27.3.12

the cat's pyjamas



First: it is glorious here in London. Unbelievable. We went SWIMMING - outdoors - this weekend, in Surrey. Or rather, I did. He lounged in the sun, like a cat.

Sod's law: lately when I'm out, deliberately not bringing my camera, just enjoying real life, but the sunshine, and the way people are dressing.. it's really hard to shut fashion off. Don't you find? Like last Monday - week before last - I was walking home from Jak's (Walton St: it's like Ground Zero for style - I've been meeting friends there a lot again lately - it's ridiculous, the ratio of great looks beats fashion week, because they're not trying so hard) and I passed Joseph. My favourite shop. I love the staff, and they've got the best of everything, in a clean, easily accessible environment.

And there in the window: these pyjamas.

I shot them with my phone, and thought that would be the end of it. But, no: all week it's been nagging at me. Who made them? Will we really see them on the street? (I gather there were a bunch at fashion week - but that's like Halloween. That doesn't count). And then I started thinking of my own white on white stripey pyjamas. Made by The White Company. Cameron Diaz wore them several seasons ago, in the film Holiday - at the start, in LA, when she storms out of her house being all cute and breaking up with her boyfriend (and, incongruously, wearing a bra under them. As if 'I'm gonna break up with you, honey, and storm outside, but first, hold on, let me put on my bra'). At that moment, I became obsessed. I had to have them, but the White Company had stopped making them. But - bizarre twist of fate!- I found the perfect pair, on eBay. This was pre-blog, of course, and I hadn't used eBay before, and I blew it. I bid too soon, and someone named Mr. Millionaire outbid me.

But then in a SECOND twist of fate, a few days later, the same pair were re-released. By Mr. Millionaire himself! I had a whole story in my head: he bought them as a gift for his girlfriend, but they were the wrong size... no, they broke up.. and he put them back on. And I got them! At a lower price than he bought them at.

So yesterday, I was passing Joseph again, and I stopped inside. Took a look around, loved everything I saw. Asked after the PJ's in the window - because I didn't see them on the racks. 'It's Celine,' smiled the lovely saleswoman. (Of course: EVERYONE knows that. This just shows you how consciously out of the fashion loop I've been for the past months - perhaps always.) I've since quickly got up to speed, and I'm very impressed with how Phoebe Philo oozed quiet confidence in Paris this season. But then again: I've been impressed with everything Phoebe has done, from the start - when she first teamed with Stella. 'They're sold out,' she said, 'but we can take them down for you, if you'd like to try them on.'

I thanked her, but declined. I've got my own, in white on white. I'm daring myself to wear them out on the street. I guess the secret is, you have to wear them with great heels, otherwise people will assume you're breaking up with your boyfriend. Incidentally, I found a similar pair on eBay - Saville Row, in blue and white stripes - sixteen days to go. I mean - I hate trends, I really do - it annoys me, in fact, when things I always wear become trendy - like pastels, my wardrobe year round is pastels, and now I feel I have to justify and apologise - but that's for another post. What I'm wondering now is, is anyone out there, in the real world, wearing their PJs on the street?

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not me. It's more the other way around. I wear my favourite shirts or sweaters to bed.

Enjoy your day.

San (to lazy to log on)

Emily said...

Everyone I see wearing PJs out in the street always looks so elegant and chic but I worry that I would look like I did in my student days when I couldn't be bothered to get dressed and wanted some chocolate from the corner shop - far from chic!!!

Style At Every Age said...

I've never seen anyone wearing PJ's on the street, well certainly not Celine ones. There are a couple of women who get in my local co-op usually midday in their's and sometimes their dressing gowns if its cold. Hope your well xx

O D Y S S E Y said...

as chic as these are, let's hope we don't start seeing pajamas as street wear. *shudder!*
i guess it's ok to wear them if you're only taking out the trash, though.

daisychain said...

Plenty of people around here wear their PJs on the street...sadly they are of the saggy fleecy Primark variety and not anything chic! x

jill said...

; ) If anyone wants to send me some shots, maybe I"ll do a post: a kind of 'Glamour Don't of Sleepwear as Streetwear'.

Actually... I might just ask old Mr. Dot to do a shoot of me in mine!!

Thanks girls xox

LeahB said...

Oh nooooo! Please don't wear your pajamas out in public!!! It's one of my pet peeves!! To add to what daisychain noted, I always see women in the grocery store in their flannels and they just look so unshowered and sloppy to me. Ewwww!

So, while those pjs are lovely/gorgeous, my visceral reaction seems to have no exceptions for even the higher end sleepwear!

Anyways, pajamas in public and overalls over anyone over the age of three just make me cringe! Maybe you could do a post on everyone's fashion pet peeves. (To which, I would also add Uggs!)

jill said...

That's a GREAT idea, Leah! Fashion Pet Peeves. I love it.

I'm gonna see if he'll do a shoot - only just outside in the Mews - I don't have the balls to be actually seen in public in my PJ's.

And San, btw: what I really wear at home (case in point, as I type this): my dad's old white tee shirts, underwear and thick white socks. Rather fetching, showing off my tanned toned legs (!) and when I'm chilly, I add white thermal ski underwear to the ensemble - and sometimes a hoodie, for the layered look. I love white for ultimate coziness.

LeahB said...

Aw, that's nice that you have your dad's tees to wear. I kept my grandmother's bathrobe after she passed away... it was so comforting to wrap myself up in it when I was missing her.

Alexandra said...

If it's any consolation Jill, I didn't know they were Celine either! I think I was put off ever wearing my pyjamas outside the confines of home after being on a school trip and all of us congregating in this cafe/bar type common room with a pool table etc in the place where we were staying and the teachers chatted whilst we all had hot chocolate and played games. We the pupils were mostly wearing pyjamas and hoodies which I didn't mind, but then our Head rocked up (she'd just arrived in the country a few days into the trip!) and the first thing she did when she arrived was to call me over and ask to look at all the snaps I'd taken on my (then only two weeks old) Canon 500d. To say I was embarrassed about having a serious conversation about the history of the area with my Head of School whilst wearing grey and white polka dot pyjamas isn't an exaggeration. Luckily she liked my pictures and that hopefully distracted her from my lack of formal dress but still I was mortified at the time even though I laugh about it now!

This Celine pair is beautiful - perfect for lounging at home and in the garden in summer. Though I doubt I could justify that price tag for something I wouldn't be seen dead wearing except in my own house!

mtg said...

I could never pull it off but really like Rachel Roy's red carpet look in 2011(?).
Please check it out, she looks so cute: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/09/rachel-roy-pajamas_n_922057.html

I like trends for many reasons. One of them: where I live trends never even reach the street. So if you look trendy you do stand out, as opposed to blending in.
Secondly, trends fascinate me because we never know what will become popular all of the sudden. Anyway, it's all how we interpret trends, and put our own twist on it, isn't it? That's when it's fun. It's not fun when one just blindly follows trends. So I respectfully disagree about trends ;)
How have you been? So glad you got to swim! I know how much you enjoy swimming.
xx
maya

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jill said...

Arrgh!! Sorry guys (girls) - can't delete the above comment, and husband needs feeding asap. Please disregard - I didn't endorse it ; ) thanks!!

Lawrence !!! said...

Celine...Its so simple yet so desirable - I might wear'em out at the evening if I had any fancy parties to go to like they did in the 40s. But I would feel more comfortable wearing a loose pajama shirt with a pair of skinny jeans :) xxx

mtg said...

I would also feel more comfortable (like Lawrence) with just one piece: only pj pants with a cardi or something like that.
xx
maya

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