The History of Pajamas and the Myth of Coco Chanel
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
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Whenever I see a claim that a famous person "popularized" or even "invented" a seemingly common type of fashion, I know I'm in for some lengthy research. Especially when so many of the articles claiming that had admitted in the previous paragraphs that a style was quite old before it reached said famous hands. Simple menswear was not popularized by Beau Brummell, he simple became well known while wearing it. Likewise, Coco Chanel did not popularize pajamas for day wear, trousers for women, the little black dress, or knitwear. But it's not enough to just dismiss the claims, regardless of their spurious lack of citations. We need to know how these garments actually came to be what we know them as today!
Luckily pajamas have a well recorded history and were the object of discussion in 19th and 20th c articles. And, yes, most of the Western spellings do come up as pyjamas until the early 20th century when Americans, once again, decided to split off and go their own way with spelling. But, as the name itself is pulled from the phonetic original version, there isn't really a correct way. So let's take a look at the journey of this popular garment from 16th c India through 19th c England and onto 20th c France to reach the broad concept it is today!
The main problem here is that pajamas started their life as a popular daily ensemble for both men and women. Though the purpose was altered when these garments were brought back to Europe, they were widespread for centuries prior. Especially when you include other areas of the world that developed similar trouser and shirt/coat daywear. Europeans may have relegated the concept to sleepwear for about 50 years, but that was never its original intention. And with the changes in western fashion at the beginning of the 20th c, pajamas were poised to return to their broader usage regardless of any individuals influence.
More on the Jama: www.sahapedia.org/the-jamas-o...
Further Reading
Orientalism (start here, but continue to the many critiques and expansions on this work: www.google.com/books/edition/...
Culture & Imperialism: www.google.com/books/edition/...
Restating Orientalism: www.google.com/books/edition/...
Radical Orientalism: www.google.com/books/edition/...
The Silk Road (I've just started trying to understand how styles moved about globally in the past and hope to have more like this soon): www.google.com/books/edition/...
V&A Conservation of a Jama: • Conservation: Indian Jama
What I'm wearing: www.turnblack.in/product/stel...
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00:00 Beau Brummell effect
05:56 Pae-jama
11:49 Night Trousers
15:00 Scandals & Sources
19:15 Beaches
24:44 Extra Pictures - Jak na to + styl
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You, Abby, and Chrissy. Should do challenge that involves with the famous 1-hour dress from the 1920s. Where draw types of textile from the time period ( was available during that time). Do again for seven days. I Don't know if you guys can do or not. I would see funny and interesting😄😄😁. Learn something from it too. Love the video too.
In the ad where the man was “rethinking his life”, he did have a lot to think about. Just above his head the text reads that women are now wearing his pjs and that they are the “climax” of comfort and value! 😏 😋😂
NordVPn is really an awful company. They trick non-tech people into thinking they need a VPN for "security". Simply put, most people do not need a VPN. Modern browsers already encrypt your traffic. VPNs are mostly tools used for limiting access to certain servers (very useful for things like test servers at a company, so yuou can try out software before shipping it to a wider customer base), or for things like pretending to be in another country you're not for things like streaming services. However, if you have to ask the question "do I need a VPN" the answer is no. And the fear-mongering that VPNs use to try and trick people who don't need VPNs into buying one (especially when there are actually free ones available, including AzureOpenVPN which is supplied by Microsoft) is very shady and underhanded. By all means, as a company, you can sell a VPN product. But I think everyone should draw the line at telling non-technically minded people they need a tool when they absolutely don't.
So I don't know how many other people have commented this 😅 I am from Iran and we speak Farsi. In Farsi "paa" means leg and "jameh" means clothes, so paa-jame means something like pants, leg clothing, and as much as I know these words have been used in Farsi for as far back 6th or 7th century (probably wayyy before that) and we have been wearing pants for a long long time (I think we have stone carvings on walls of Persepolis of people wearing pants, around 515 BC) and the cultures of Iran and India and Pakistan and these countries have always been very close, and so have been our languages. so yeah :) a bit of older history
Thank you for sharing this. I'm going to try to find more information on your culture and Iran. If you know of any books about the history of your way of dressing that are written in English, please share them. 💕💖
So the likely origin of the garment-name “jama” is someone being asked what they call what they’re wearing, and then answering “clothes?”
Something like what Terry Pratchett wrote. When an explorer pointed at a mountain and asked what is it, the native gave him a puzzled look and spoke. The name when translated years later was Mountain "Your Finger You Fool"!
Awesome!!!! Thank you!!!
Very interesting, thanks!
