Pyjamas go from between sheets to streets
A jump in sales of men’s pyjamas has put the spotlight on a new trend: PJs are moving from the bedroom to the street.
Flannel and silk pyjama bottoms are replacing sweatpants as daywear, Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with NPD Group Inc., wrote in a blog post. Men of a wide range of ages are adopting the look, even those in their mid-40s, he said.
“This gives casual wear a whole new meaning,” Cohen said, calling the look “the ultimate level of relaxed.”
The trend began with female celebrities, including Miley Cyrus and Jessica Alba a few years ago, according to Cohen. Men are now snapping up Burberry check pajama pants for $110 US from Nordstrom or Ralph Lauren polo player print bottoms from Bloomingdale’s for $42.
Sales of men’s pyjama bottoms in the U.S. rose 15 per cent to $452.8 million in the 12 months ended February, according to NPD, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based researcher. That compared with a 2.4-per-cent increase in total men’s apparel sales in the same period. Only 18 per cent of men surveyed in a poll by CivicScience Inc. said they wear pyjamas to bed.
“Men are tired of jeans and khakis,” Marie Driscoll, founder of retail consultancy Driscoll Associates in New York, said in a telephone interview. “(Pyjamas) are the men’s equivalent of the sexy Lululemon yoga pant or the sexy Juicy Couture sweatpants for women.”
Wearing jammies in public has stirred controversy in some cities, including Shreveport, La., where a local newspaper reported that a lawmaker has called for it to be banned.
“I’m definitely seeing this lounge bottom that the gentlemen have been wearing,” said Tim Bess, men’s fashion trend analyst at Doneger Group in New York. “It is trying to stand out in the crowd.”
Plaid sells well, and camouflage is a popular look, Bess said. Some men also like to wear thematic pants, like St. Patrick’s Day styles, he said in a telephone interview.
Men wear the pants with T-shirts, biker jackets, and sneakers or untied boots, for a retro feel, Bess said.
“We always say if you are wearing one outrageous, cool, flashy item, you should pair it with something simple, so the focus is on one item.”
What are guys wearing underneath? “I would hope underwear,” Bess said. “Boxer shorts, we’re hoping. You never know.”