As a result of my own quest for the ideal blogging pajamas I can give you some guidance. First off, avoid pajamas from big name designers. The pajama is a simple garment and when you start adding bells and whistles and fancy features the simple functionality suffers. Plus, what kind of credibility can you have if you blog in Ralph Lauren PJs? The best Pajamas are low-priced and available in stores with proprietary brands. Simple garments, made for comfort and sold at an appropriate price. One warning. Don't try to shop for them online. Because they're a low-priced item they tend to get left out of online catalogs, plus PJs are all about comfort, so getting hands-on with the fabric is an absolute must.
For winter wear the pajama of choice is cotton flannel. The best source bar none for cotton flannel pajamas is J. C. Penney. Penney's house brand - St. John's Bay - makes an excellent flannel pajama in lots of colors and patterns. They fit well, have elastic waists as well as draw strings, have fantastic deep pockets and are toasty warm. The pattern selection is nice, including both plaids and stripes, though the overall color selection is a bit dark. Stripes are rather reminiscent of pirate pantaloons, and in fact I altered a pair into knickers for a Halloween pirate costume. Another option for winter is silk pajamas, but I have yet to find any which I really like. They're quite expensive and they actually insulate better than flannel and from my experience with them they make me sweat, and that really defeats the whole purpose of pajamas as a lifestyle choice.
For summer wear you need a light weight cotton, something like a poplin that breathes and doesn't stretch or constrict too much. Old Navy has the best fabric in its summer weight PJs. I've never seen anything lighter, and the price is right since they always seem to have some on sale. The catch is that they don't have pockets and there's something wrong with the way they're cut. The legs always seem to be just a little too long, no matter what size you are. Several of my family members have tried them and they always drag a bit. On the other hand they have some of the most fun patterns - not just plaids and stripes, but little devils and penguins and shamrocks and seasonal theme designs. The overall best I've found for lighter weight PJs are Cherokee brand which are carried at Target. They're a nice lightweight poplin, have pockets, elastic waistbands and drawstrings. A good selection of patterns are availabe, though nowhere near as many as at Old Navy. Best of all, they seem to be cut a little looser in the leg and not quite as freakishly long, so they make a more comfortable fit. Overall they're my pick for warmer weather.
![Birthday Special [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510DNPNVE9L._SL120_.jpg)
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Anita Campbell
Nice job! This is so funny.
2 - Aaman
Too bad boxer-blogging isn't taking off - this could be the second boxer rebellion
3 - Eric Olsen
it's too damn cold around here for such things
4 - Dave Nalle
It was so cold earlier this year that I was wearing my flannel PJs under my blue jeans. Great way to keep warm.
Dave
5 - sydney
I blog naked.
but when I used to wear pajamas, I liked the tops best. Sorry DAve, yet again I can't agree with you. I swear I'm not trying to be like this. :)
6 - Dave Nalle
Man, how can you like those tops? They're so stiff and artificial.
Dave
7 - DrPat
What you really want in the winter is pajama bottoms (mine have a design of cardinals on snowy branches, and they are flannel, Dave, so I totally agree).
Then on top, you want a silk smoking jacket. That has the pockets, and you can leave it open for the buccaneer feeling, or close it tight for warmth. Plus, it also has a strong tradition of opinion-mongering attached to it. I mean, we took Hef seriously, didn't we?
Sydney, I don't think we wanted to know that you blog naked, but doesn't your butt get a grid from the chair fabric?
8 - sydney
Ya I admit the tops were never comfortable but they had style. Like a button up dress shirt for bed. It was a cool idea.
I would mostly wear the tops with a pair of jeans on beneath. And that was liek my smoking jacket. just wear it around the house and whatnot..
9 - Dave Nalle
I think sydney has a 'Hef Complex'. I prefer a more informal approach to blogging, and the PJ tops put me too much in mind of evening wear.
Dave
10 - Angela Chen Shui
Dave, I loved this! Fabulous, fabulous! I couldn't tell when last I've worn pj's...
11 - Dave Nalle
No PJs? We may have to kick you out of Bloggers International #505 for being out of official uniform.
Dave
12 - Mark Saleski
c'mon dave, there's something to be said for 'commando-blogging'.
;-)
13 - Scott Butki
I think you should do a syndicated fashion column for B.C.