Something I can always look forward to whenever you're talking about a certain type of clothing is that there's always some random person in history freaking out about it in the newspaper. Somethings never change 😅
9ok'.
,
Sooo... this one lady wrote that she saw a man in a hotel wearing pyjamas and that she rushed away because he looked too effeminate to her, wearing loose and delicate silks. Then a man writes that women have started to buy pyjamas for themselves and that he could not think of anything more masculine and unattractive for a lady.
People really haven't changed much at all... XD
Yes, trust it to "Nosy Parkers" to always have to react to what others are doing, when it has no effect on them at all.
6:54
As a North Indian, I disagree. Pyjama=Pai(foot)+jama(clothing or coat), essentially foot covering, NOT a foot covering AND skirted robe. It is a SINGLE garment only. The terminology is like petticoat- coat being treated as generic term for clothing not necessarily implying that the petticoat has to go with a coat.
There is no record to suggest that the pyjama was to specifically be paired with a jama; choga, angarkha could also go with it. Vice versa jama could be worn with churidars(tight, long trousers with excess fabric scrunched at ankles)by men as well as women. Also, the diaphanous skirted robes we see worn by women in the paintings are NOT a jama but peshwaz; basic difference is it fastened centre front since side tie closure don't work well over curvy bosoms. Some women like Noor Jehan could wear a jama, but it would be considered an expression of power and non-conformity(and invite court gossip).
Thank you for the additional info! I couldn't find much on the pre-19th c history of all of the garments and most weren't helpful with search terms, so I had to rely on museum labels more than I would like. The extra terms will definitely help! If you ever come across any literature (book, article, blog post) that you feel talks about any of this accurately please let me know! I found quite a few casual posts, but they all had different takes on the garments and their sources and most were speaking from a 20th c point of view of the styles (ie what's acceptable now vs 16th c). I assume just like American clothing history, there's a lot of conflicting and inaccurate stuff to wade through.
The conflicting nature of terms also originates from the fact that actual human beings often didn't bother much with the terminologies; like stays referring to the entire supporting garment in one period but only the encased bones for tailored garments in another, and treating them as synonymous with what we noawadays call corset in another.
For example, sari is considered a feminine garment while dhoti refers to draped lower garment worn by men, but in rural areas an undraped cotton sari is also called dhoti. So one might buy a dhoti but what they wear is a sari, something that museums won't be able to explain but literature would include with the assumption that everyone understands it(much like "finish in the usual way" is lost on us today).
Interestingly, the word "petticoat" (literally "small coat") was originally a padded coat worn, by men, under armour - basically what HEMA enthusiasts today call an arming jacket. So in the late 16th century, a petticoat was more related to a doublet than it was to a skirt.
This was really interesting! Thank you for the additional info! always fun to learn something new and so specific!
To me, they look a lot like salwar kameez some of my Pakistani friends wear.
Coco Chanel is often credited for things she did not invented. She was more a genius of marketing than a genius of fashion. Madeleine Vionnet invented way more things at that time.
Honestly I feel like it’s her greatest contribution…like it still helps her products today that she managed to convince people she was the start of like….everything…including tanning?
she's the edison of fashion
I have to agree with the idea that pajamas are safer than nightgowns, because I once woke up from a nightmare of being throttled only to find that my ankle-length flannel nightgown had gotten caught on my new knit sheets such that the whole thing was wrapped around my throat and was actually choking me.
PJs are much safer and more dignified if you have to evacuate a hotel at 2am for a fire alarm.
Mine always end up around my waist and I end up waking up with ice old legs.
No bueno.
Pyjamas all the way for me!
They were encouraged for young girls because of open fires and electric heaters. Especially when they were made of nylon
A True And Terrible Confession: When clearing out my great-aunts' house in the early 1990s' we found a set of silk pyjamas very like those royal blue silk ones you show at 16:35 in this video, still pristine in their box. My mum gave them to us kids to play dress-up in, alongside many other beautiful 1920/30s garments, and once they had got worn-out, I cut them up to make dresses for my dollies...
We're all guilty of that
I'm crying… 🥲
😢yeah, I remember back in my hippie days literally wearing out an ORIGINAL white linen men’s shirt that dated to 1870’s…provenance intact…🥵 I loved it to death, took about 7 or 8 years.
At least you got use out of them before just throwing them out. My grandmother gave me all of her costume jewelry to play with. The stuff that was only made for a short time and would have been worth some serious coin now hut I thought was just ugly back then. Oops.
