If there is one leisure outfit I prefer to wear most, itโs the comfy, homey pyjama that warmly wraps my lower body to the ankles.
Like comfort food, a perfectly fitting, well-tailored pyjama is the comfort wear at the end of the day.
My preference for pyjama material is not the regular cotton, โcotton-enrichedโ or synthetic, but the ever-soft 100 per cent flannel.
With its versatility, adjustments at the waistline by tightening the string back and forth, the pyjama is indeed a remarkable nightdress.
Whosoever conceived and tuned into this relaxed masterpiece deserves a Nobel. Peace may be elusive, but pyjamas certainly offer a truce gear in our daily combats.
Why Did the West Send Pyjamas to Bed?
Which raises a serious question: how did this noble attire get demoted to a night-only role in Western fashion? Who decided it should sleep all day and only work the graveyard shift?
In India and much of the East, the pyjama is still part of day dress โ like the fashionable pyjama-kurta suit combination worn as festive and celebratory attire, in parks for morning or evening walks, for after-dinner visits to the paan shop, even walking into the office, as well as for simply relaxing on weekends with full dignity intact.
School Days and Drawstring Dramas
I vividly remember white, well-ironed pyjamas with a matching almond-coloured shirt as our school uniform during the winter months. It warmed the legs in the cold classroom.
However, there was a recurring childhood hazard: the drawstring firmly tied in its knots, refusing to open without adult intervention โ or divine grace.
Then there was my uncle, fondly known as Pal Chacha-ji, a man of routine and remarkable laundry confidence. He wore a starched white pyjama and long white kameez by day, by night as his nightdress โ and again the next day, the same outfit, same elegance, same certainty. Always fresh. Every day. Year-round.
Will Pyjamas Reclaim the Day?
So, will the pyjama ever reclaim daylight hours in the West? Will it stride confidently into a Friday casual or an evening dine-out?
If that day comes, three-piece suits may politely step aside, ties can loosen themselves, and the world can finally RSVP to the pyjama party.
The Great Flannel Hunt
Since a pyjama is an indispensable part of my bodyโs wear and tear, I recently had to spend quite some time finding the right one.
The mission was simple but strict: flannel, plain colour, no-nonsense designs.
From Amazon to almost every store in the big malls, I could hardly find one matching my narrow choices. Salvation finally arrived at Winners, where I struck pyjama gold โ two perfectly tailored flannel pyjamas, made in Bangladesh, at a comforting $19 each. Patience and positivity finally get rewarded.
The Economics of Sleepwear
One sobering discovery along the way: pyjamas are not cheap sleepers.
In winter, their prices wake up aggressively โ $49 and climbing. As the season dozes off, discounts roll in, sometimes plunging 60 per cent or more. But by then, only large, extra-large, and wish-I-were-taller sizes remain. The Medium and the Small ones are left window-shopping.
Comfort Over Fashion
Still, I persist.
Because some people chase fashion. I chase comfort.
And at the end of the day, when the world undresses its showiness, the pyjama offers an utterly flannel-tastic and peaceful comfort.
