked back since.

17, by the way.
posted by PuGZ at 12:22 AM on September 5, 2006

I have been wearing them occasionally for a few years. I'm 34. Among their other benefits, they have one you might not have considered: I have somewhat oily skin, and I find that wearing pajamas extends the lives of my sheets quite a bit.
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:23 AM on September 5, 2006

Some time in my teens, I stopped wearing pajamas. Some time around 30, I realised that they are warm in winter and that with a suitably patterned pair I could pretend I was Clark Gable. Also, once you have children you appreciate their ability to protect you from embarassing moments in the hall.

I only wear them in winter though. Like Paragon I live in New Zealand and we don't do central heating.

(36/M/Auckland)
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:48 AM on September 5, 2006

Another report of pajama spotting in the wild here. Also, happy birthday Anil!
posted by judith at 5:00 AM on September 5, 2006

Does anyone make adult-sized footie pajamas? That would be cool.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 5:10 AM on September 5, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'm 38, and I wear pajamas in winter. They're fun.
posted by dmo at 5:19 AM on September 5, 2006

My Dad wears 'em every night, year-round, but he's in his mid-50s.
posted by callmejay at 6:01 AM on September 5, 2006

Another vote for "I wear 'em when it's cold." I have a pair of flannel pajamas that I essentially only own so that when I go back to visit my parents for Christmas in the Everlasting Ices of the North (a.k.a. Winnipeg, Manitoba), I don't freeze overnight.
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:11 AM on September 5, 2006

I used to have pj's like that, but flannel. I would wear them in the winter because, well, it's cold, and I don't like having big heavy duvets on top of me.
posted by antifuse at 6:21 AM on September 5, 2006

My partner's in his mid-20s and he wears them in winter. There's a seasonal progression that goes from shorts + t-shirt to pyjama pants + t-shirt to pyjama set with button-down shirt as it gets colder. We're in New England. Last winter he was going crazy trying to find a decent new set.
posted by cobaltnine at 6:21 AM on September 5, 2006

Oh, and I had them from when I was like 17. :)
posted by antifuse at 6:22 AM on September 5, 2006

Yet another 'when it's cold'. But that seriously means cold. Like, minus twenty outside and the heating isn't working properly.

Haven't had a need for years, thanks to the warmer climate I live in now.
posted by slimepuppy at 6:22 AM on September 5, 2006

I'm 29 and wear flanel ones similar to those you linked to in the winter, and sometimes cotton ones in the summer (usually bottoms only with an old t-shirt).

If I'm not wearing them, I'll even put them on in the morning to eat breakfast at the weekend - the experience of reading the paper, drinking a cup of tea and eating a bacon sandwich is improved immeasurably if you're wearing pajamas. (This is how I discovered the purpose of the seemingly needless breast pocket - it's the right size for a packet of fags and a lighter.)
posted by jack_mo at 6:28 AM on September 5, 2006

I'm under 40 [38 today! happy birthday Anil!] and I am wearing a pair of pajamas almost exactly like the ones in that photo. I switch to flannel in the wintertime. However, I know almost no men, of any age, who wear them. They seem to have their own internal heating system which mystifies and intrigues me. Most guys I know sleep in boxers/underwear.

For me the pajamas thing means that if I don't have to get up and leave the house -- a lot of my work is work-at-home work -- I don't have to get dressed at all to go get breakfast, fill the birdfeeders or answer the door. I also spend a lot of time travelling and visiting people and part of the pj thing is having something that modest-old-me feels decent about sleeping in if I'm on a futon in the middle of someone's living room.
posted by jessamyn at 6:31 AM on September 5, 2006

My father wears them. As far as I know all the time, though I think he may forego the top when it's really hot out. He's in his 70s though.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:41 AM on September 5, 2006

I'd add myself to the < 40 pajama wearers. Just the bottom half though. A lot of folk just seem keen on them when it's cold; personally I only wear mine when it's an unpleasantly hot and humid night - skin on cotton is far nicer to me than skin on skin under those circumstances.
posted by adamt at 6:52 AM on September 5, 2006

TheOnlyCoolTim: yes.

Fiancé and I both wear long pajama pants like that, but usually a t-shirt or tank on top. With the button-down tops, the I find that the button placket rubs uncomfortably.
posted by miagaille at 6:53 AM on September 5, 2006

I'm under 30, and I wear bottoms but not the top. Light fabrics for warm months, and heavier in the winter months.

At least when it's warm out, it allows me to walk the dog without having to get dressed (just throw on a shirt and sandals...) And it's just generally comfortable.
posted by inigo2 at 6:54 AM on September 5, 2006

My husband doesn't, but I would love to snuggle up to a nice, grown-up man with a hairy chest (he has all that) wearing a pair of flannel pyjamas.

I think they're both cosy and sexy. Mm... flannel pyjamas. I just want to reach out and cuddle with a man who wears flannel (or summer PJs, if it's summer) pyjamas.

