Being required to wear uncomfortable clothes outside of the house is one of the unfortunate certainties of adult life. I curse every day that I am required to wear a bulky underwire bra out of the house. I am filled with rage when I remember the moments in college when I just rolled out of bed and ran to class in leggings. My ultimate quest in life is to avoid discomfort in my job where I spend nine hours a day sitting at a desk. Luckily, I think I might have solved it. Here's how I get away with wearing pajamas out of the house.
I work at a company that sells intimates, sleepwear, and apparel. In my daily work of writing about underwear and pajamas, I have learned one vital secret that has changed the way I dress: since a lot of nice sleepwear looks a lot like normal clothing anyway, what's to stop me from just wearing my pajamas to work?
That's the real thing that the apparel industry is hiding from you. You don't have to wear an itchy dress or a confining button up all day. Just wear expensive sleepwear and style it so that no one will know. Nothing is stopping you. Adorable items of lingerie or sleepwear pass by my desk all day and at first I would think "damn, I wish this was a normal top so that I could get away with wearing it out..." But now I know. It is a normal top. The only thing that is stopping you is the label. And no one else will see the label inside your pajamas except you. So do what you want.
The pants in this look are 100% pajama pants. It's part of the "Embroidered Knit Pajama Set" that Madewell sold years ago. (I also found a way to wear the top, which you will see below.)
Since these pants are made from cotton, modal, and spandex, they are beyond comfy. I paired them with heels, a white cami with floral embroidery made by Cuddl Duds from HerRoom, where I work, and Madewell's Courier shirt, which I wore unbuttoned to try to tone down the sleepy vibes.
Nightgowns can be a tricky business, since I rarely see anyone other than elderly ladies buying them, but they really are one of the most underrated articles of clothing that we are... sleeping on (I'm sorry, I couldn't let that one just pass me by). This nightgown is from Mystique Intimates, and I also got it at HerRoom before it sold out (you can find something similar here and here). It has accents of white contrast stitching at the hem, cuffs, and neckline, so I killed two birds with one stone by cinching my waist with a white belt to tie it all together. The shoes are from Madewell's collab with Veja, and I think they added a fun detail with the star embroidery. All together, I think this outfit is beyond comfortable without looking too unprofessional.
Whenever something is sold as a "sleepshirt," just know that's a lie. It's a T-shirt dress, plain and simple. It's just a short nightgown. It's not something special or designed specifically for sleeping, it's just a really comfy T-shirt dress. This one is from Donna Karan Sleepwear, who you probably know as the "DK" behind "DKNY," and I've loved it since the moment it came by my desk and was just searching for a reason to buy it (yes I wrote the copy for this so read closely).
Since I have a long torso and short legs, I think I got away without it being too short. The trick is to always check if there is a side seam measurement, and if there is, take a tape measure to see where that side seam would end on you. The side seam on this is almost 25" long, so I held the tape measure under my armpit and saw that 25" would hit mid thigh before I bought it. Always check the measurements before you buy.
I paired this with the same heels from outfit #1 (from Target, they have the same vibes as those expensive Steve Madden ones that everyone seems to own) and sheer black socks for that super cool socks-with-sandals look that according to Cosmo, is coming back into style. My purse looks like a cat, and yes it is very cute, and it added a little spunk to the outfit. This dress is mainly modal, so super comfy, and a win win win for me.
This top is the matching top of the Madewell Starry pajama set from earlier. Pajama sets are the easiest way to start making sleepwear part of your everyday look. Since they often come with a button up, you can ease into it by wearing that as a top, and just wearing the pants around the house. That's how I got away with it at first. No one is going to think "oh damn, that shirt with all of the buttons must be pajamas" and by the time they figure it out, it's too late. My office allows jeans, so I usually wear this look with a pair of blue skinnies, plus a belt and mules from Steve Edelman that I thrifted. I topped it off with a red lip to even further my assertion that these are not pajamas, and voila! An office appropriate look!
Kate Spade New York has some of my absolute favorite pieces of sleepwear. This line for fall is one of my favorites and it's super cute and comfy. I got it from HerRoom, once again, because once it came to my rack I was obsessed. It's a super soft jersey, and once you open a few buttons, no one is going to guess it's a sleepshirt. I paired it with big hoops, a black scrunchie to match the print, and ankle boots. Leopard is beyond trendy, and with this, I don't have to squeeze myself into the party dresses I used to wear as a college freshman.
We've been sleeping on sleepwear. No only is it much comfier than a lot of normal clothes, but it will also give you that designer look without as high of a designer price. When someone compliments my outfit and I say "oh thanks, it's Kate Spade," or "oh thanks, it's by Donna Karan," I'm not even lying. Plus, I feel more relaxed than anyone, because I'm wearing pajamas to work. A truly wonderful discovery, I think.
Don't want to waste this baby around the house anyway.
Comments