I think I just involuntarily gasped and clutched my invisible pearls
My mom was a teenager in the 1920s. Her family lived in house on the beach in Manhattan Beach, California in the summer, and I have photos of her and her friends wearing beach pajamas. She started college in about 1931 and her college friends wore somewhat dressier lounging pajamas to their informal parties. They were a somewhat "arty" crowd, so it might have been a bit avant-garde.
The pajamas of yesteryear are way more stylish than what most people wear as outerwear these days. Thanks for looking into the actual history of where pajamas originated.
I’ve studied Chanel for years and you are absolutely correct. Her input was limited to the knit fabric she had popularized.
Yes! I even stumbled across one reference that said she put the silk knit on the outside and the wool knit on the inside- how novel to reverse them from the usual! Implying that neither fabric was all that revolutionary, she was just BARELY outside of the box with her use.
When you were describing the beach party, especially when you got to the band, the phrase "1920s emos" popped into my head and it refusing to leave. That could definitely be a look.
Karolina Żebrowska did a 'Rawring Twenties' look: czcams.com/video/lMqlz672N6k/video.html
One of my favorite parts of watching Agatha Christie films (particularly the ones made in the 70’s) is the myriad of pajama styles (for both men and women) we get to see. Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile are the best examples.
First place I ever saw beach pyjamas. I wish it was still fashionable, it would make going to the beach much more comfortable for those of us with super pale skin that instantly burns in the sun. (I think that was why the character wore them as well if I remember correctly).
@@RR4711 correct!!
@@RR4711 My first view of Beach Pyjamas was an old Fred Astaire movie from 1934
I loved the clothing in those films
Really timely video for my own current research. I’ve been finding that “orientalism” really makes it hard to research a lot of specific places because they all get slapped with the same label by European and other western historians from the 19th century. I’ve been trying to research Lebanese traditional garments but there is very little work done on it in English so here goes my quest to recover the Arabic I learned as a child and continue work to get fluent so I can actually recreate my own culture’s traditional clothing.
Not sure if it helps but some universities have orient studies and they have their own libraries. Which can be really good. I once wrote an essay on the Indochina War and the east asian librarie safed me.
I wish you luck figuring it out, that sounds really cool!
The West considered Asia as Orient, basically from turkey to the east and south. That's many different cultures that the word "orientalism" seems only to show how ignorant the West was.
I’m thinking a lot of my own use of the word “pajama” now. I consider anything I wear to bed “my pajamas,” but I’ve never really worn a set of matched pajamas. I’ve owned them, but never worn them. Typically I’ve worn “pajama bottoms” or “pajama pants” with a T-shirt and “nightgowns” or “night dresses,” but I only really call them their specific names when someone needs to have an accurate idea of what I’m talking about (which is pretty uncommon, for obvious reasons 😂).
I also find it a little interesting that I wouldn’t call the T-shirts that I wear to bed “pajama tops.” This has to be related to the fact that these shirts are interchangeable with ones I’d wear as non-pajamas, but I do have item that was specifically designed for sleepwear which I might call a pajama top. True to form, I don’t wear the bottoms that came with it. 😂
I'm exactly the same! Except my bottom part is usually just underwear or old comfy shorts. I do own a few short pajama bottoms, but rarely wear them. I live in a hot climate so I don't really need any warm sleeping gear
I own a lot of matching top + bottom pajama sets, but like you I often don't wear them together, I just mix and match whichever bottoms with whichever tops/regular loose t-shirts are most comfortable for that night. Interestingly, I'll sometimes wear a matching set in the evening at home but then change either the top or the bottoms before bed.
@@autumnfollis1923 I love that!! More in the spirit of the US/European ‘20s interpretation!
It's interesting to see this perspective on pajamas because I'm the complete opposite. I own at least half a dozen matching sets of pajamas but I never wear them to bed. I sleep in just my underwear and socks, and I wear pajamas as loungewear.
You are living the same night wear life as my college daughters. They do exactly the same!
I wish I could re-enact that beach party. Have Dandy Wellington and his band provide the music. Pure awesomeness.
I'm glad I lived long enough to see masses of children wearing pajamas to school.
My daughter threw a guest fit one day and refused to get dressed to go to school.
Fed up, I loaded her in the car, carried her to her classroom door, and sent her in (the teacher was both sympathetic and mildly amused)
Years later when she was in high school, she bumped into a couple of them who went to a different HS. They brought up the day she went to school in her pajamas.
I hope the trend of wearing them to the supermarket goes away, far, far away.
@@thecatatemyhomework cannot agree more, and take track pants with them
@@thecatatemyhomework why? How does it hurt you? In what possible way is it your business to police what others wear?