Bring back the pyjamas! Much sexier than wearing underwear to bed. (Boxers excepted. I also love boxer shorts.)
posted by Savannah at 6:54 AM on September 5, 2006

I'm under 40 and for years now I have worn pyjama bottoms with a t-shirt on top. Joe Boxer has made a business of selling those kind of bottoms - woven cotton, not jersey - for a long time and I have half a dozen pairs in rotation all the time.

(I also think it's quaint that 40 could be conceived of as any kind of dividing line on such a thing!)
posted by mikel at 6:55 AM on September 5, 2006

Mark me down in the "sleeping commando" category.
posted by browse at 7:30 AM on September 5, 2006

I'm under 40 and I'm looking for more pajamas. Mom's always gotten me pajamas for christmas, but stopped a few years ago. I think I'm going to ask for a pair this christmas.

Added bonus: Unlike boxers or sweats, properly designed, loose pajamas don't seem to bind the male bits if you're as active as a sleeper as I am.
posted by SpecialK at 7:36 AM on September 5, 2006

My younger brother wears them and he's like 27. He also will wear the 18th Century-looking nightshirts that Brooks Brothers sells. He's the kind of dude who's always been into the grandpa aesthetic, though: golf clothes, tam-o-shanters, cardigans, etc.
posted by mattbucher at 7:46 AM on September 5, 2006

Now that I think about it, my early-30s husband would totally wear dadjamas in the post-dinner, pre-bed hours if some were to magically appear in his Comfy Pants drawer. My mom's always asking what to get him for Christmas, and now I have an answer.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:51 AM on September 5, 2006

I'm in my thirties, and I'm wearing pajamas l as I write this. I started after I had a kid -- you never know when you'll have to leap out of bed to save the universe (or realize that your kids are still sleeping so you should grab some computer time while you can). I'm a woman, though, so maybe that disqualifies me.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:07 AM on September 5, 2006

Does anyone make adult-sized footie pajamas? That would be cool.

"Cool" isn't the first word that springs to mind...
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:10 AM on September 5, 2006

Oh, corpse, now I've gotta spend precious cranial resources trying to delete those images!
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 8:24 AM on September 5, 2006

I've always been a restless sleeper, and while growing up I found it harder and harder to fall asleep while clothed. First I ditched the pj top in favor of a t-shirt, then I got rid of the bottoms, then bid adieu to the t-shirt, and have been sleeping nekkid for almost a decade now.

Not only do I feel more comfortable, unemcumbered, and better able to control how warm I am, nekkid sleeping also has the benefit of potentially traumatizing any burglars I may have to confront in the middle of the night.

I still keep a pair of pj bottoms to throw on come morning, though.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:30 AM on September 5, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

This over-50 man stopped wearing his PJs around age 12. Instead, after the evening bath, I put on tomorrow's fresh underwear, and that's what I wear to bed. When it's cold at night, and nature calls, I reach for a bathrobe.

To those who wear pajamas "when it's cold" I say, get another blanket.
posted by Rash at 9:01 AM on September 5, 2006

I live in a loft that is unheated, so I have a pair of those old-school pinstripe flannel pajamas, and like forallmankind I rarely, if ever wear them to bed. They're great for lounging around in though, I like them better than my housecoat. But if it's below -20, I don the housecoat as well. They also come in handy when I'm visiting parents or friends. I'm 25 btw.
posted by glip at 9:09 AM on September 5, 2006

I wear a union suit. Okay, not really, but one of these days...

I usually wear an old t-shirt and a baggy pair of "lounge pants" from Target, which are basically pajama bottoms.
posted by keswick at 9:39 AM on September 5, 2006

This late fifties man wears 'em, year-round, flannel in winter. When my wife and I got married 33 years ago, my mother tucked a variety of gifts into the car, with notes -- useful stuff for the apartment, kind of thing. Among which, a pair of PJs with a note to the effect: "I realize that wearing anything to bed is the farthest thing from your mind these days, but at some point you'll decide to start wearing bedclothes again. So keep these handy." She was right.
posted by beagle at 9:40 AM on September 5, 2006

I slept naked all my life, but a few years ago I decided to make a change for the sake of change and started wearing them. I'm partial to the Derek Rose brand (elastic instead of drawstring waists). The top buttons, but I put it on and off like a pullover. I really enjoy wearing pajamas now, and they're very handy when I'm an overnight guest at friends and relatives.
posted by LeisureGuy at 11:19 AM on September 5, 2006

I'm 34 and can't even wear u-trau to bed.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:34 PM on September 5, 2006

Naked, baby, naked.
posted by keijo at 9:31 PM on September 5, 2006

To those who wear pajamas "when it's cold" I say, get another blanket.

Well, some of us prefer not to have big heavy blankets heaped on top of us while we sleep. The same way that you prefer to sleep in your undies. Live with it.
posted by antifuse at 4:14 AM on September 6, 2006

Yes, and I'm 25. Sometimes I just put them on in the morning and wear them under my clothes all day.
posted by drumcorpse at 2:28 PM on September 6, 2006