Ideally, modern-day pyjamas
should be as elegant as they are comfortable. “Like beautiful sheets, the feel and aesthetic
of your nightwear is one of life’s pleasures,” says Emma Willis, whose Jermyn
Street shirt-making emporium produces some of the finest jammies
available to man. “For
summer I love linen night wear,” Willis continues. “We make linen
pyjamas and boxer shorts as
well as separate PJ trousers, with two mother of pearl buttons on
the waistband and fly. For Winter nightwear, our online
dressing gown and pyjama collection - available all year round – is
made in [a hybrid of] brush cotton and cashmere and Swiss cotton,
known as cashmerello, which is soft and warm to wear.”
Meanwhile, Anderson &
Sheppard has created a range of garments, in linen, which can be
worn in the daytime or as bed-wear. “They’re a huge hit,” says
Audie Charles, the Savile Row legend who now runs the house’s
haberdashery in Clifford Street. “The trousers have button flies,
while the jacket is simple, with no trim – completely anonymous.”
To give them a test run, Anderson & Sheppard actually gave the
now sadly departed A.A. Gill a set to wear on a trip to Rome. “Everyone kept
asking him where he got his navy summer suit, and he’d just answer,
‘Well actually I’m in my pyjamas.’” They come in hot pinks, emerald
green, navy, white and china blue.
David Gandy for Autograph does
an excellent sporty range, with the short-sleeved, above-knee
option great for the summer months (just don’t expect to look like
he does modelling them), while Zegna’s Prussian blue pyjamas, with
jersey plain blue button-down shirt and woven cotton, feature
subtly patterned trousers and are a, similarly, a great cut for an
average or slim figure.
The Rake’s long-standing cordial
relationship with Rubinacci, meanwhile, takes on a nocturnal tinge
with a trio of linen and silk pyjamas available from Rake’s
e-commerce division. Crafted from extravagant navy silk, this
spotted pairs (with dots in red or yellow) have an elegant revere
collar, piped with yellow silk, and the slim fit legs have an echo
of sleek Milanese tailoring to them. Opt for a pair in tandem with
one of New & Lingwood’s dressing gowns (in
Peacock,
Arabesque or
Houndstooth silk
jacquard), and you’ll soon be proving that artful layering should
not just be a diurnal proclivity for au courant males.
There aren’t many strict
regulations when it comes to PJs (although ‘No sports team
crests’ is non-negotiable), but as a thumb-rule, before purchasing
any given set, imagine yourself wearing them while settling down
into an armchair with a bottle of Chablis. And if you think
drinking in your bed attire is bad form, you’re probably suffering
from some kind of warped Calvinistic guilt, and would be better off
having your tailor make you your PJs from stitched-together
scouring pads.