@@catzkeet4860 Like "thecatatemyhomework", it is not my business to police what others wear but when I'm shopping for food at approximately 4:15 pm and see someone with a Walmart plastic bag twisted around their head wearing unkempt pajamas and slides I tend to go down the other isle due to past dramatic experiences. A few years ago a high school principle was ostracized because she wouldn't allow parents in the school who didn't meet the dress code. I believe her philosophy was "how can you expect your child to follow the rules if you refuse to do so?" In any case, society groups people or "casts" them whether regardless of our protests. Therefore it hurts my self-esteem when I see someone who society has deem similar (akin) to me looking inappropriate publicly because I realize it's another opportunity for me to be judged negatively. (prejudices)
I guess thanks to my grandma I have always had the mind set that sleep clothes should never be worn out in public no matter what (she was very very old fashioned) but seeing some of the lovely sleep clothes of the 1920's i wouldn't mind going out in those, they are definitely a hole heck of a lot better than the sleep clothes I see people wearing out in public these days
Thank you! I consider most of my street/day clothes "secret pjs." The main difference between street and lounge wear is, for me: the bra. Pjs as daywear, circle complete.
The second I get home, off goes the bra!
@@kimberlyperrotis8962 Used to be the girdle. Or the high heel shoes. Ahhhh. Much more recently, as someone pointed out, the mask. :)
Catherine de medici 🤝 Coco Chanel 🤝 Beau Brummell
Dorothy L. Sayers has a humorous exchange about pajamas in her 1930 novel "Strong Poison," between Lord Peter Wimsey and his sister Lady Mary. Lady Mary likes wearing pajamas and designed the ones she's wearing as part of her new venture into fashion design. But, she says, "Here and now I cast off my pajamas forever!" if it would please her more conservative suitor, Charles Parker. At which Peter says, "No, no. Not here and now. Respect a brother's feelings."
Love the Sayers. She actually mentions pajamas often in her novels and short stories. Lord Peter had a set of mauve silk pajamas in the short story "The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will," which I just finished rereading.
Not to be forgotten - Robert Henri's 1916 portrait of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney recumbent in her PJs. Mr. Whitney was reportedly appalled that his wife would make such a public display of herself.
You might like the beginning of the 1938 film Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife. The majority of storyline revolves around a meet-cute while purchasing pajamas. Very cute and well played by Colbert and Cooper. Thank you for the deeper look into the history. Definitely clarifies.
thank you for this video. now i feel vindicated for repeatedly arguing with my mom as a teenager that sleeping in a T shirt and joggers vs in the "real" pajama is literally the same thing
I can’t imagine how long it must take to track down so many sources and examples! They really do make these videos unique - they’re some of the few I can watch over and over again. Always something new to see or learn each time. :)
Excellent! Explains Granny’s hostess pajamas in the Sixties, those need to come back.
I find it very interesting that the Pyjama came to Europe about the same time as the "Turkish Trouser and Tunic" style often attributed to E. Blumer became a fad. They have a similar silhouette. As usual, I love your content.
The poor man in the 19717 May Harper's Bazzar ad for faultless Pyjamas looks like he's had a terrifying nightmare and is never going back to sleep
Loungewear in the 1920s: Elaborate silk pajamas.
Loungewear in the 2020s: Oversized sweatpants that may or may not have food stains on them.
Bring back elegance.
@@kellysouter4381 let people do what they want
Guilty!
@@abidizzne892 Encourage people to want elegance. ;-)
@@catrinlewis939 but what makes elegance superior
I am always so impressed by your substantial inclusion of ads, articles, and letters from popular publications
Amazing as usual
I'm glad you linked to Said's book on Orientalism, I recommend it to anyone with an interest in history and the arts.
There's a part in a Sayers book or short story (and I can't remember which off the top of my head) where Peter's sister (trendy fashionable anarchist adjacent daughter of a duke Polly) is saying she'll gladly switch back from pajamas to nightgowns if trousers are to radical for Parker, her beau. Later 20s to early 30s. That, and my mothers stories of walking to school in a snow storm in the 60s, and them having a set room for the girls to change from their snow pants to skirts, because pants weren't allowed in the High school in the late '60s, are part of my being able to pin down when trousers became culturally acceptable.
Lol we changed in the hallway..... hundreds of teenage girls hiking up their skirts to remove their trousers, or put them on, next to the boys because they went into your locker with coat and boots. But we were dressed in uniform skirts and blouses and ladylike at school.
what about the trousers of the 40s?
@@saritshull3909 they were worn by rich jetset or factory workers at work. My mother and aunts would not be seen in public in them until the 60s.
