There is a trend here of (women!) college students walking their dogs (not curbing them, mind you) whilst attired in their bed-clothes. Flannel printed pyjama pants and fleece jackets. (Guys stick to jeans and fleece for the most part.) I don’t get it. If I lived on a large estate, I might consider throwing my camelhair polo coat over a pair of wellies and my pj’s to let the dogs out to chase deer, but here in the city, I just don’t get it. I’m beginning to think that people don’t actually own decent casual clothing.
(Jacket: Beretta/ Trousers: Zanella/Shoes: R. Martegani/Scarf: street vendor/ Gloves: Cadet fingers that were my father’s/Ray Ban Aviators)
I’m wearing a light blue polo collar merino wool sweater under the jacket and could just as easily have worn blue jeans, if that were my preference. I’d just come in from walking the dog.
So what else would I consider casual wear for early morning trots around the block? Bean boots/mocs. Wellies. Chukka/paddock boots. Quilted gilets or jackets. Waxed cotton jackets over cable knit sweaters. Down vests. Twill trousers. Cashmere sweaters and cords. Blue jeans under corduroy or tweed sportcoats. The list goes on. Really, wear almost anything as long as we just walk away from wearing pyjamas in public. But I don’t expect that the pyjama wearers read Easy and Elegant Life.
I don’t understand it either. My husband, a professor, has these students show up in his general lectures; I tell him that he should send them home to change. Neither can I fathom why students (both male and female) show up for class in sweatpants or warm-up pants and flip-flops, even in November. I’m not sure I even own a pair of sweatpants.
The casual dress you describe is actually the unofficial work dress code at our university (sigh…an image of J. Robert Oppenheimer, elegant in a well-tailored three-piece suit comes to mind, but for most science and technology faculty and staff, suits are synonymous with administration). But I dress the same way on weekends. Our town is a small world and one never knows whom one will run into.
My neighbor is a mother of three and a teacher and she left one morning wearing pj’s and had to tell me that it was pajama day at school and she felt just awful…but she was wearing it for the students.
Perhaps we need an easy and elegant task force.
pve
I couldn’t agree more!! Anything is better than wearing your pyjamas in public!
Luckily here in London I’ve only seen it once and the person concerned clearly had mental health problems. When you get out into the smaller towns and villages however, I believe it’s a different story. There was a supermarket in Wales which actually had to ban people going shopping in their pyjamas. I’m just so glad that I don’t live in THAT town.
I completely agree. The wearing of pajamas (or pygamas as you write) in public has gotten completely out of hand. It is particularly pervasive in airports and on airplanes, where people seem to think that wearing their underwear is acceptable. It is not. Reggie
DH called me a couple of years ago at ridiculous hour- he was in an airport and said, “I’m confused about the pygamas.” “What, mine?” “No, here. In the airport.” “You have my pygmas at the airport?” “No, girls are wearing pygamas. They’re everywhere. It’s like a slumber party out here. Did I miss a memo?” I had to explain that pygamas are the new sweatpants, because sweatpants are no longer considered chic. Ah, fashion!
E & E task force… hmm… what a great idea. What would they wear? Please get going on this, sir.
As I live in a condo building, it is not unusual to see someone in PJs taking their dog out at for a last go before they both retire. However, I do find it extremly odd when I see adults not bothering to put on clothes in the moring when going on extended dog walks. Even more odd is seeing young people lined up at Starbucks in the morning as if they just crawled out bed and walked into their own kitchen.
This time of year my normal attire when walking the Spaniel would be wide wale cords, a light wool sweater over a twill shirt and my Barbour. Footwear, would be my Gokies or Duck Shoes (depending on the weather).
Good Lord John! Snake-proof boots? What is alexandria coming to?
J&G, Love it “sweatpants are no longer considered chic…” so we turn instead to fleece pj’s with the 49ers logo emblazoned across them. Well, is it the natural extension of GTH pants?
Reggie, “… wearing their underwear is acceptable. It is not.’ I wish I’d written that.
BT, we need to civilise Wales it seems. Gone are Sir Richard’s booted and suited days…
PVE, perfectly acceptable. We make sacrifices with our dignity for the children. But are we teaching them something wrong?
SW, well, at least the professors wear something other than sweats.
It makes sense for people who walk their dog in the AM to slip on a pair of jeans as opposed to going on in their pajamas. Thanks for noticing this occurrence.
We are seeing alot of it up here in the North.We are hoping , this fad, will die out soon.Please keep your P J’s in the house.