How and why was there a transformation from wearing tunics or the most basic underwear for sleeping to specific fashionable sleepwear?
For most of Western history, life was very hard and people had very limited wardrobes. Most people wore a linen shirt (women) or a shirt (men) as their main undergarment, which often doubled as sleepwear. However, during the Renaissance, it began to be observed that the very wealthy started to have separate sleepwear, very similar to the shirt.
From the late Renaissance to the Baroque period, more relaxed garments were also incorporated into home wear; today this type of garment is known as loungewear. These garments included short jackets (which could be knit) and a relaxed tunic worn by men called a banyan. Women adopted the dressing gown as a common item during the Baroque period. These lounge garments would be modified over the centuries (becoming dressing gowns, tuxedos, formal capes, etc.) but served the same purpose.
There was a much greater emphasis on proper attire during the 19th century. Garments became much more affordable as a result of the Industrial Revolution (which also resulted in a shift from linen to cotton) and proper attire was a way to establish status. It is believed that pajamas were introduced into Western clothing by British colonists who had adopted them while living in India. Nightgowns became increasingly associated with tradition, while pajamas were promoted as sensible, modern, and suitable for an active lifestyle. They were quite common after 1900.
Evolution of Pajamas According to Gender
Women began adopting pajamas in the 1910s, when pan-Orientalism was in fashion, and it peaked during the 1920s. Since then, pajamas for men have remained fairly consistent, while women's have followed fashion changes.
Women's nightgowns followed a similar trajectory during the 19th century. After the 1870s, nightgowns and accompanying tunics became increasingly elaborate and tied to fashion trends. Materials became finer and more filamentous and color was introduced. Nightgowns followed the fashion lines of clothing: examples from the 1920s are geometric and tubular, those from the 1930s are sinuous and bias-cut. Modern materials like rayon and nylon were widely used and made elaborate creations with ruffles more affordable and practical than ever.
Traditionally, women were expected to have a sleepwear wardrobe as an extension of their daily clothing. Women's sleepwear is more subject to fashion whims and therefore women buy more. In museum collections, women's nightgowns abound, while men's pajamas are hard to find because men tend to wear the same thing over and over until it wears out.
Nowadays it is not very common for the average man to be aware of the consequences of not frequently wearing sleepwear; to the point of concluding that this fact could have influenced suffering long nights of poor sleep, even insomnia. It is also unlikely that once frequent use of pajamas as a “rest and relaxation uniform” is tried, it is very possible that its use will never be abandoned.
Many people really do not consider the importance of sleepwear. If you think and analyze it this way: just as you have work clothes for the professional environment and clothes you would wear for a party night or some special gala, sleep time also demands a specific dress code. Which intrinsically comes with many unexpected and included benefits. One day it will simply be noticed that by adhering to this code, the nighttime stay in bed will be more than comforting, and for very good reasons that will tangibly and definitively transcend the user's overall well-being.
Men's sleepwear ranges from pajamas to boxers, jackets, loose t-shirts, and relaxed pants. While style variations are amplified by design choice, emphasis is always placed on comfort and the feeling of confidence the garment produces on the wearer, which is aimed to remain a constant, to opt for the right type of material and combination.
There is also a bit of history of sleepwear linked to men's clothing such as pajamas.
With so many people confined at home these past months, due to the health emergency impacting the world in general, the interior of homes has become the new exterior for many. It is where exercise is done, digital chats with friends happen, and of course, remote work is done. But it also remains the interior, where one sleeps, rests, and carries out all activities essential to the daily life of the average person. This can cause frequent wardrobe changes and, of course, a rethinking of the male wardrobe.
The need for sleepwear, specifically pajamas as part of the male wardrobe, is more than a piece of history attributed to necessity and modernity. It extends to that very private comfort and allows developing a kind of relationship between the senses and different states of relaxation, reaching a true development of the healthy mental state of any person. It is comfort at its maximum expression, since the material of sleepwear, or the pajama, is looser and does not cling to the body, which grants a true state of freedom. This allows sleeping without inhibitions and ensures that blood circulation remains optimal and unobstructed while sleeping.
Although recently, the pajamas have become a style of outerwear and everyday use for many people, it should be known that the materials used to make these designs for different occasions and functions are also diverse. Therefore, sleepwear should not be confused with daily and everyday wear. This daily wear, for being at home, could be a pair of worn shirts and pants, excessively used at home; which could be a variety of combinations and to which a dissolute and slow approach can be added to live life more relaxed.
The need for style in sleepwear cannot be underestimated, just as effort is put into selecting usual clothing garments, the pajama should also be considered within these important decisions.