@@saritshull3909 Not considered acceptable at school, or in church, as they were seen as too "casual". It wouldn't be until the early 70s that slacks were allowed for girls, but by the 1980s girls were wearing jeans at school in most areas.
My mother was the first woman to wear pants to our church. She had made the pant suit herself as one of her tailoring projects. She was more forward thinking than I appreciated at the time. Later in 1968 I was sent to the office for wearing shorts to school. I had followed mother's example and had a long matching vest. I told the vice principal that I was wearing skinny culottes. I was sent home on suspension but was back the next day because NO ONE puts my dad's daughter on suspension. That weekend several friends made skinny culottes and vests and it was all over for that old dress code.
My PJs (yoga pants and tee shirt) kind of turned into my daytime attire during the height of quarantine. Unfortunately that meant that my clothes could "grow". Reality set in and I am only now regaining access to my jeans of 2019. Ironically these jeans are skinny low rise jeans which according to 2022 trends are out. Wonder if I can explain them as "vintage"?
This was really interesting. I love the idea of beach pajamas. Some of those designs you showed at the end would be so much fun to swan around in instead of wearing sweats.
It's funny, I was talking about swimsuit cover ups/beach pyjamas etc with my partner, who is Finnish. I'm Australian. I said I didn't see the point of a beach specific outfit because the way I go to the beach is I go there in a t shirt and shorts over my swimmers, immediately dump said t shirt and shorts and go swim, and once I've swum immediately leave because it's usually so hot that if you stay you'll get major sunburn (yes even with sunscreen, thanks harsh Australian sun). I don't like hanging out at the beach for really long periods of time and thus I never saw the need for a specific outfit.
I am not a big beach person because I grew up in Northern California where it's cold ,gray, and windy at the beach most of the year.
However, in my fantasy beach life, beach pajamas protecting me from the sun along with a big hat are my chosen attire instead of sweats.
I just love Nicole's in depth fashion history lessons!!!❤
I love a good de-bunking! Especially when there are 1) such great references throughout and 2) fabulous clothing at the end!
You mentioned that fashion history is a fairly new study. Certainly as an independent historical research topic, yes, it hasn't been around as long as the study of history, which incorporated historic dress in the larger historic study. You might research the School of Dress and especially Janet Arnold, who was collecting, patterning, and documenting historic dress in the 1970s. She is just one person as an example of one who specialized in historic dress. Just something to watch out for. I like your videos and presentation, you are very knowledgeable, and your topics are really fascinating.
That navy and white embroidered silk set is personal wardrobe goals for sure but my fave image has GOT to be the Harper's Bazaar guy who's rethinking his life. Ah-may-zing! This was super informative. I remember reading things that were written during the 1800's and referenced pajamas. There were notations with descriptions explaining that the author didn't mean nightwear. But I have so many awesome ideas for both night and day wear now. Can't wait to get to a spot where I can set up a proper sewing space and start experimenting!
I thought he might be lying there awake, worrying about women coming to steal his pyjamas based on the caption.
@@BlueRoseFaery The use of the word "climax" when paired with his face. Perfection.
Forget the pajamas. Coco Chanel popularized (but didn't invent) the suntan. I'd love to know if there was a surge in skin cancer because of Chanel.
Because only rich people could get a nice even overall tan. Factory and office workers couldn't . This is also when thin became the thing to be as a rich girl.
@@lenabreijer1311 And bulimia became fashionable?
🤮 = 👯♀️ ("We can fit into our little black dresses!")
@@Muttonchop_USA no the time to do sports. Sitting at an office desk and eating white bread sandwiches or sitting in a factory making small movements did not make for the same body style as playing tennis in the sun every day. In the previous centuries the poor worked hard outdoors and the the rich lady sat still so beauty was pale and plump see Titian. Beauty is always what is hard for the poor to obtain.
I would imagine skin cancer rates only became a thing after the ozone layer started to thin out, but that’s just my theory. Humans are meant to be in the sun. It’s only because of our own actions that we develop all these problems.
@@mastersnet18 hard to be naked in the sun when it is -20c. You are basically saying that humans should be living only in the tropics and mostly naked. Skin cancer seems to be based on getting burned. So those of us who's ancestors moved north 20,000 years or more ago are at risk when exposed to the sun.
Fascinating! I love the colors in the extant examples you found. This is a fantastic rabbit hole!
I am curious as to how you determined that the field of fashion history is only as old as the 1990's. I am a theatrical costume technician, designer, and part-time historian, and I have been doing costume and fashion research since 1987. The costume and fashion history texts I used as an undergrad were written in the 1960's, and there are several notable comprehensive volumes most college libraries have, dating back to the 1870's and the 1920's. It is true that it is a small specialized field, and because of that, many of the earlier resources are no longer in print. It is also a field that has been slow to modernize in terms of making visual resources available online. If you have been unable to find fashion history source material online, rest assured it is not because this field just popped up in the last 30 years.
