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 andboxer
shortsas 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
departedA.A.
Gilla 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 (inPeacock,ArabesqueorHoundstoothsilk 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.