14 - Dave Nalle
I was going to make this an ongoing series, until I started on "Vests: Better Than a Man Purse" and ran into all sorts of horrible problems. I've purchased about a gazillion vests of all weights and styles, and none of them is perfect - every one had some irritating defect. Then I discovered that many of the best ones had been discontinued by the manufacturers or replaced with new styles. It got very frustrating to try to tie the ones I was going to review to what was actually available in the marketplace. Plus it started to get insanely expensive. Orvis vests were bad enough, but then I discovered the entire vest niche market in England where you can buy vests for $500 or more - really nice ones - and it started to drive me mad as well as becoming manifestly impractical to do a comprehensive review. But perhaps I'll return to it, or try something simpler, like pocket t-shirts.
Dave
15 - elvira Black
Dave, this is a great overview. I have to admit though that I'm a disgrace to the blogging community because I find pajamas too constricting and warm--even the summer line would be too much for me. NYC apartments are overheated in the winter and blazing hot in the summer, so I opt for a battered T-shirt, which also serves as sleepwear. But perhaps pajama bottoms would be more practical, since now I have to hurriedly don a pair of jeans to answer the door when the Chinese or pizza delivery man arrives.
I did go on a pajama buying spree a year or two ago at Macy's, and women's pajamas are a whole other world. The patterns are usually reminiscent of what a girl would have worn as a small child--little sleepy crescent moons in a starlit sky, cuddly bears, and other undignified patterns. I wore a pair once and felt foolish.
"Pajamas broke the tyranny of the butt-flap"--indeed! Just as video killed the radio star. I'll have to give the whole pajama thing another whirl so I can hold my blogger head high.
16 - Dave Nalle
Elvira, I find myself tempted to wear PJs when I go out on errands, and have to resist. If I weren't a slave to convention I'd go out daily dressed extremely strangely. But I would think that in your situation a lightweight cotton PJ bottom would work even with the heat going. Have you considered mens pajamas? They're much less constricting - a lot of women wear them.
Dave
17 - Elvira Black
Dave, considering some of the unconventional couture you find on the streets of NYC, I doubt if I donned a spiffy pair of PJ's that anyone would blink an eye. I've always loved men's clothing anyway--it's always better made--so that is something to consider...
18 - Dave Nalle
Mens clothing may be better made, but I'm always seeing womens items in the stores which I find far more visually appealing, especially cute vests and jackets with embroidery and such which I wish they were making for men.
Dave
19 - Scott Butki
I do sweats and t-shirts. I haven't owned a pair of pajamas since I was a teenager.
I'd always pictured David in spiderman underoos so this item is a bit of a shock.
20 - Dave Nalle
Technically sweats are basically just pajamas for outdoor wear. They have all the same characteristics as the originals.
If only thye made Spiderman Underoos in my size...
Dave
21 - Natalie Davis
I have to agree with Mr. Nalle's assessment of pajama tops, but pajama bottoms? I wear 'em everywhere. (Though I am in sweatpants and my "Solidarność" T-shirt right now.) People have given me strange looks at the supermarket or the post office, but screw 'em. Dress codes are for mainstreamers.
As to the matter of vests, so what if they are labeled "women's"? If you like it and it fits, why not wear it? If a man wears it, it becomes a man's vest.
Reminds me of a conversation I had last week with my 9-year-old son's best friend. There was something on TV where a man was wearing a skirt (not a kilt). He was horrified by what he saw, and I had to explain that convention was one thing, but people had the right to wear what they choose. If a guy wants to wear a skirt - or a cute embroidered vest- more power to him. (Naturally, the kid looked at me as if I were insane. Heavy sigh. It's hard work trying to enlighten the conformist masses...)
Power to the pajamas!
22 - Dave Nalle
A solidarity T-Shirt? What, was Che in the laundry?
As for skirts and/or kilt, they do hold a certain attraction, but I've worn a kilt and found it distressingly drafty. I don't think I could wear one regularly for the same reason I don't wear boxers.
Dave
23 - Scott Butki
Ok, I did not need to know that about you.
Just glad I don't know waht you look like so I dont have to imagine you with briefs instead of boxers.
24 - Dave Nalle
Did I say I wear briefs?
Call me Mr. Commando?
Dave
25 - Scott Butki
I figure if you notice draftiness in a kilt and you don't like boxers then surely i'd have something on under the belt to make sure there isn't way too much draft.
The more I write about this the more I think I'm scared to meet you one day.