I went and researched patterns to make accurate Victorian doll clothes for my O level needlework exam in 1985. Bath Fashion museum (or costume museum as it was then) had a research library I used.
Abby Cox has a video on this, the standardized use of footnotes and sources didn’t really happen in the fashion history field until the 90’s when it received academic acceptance. Before that it was difficult to find a primary resource in footnotes (if there even were any footnotes) and how a lot of myths and assumptions just got turned into fact, like the idea that corsets are dangerous or harmful being accepted as “common knowledge” even though it’s patently false. Because of this, a lot of primary resources have info that cannot be verified from a primary source since they just weren’t referenced, so oftentimes there isn’t a way to even check if it’s even accurate. An example Abby gave that I liked was some 19th century “sources” talking about the 18th century fashion of their grandparents and just being *completely* wrong 😂
@@Ben-kv7wr doing research in the 1990's, I did have to be creative - I did not limit my search to "costume" or "fashion", I searched in general history, photography, art history, anthropology, archeology, etc. The field of costume history as an academic research field (and hence properly sourced and footnoted) was generally lumped into anthropology. The types of books Abby Cox talks about in the video you mention, which I also enjoyed, are those that were written from the contemporary fashion world.
An interesting reference for the topic of pyjamas is in Lynn Knight's excellent "The Button Box: The story of women in the 20th century told through the clothes they wore" (Vintage, 2017). She quotes an advert in the Illustrated London News of 4 June 1927, with the headline "La Plage du Soleil et des Pyjamas!". The Illustrated London News is again cited, for a summer 1932 story reporting "the appearance of yellow pyjamas in Tottenham Court Road and beach trousers in Oxford Street. Shocking!
Oh my, I'm so interested in this topic right now. I've moved to much colder climate and have been looking at dressing gowns and wraps and suchlike - I'm only looking at pictures and pinning them into my pinterest board for inspiration and it's still a massive hole to dive into so I respect all the work you put into this topic. Thank you for this fascinating talk.
Lined flannel, needlecord, wool or velvet in a longer length over pjs are good for winter lounging. Or fleece if you like polyester fabrics.
I actually prefer pajamas of 1930-1950 to even the ones I have on now. they are comfortable, have extra accessories for remaining both warm and cold, feel sturdy for if you have to run, feel as though they conceal while supporting. they are made with materials that don't hang onto your sweat so you don't have to wash them as much. It's excellent that we have made athleisure socially acceptable; that's my favorite thing. but pajamas should be so much more than athleisure.
anyway, I've been collecting pajamas from different times for a while. you somehow found the one thing that not only am I passionate about, but I've never told a single person that I have this passion
Unrelatex, but I remember to be scolded by a woman, who claimed to be Orthodox Christian for wearing trousers. She said God would force me to do heavy "manly" labour in heaven, since he would mistake me for a man. Timeframe - 2000s, place - big city.
I love your rabbit holes! Especially when they include everything I didn’t know I wanted to know!! Thanks for the great video!
I died at the article that called them Smart Pajamas. I obviously can’t help but give it a modern meaning and I’m like what would smart pajamas do?!
Look smart or fashionable and stylish?
Can you do a video on historic stockings? First off, I LOVE your content, you have taught me so much! You have inspired me and I am currently making an authentic regency gown, but I can’t figure out how to make/ find stockings that can work both historically and practically!
Go to William Booth Draper. They carry a multitude of eighteenth and early nineteenth century clothing accessories. I am fairly certain they have silk stockings that will work for your purpose.
Men’s Pajamas with knot buttons like in 10:45 definitely looks more like a Chinese Martial Arts uniform such as in Tai Chi, Choy Li Fut Kunf Fu or similar than the traditional Indian style clothes shown in the examples. Also the time frame does fit to the popularity. (Might also have to do something with the opioids but that connection is totally speculative)
That's the same time period of the Impressionists and Van Gogh copying Japanese prints for practice and exploration. Anything to do with the Far East was both fashionable and exotic.
There's this old Italian book called Taglio d'oro which came with beautiful fashion illustrations and instructions to make the patterns and sew said pieces of clothing... From memory, there are images of men and women wearing pyjamas (I'm not 100% sure of the year this was published, some time around the 1920s or 30s, the copy I have seen belonged to a great-uncle who died one month before I was born...). If you can get your hands on a copy, you'll find it amazing as there are also fashions for children being depicted. It's pretty interesting to see what people considered fashionable back then. There are also women wearing oriental looking "robes de chambre" lol...
