The Stay-In Wardrobe: Loungewear and Soft Accessories

The BBC traces pyjamas as fashion back to Coco Chanel, who began wearing "beach pyjamas" as early as 1918. They were thought shocking at first, with their hint of the boudoir, and by the mid-1920s rich women had taken them up. A century on, Vogue's Pajama Dressing 101 points to Olivia von Halle for sets fancy enough to wear out of the house as they are, and that is where I start.

 

Olivia von Halle launched her label at London Fashion Week in September 2011, and silk sleepwear is still the whole point of it. The Coco set in pale blue is the plainest and the one I would wear to dinner with flat sandals, while the Kick set, printed with rust swans, is the fun one. Lunya, started by Ashley Merrill in Los Angeles and formally launched in 2014, makes washable silk, so the Deep Blue set and the butter-yellow button-up shorts go straight in the machine. Petite Plume began in 2015 as a side project for Emily Hikade, then a CIA officer posted abroad, and its Panther de Nuit toile in navy is the print I keep coming back to. Hanro, founded in Liestal, Switzerland, in 1884, does the quiet navy set with silk trim.

 

A practical test: button the top all the way up and tuck it into jeans. If it reads like a shirt, it will work outside. What I would skip is wearing the Off-White satin trousers to bed, because they are cut for the street; wear them with a T-shirt and keep a proper set for sleeping.

Encyclopedia.com credits the 1934 film It Happened One Night, in which Claudette Colbert wears a pair of men's pyjamas, with helping popularize the menswear pyjama for women. That crisp, piped, slightly borrowed shape is still what I want from cotton, and it is the kind of set I sleep in most nights.

 

TEKLA was founded in Copenhagen in 2017 by Charlie Hedin, and Vogue singles out its piped blue pyjama shirt; here the checked organic cotton shirt in brown is the piece I would wear open over a tank. Desmond & Dempsey, the London label Molly Goddard and Joel Jeffery started in 2014 and named after their grandfathers, does the tiger print set, which is loud in the best way. Nell Diamond launched Hill House Home in 2016, and its Nina shorts and Olivia trousers come in the same pastel trellis, so you can cover summer and winter at once. Petite Plume's ticking stripes in lavender and periwinkle are the classic, Cozyland by Morgan Lane gives a sky stripe a slouchier cut, and Deiji Studios' floral linen set is the one for a heatwave.

 

Poplin is crisp and cool, while sateen and twill feel heavier and warmer. Wash any of these twice before you judge them, because good cotton softens. What I would skip is the short sets if your bedroom runs cold in winter; long trousers earn their keep for more months of the year.

Vogue Arabia's August 2026 piece on pyjamas leaving the bedroom counts Zendaya's drawstring pyjamas among the looks that have found fans beyond the runway, and the drawstring is the clue. Soft knit sets are the ones people actually live in, at home, on a flight, or on a Sunday that never quite gets going.

 

Eberjey was founded in Miami in 1996 by Ali Mejia and Mariela Rovito, and its Gisele modal sets are the brand's calling card; I like the slouchy one in sage and the long set in ice blue. SKIMS, co-founded by Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede in June 2019, makes ribbed sets neat enough to answer the door in, and the Soft Lounge set in light blue is the easy one. The Polo Ralph Lauren waffle set in green feels a little preppy, and LESET's grey pointelle three-piece is the most charming thing in this grid. For trousers, The Frankie Shop's Mirra sweatpants, TWP's Jetties joggers and ORIANE 1986's jogger are cut to wear out with a long coat, and Negative's waffle bralette goes under all of them.

 

Rib and modal cling more than woven cotton, so size up if you like room. What I would skip is the cami sets if you run cold, since a tee or a long sleeve does far more on a winter night.

Wikipedia's pyjamas entry tells the story of Bette Davis turning up in Old Acquaintance wearing her beau's pyjama top as a nightie, after which an I. Magnin buyer told The New York Times she sold out of men's sleepwear the morning after the film opened, all of it to young women. The borrowed flannel shirt never really went away, and the cold months are when it makes the most sense.

 

TOTEME, founded in 2014 by Elin Kling and Karl Lindman and run from an atelier in Stockholm, makes the most grown-up set here, a brown monogram flannel top and trouser that would pass for daywear. Polo Ralph Lauren covers the classics with a plaid short-sleeve set and the Madison set printed with winter bears, and PJ Salvage's red flannel and dog print are the cheerful ones. LISA YANG, the Stockholm cashmere house Lisa Yang and Samuel Stenberg started in 2014, makes the Shannen cotton and cashmere lounge trousers, and Lauren Ralph Lauren's cotton and cashmere sweater-knit set is a softer way into the same feeling. Negative's waffle track pants and the Polo Sleep Club waffle set sit somewhere between knit and flannel.

 

Flannel pills when it is washed hot, so turn it inside out and wash it cool. What I would skip is heavy flannel in an overheated flat; HONEYDEW's brushed jersey star set is lighter and still feels soft.

Vogue's pajama-dressing guide names Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep among the women who blurred the line between sleepwear and personal style. A good robe does that at home. It is the thing you put on to make coffee and still feel dressed.

 

Olivia von Halle's Mimi robe in ivory silk satin is the glamorous one, and the Capability robe in mauve stripes is long enough to wear over a slip dress. Barefoot Dreams began in Malibu in 1994 with Annette Cook's baby blankets before its CozyChic fabric moved into adult loungewear, and the waffle robe in pearl is the softest thing on this page. For after a bath, Lunya's Spa Terry robe and Hill House Home's Hotel Robe in light pink are the practical picks. Eberjey's Gisele robes match the modal sets above, Petite Plume's Ophelia robe is crisp white pima cotton, and Printfresh's Bagheera robes, one in satin and one in hot pink, bring the print.

 

Check the length before you buy: mid-calf feels dressier and knee length is easier on stairs. What I would skip is a silk robe straight out of the shower, because water marks silk; that is what terry is for.

Slip launched in 2004 after a dermatologist suggested a silk pillowcase to co-founder Fiona Stewart, and the brand's whole idea is that what touches you at night matters. Its pure silk contour sleep mask is the one I pack, and Alex Mill's P'Jimmies mask in pink stripe is the cheerful alternative.

 

UGG was founded in California in 1978 by Australian surfer Brian Smith, and the black Tasman is the slipper with a sole sturdy enough for a walk to the mailbox. Brunch's Amour suede shearling slippers and Eberjey's sherpa slippers are softer and stay indoors. For cold mornings, LISA YANG's Stockholm beanie in deep plum and Chelsea scarf in sand, plus Jenni Kayne's oatmeal cable beanie, are cashmere you can wear from bed to the corner shop.

 

Keep these in the same quiet palette as your sets and they disappear into the outfit. What I would skip is slippers without a real sole if your floors are hard; the Tasman is worth the extra weight.

Vogue Arabia put it plainly in August: the bedroom wardrobe is getting a very public makeover, with Jennifer Lawrence in satin sets and Hailey Bieber in a lacy satin slip dress. I like that, but I build it from the inside out.

 

My order is one silk or cotton set you would happily wear to the corner shop, then a robe, then a knit set for travel and slow weekends, then flannel when the heating comes on. The masks, slippers and cashmere come last. Keep the colours close, swap the pieces between sets, and a handful of pyjamas turns into a week of outfits for staying in.