Such an interesting video and conversation. On a side note I wanted to say that over the year of watching your videos you’ve seemed to get more comfortable presenting to camera and letting your personality shine. I do mean that as a compliment.❤️
"I was afraid the sweet, sweet thing would pluck a feather from his pillow and strike me with it real hard."
Laughed so hard at that excerpt about the woman looking at the fancy man through the window in his jammies.
The beach pajama is such a glamorous, comfortable garment. Works for all body types too. These should still be a thing. Why did we (humans) let these go out of style?
i normally sleep in a mens t-shirt or stappy urban outfitters top with trackies or little shorts/boxers - these are pretty much all sold as clothes or loungewear but as i wear them exclusively to sleep in i call them pajamas - however, if im having a pj day and i need to run to the corner shop i already look appropriately dressed lol
I loved the photos at the end especially. Great video as always👍💖🙋🏼♀️
This actually provides some lovely context for my favourite photo of my late grandmother, goofing off in the woods with her best friend in her pajamas, around the mid 1930s. Thank you!
To murder an apocryphal quote about Oscar Wilde: I wish I had invented beach pajamas! You will Coco, you will.
This is delightful and informative, as all of your videos are delightful and informative. I've been getting into fancier lingerie, loungewear, and sleepwear over the last year or so because my chronic pain is getting worse, but I still want to look and feel nice. Old t-shirts and boxers make perfectly serviceable sleepwear, but they aren't glamorous. Rayons and lightweight linens, however, are a little nicer, and a little trim makes me feel fancy. As a plus, these fabrics are still machine-washable!
I'm a little younger than you, but old-fashioned enough that I will NOT go out in my sleepwear. I will throw on a wrap dress, leggings with a long shirt/short dress, or something similarly comfortable if I need to leave the house but don't feel up to fully getting dressed. If I'm ok with my shirt, I'll throw on a skirt and tuck the shirt in. Even for pajama days in high school, I'd still wear flattering, matched pajamas - with shoes, not my slippers. (From a purely practical standpoint, slippers are house shoes that do not go outside, and regular shoes come off when I get home. This keeps the house cleaner.)
People have differing opinions and so long as we can agree to disagree, I'm good. If someone tries to tell me what to wear, they'd better be prepared, because the next time that person sees me I'll be wearing something much more outlandish, just to irritate them. (I've got a wardrobe that includes historical, cosplay, and ren faire-wear going back about 18 years, no shyness, and I'm fueled by spite. I get immense pleasure from doing this.)
Fascinating! I knew the origins, but wasn't aware of the extent to which European & American fashion picked similar garments up and defined it broadly. The shalwar kameez must also be related to this history.
Well done! Being a British Indian I know how hard your task was and I enjoyed watching the connections of east and west being played before me. Thank you.
Thank you for the wonderful content you provide.
I have been so stressed about my mom’s health, and watching your vids while I tend to her (massaging of the legs for circulatory improvement and water retention) has helped calm my nerves.
I am a relatively new subscriber, so I have been delving into your vid menu and enjoying myself immensely.
I am envious of both your extensive knowledge and skill/craftmanship…. Not to mention your wardrobe collection 😍😍😍
Just wanted to say: thank you so very much.
Much love from Curaçao ♥️
The green set at the end are lovely!
25:28 - A matching PURSE with those pyjamas! Definitely an outfit for public perambulation.
"Beach Pajamas" is now my new personal style goal for every day. Doing more research on this is so inspirational. Thank you for all this information Nicole!
I'm cackling at those newspaper entries. Thanks for your hard work Nicole!
Loved the slide show at the end, and as always, such wonderfully researched information well curated and delivered with style. By the way, you have an elegant neck and would look absolutely fabulous in a pair of those blue and green sort of jumpsuit PJs.
I love your research so much! Always so interesting. I'm all for bringing back the beach pajamas.
thank you for making videos like this, I love learning about all of these daily things in our lives and how they came to be❤
Love your videos Nicole!! Would it be possible for you to a video about your fashion history library?
The examples at the end are some wonderful garments. Thanks for sharing.
The modern versions of those original Indian clothes are called Salwars- kameez or Kurtha Pajamas which both men and women wear with slight changes. The tops now usually have slits on the sides till the waist, though loose fitted ones without slits have gotten some popularity recently especially as party wear.
Dear Nicole
I love your videos, what I can learn from you, you sense of humor, knowledge and the way you appear and present your subject, the background and your work.
Thank you so much for your time and brilliant work 💕
I'm mad crazy about the 30s off white romped with blue and red stripe details. I'd absolutely throw on a cute pair of heels and some chunky gold peices and lucien bangles and in no way would I care that it was an item made for sleeping while out to dinner and dancing in it. I adore your work, and your style, they are both just fantastic!
Your makeup game is always on point
Great video! I would love a similar deep dive into wedding dresses
Excellent episode!
Thank you Nicole! ~ fascinating subject and food for thought. Who knew there was so much fascinating cultural & design history to what we think in modern times as the humble pyjama set! I'm new to your wonderful channel, and am gradually working my way around, so I don't know if it's your thing just now, but would love sometime to hear your take on some of those beautiful early Indian fabrics & trims/brocades/embroidered gauzes in cottons & silks etc that we see in early Indian/Mughal miniatures.
Loved this video. Pajamas are my favorite vintage thing to look for and very hard to find!! Thank you
I wonder if the recently-still-popular silky night cover ups with 'oriental' prints and kimono-style shaping are a remnant of the victorian fascination with 'oriental' themes in nightwear
The 1930’s pajama photos all looked comfortable and colorful
You never cease to amaze with the quality ❤️ Also, you look stunning !(as always, but this particular hairstyle - You could star next to Mae West in a femme fatale role, in that black suit and outcharm her ❤️)
"I saw a pajamas with a man in it" xD
I shot an elephant in my pajamas, how an elephant got into my pajamas I'll never, know.
Glad I discovered your channel. Super interesting!
Found this just in time for my friends pajama party! Now I can have useful pajama facts to share instead of awkwardly sitting in the corner
The snippet about the peeping Tomasina was written by Clara Belle. If memory serves me right, another Clarabell was the clown on The Howdy Doody Show. I could kinda see a few of the vintage pj.s inspiring his costume. 😂
This makes me quite excited as i am about to start a set of "40s" pj pattern using my left over satins (i have maybe 2 feet of the most lol). I love learning about history and now fashion history so thanks for your hard work. Kind of binging the channel lol
Wonderful research. Great video!
Hello Nicole, I have been watching your videos since day one! I love them and the knowledge you share. thank you! I do have a question on this pajama video. Are " Beach Pajamas" the same kind of garment as what I have heard referd to as "Hostess Pajamas"? Keep up the wonderful videos.
John
While I never looked into this, this is something I would've actually guessed how it came about coming from Eastern influences! I love to see more about Eastern fashions. I think the western historians should also give more information on Eastern historical fashions as well!
When I was young, I had a pair of silk Chinese style pajamas that my mother gave to me that were really nice.
Wonderful information!
Ohhhh, is that why there are so many odd secondhand silk clothes in second hand shops all over? Had my brain thought of them as sleep wear, I might have considered them. I didn't; they are so extravagant; they look like day wear, but they don't look good enough to be day wear.
I adore some of the pajamas you show here! I shall make a resolution to up my sleepwear game. These are gorgeous, and the history makes it even more fascinating.
Great video! I love your earrings. May I ask where you purchased them?
Thank you so much for this fascinating amazing researched video. Really opened my eyes.
By far, the most interesting talk I've heard today.
The firefighters part 🤣🤣
I was literally thinking the other day I wish I could find a good video essay on the history of Pajamas, focusing on early 1900s fashion magazine styles and lingerie.
I’m happy here. ❤
Thank you for the level of research and clear information. I am still a bit confused by the early descriptions as the top seemed more of what i would think of as a robe with pai/pajama pants - true?
Wow! You just answered a question I’ve had for a long time. In 1999, I put together a millennial fashion history chart for my New Year’s Eve party 2000. It was so hard to find significant popular resources beyond the A and V reference book. I really enjoyed reading about it, but that was all that I could find. I didn’t realize this was a new field. Clearly, I still enjoy learning about it. 😊
Ok ma'am... I was looking for your video Yesterday...I periodically checked CZcams and I never saw a video now I'm seeing I am a day late??? I am going to write a strongly worded letter to CZcams about their algorithm!🧐🙃
❤️ Very happy to see you today though❤️
Would love a video on sleepwear in general since we also tend to think of the ‘old timey’ sleepshirt and cap w the little candle plate from Dickens as an iconic night look. I also love that you touched on the influence of Chinoiserie on sleepwear which I think has lasted to this day (I tend to find more details like mandarin collars or frog closures on pyjamas than regular day clothes). As a mixed Chinese girl I do kind of love the mixture of eastern and western fashion that came out of it even though its is uh problematique to say the least