Pajamas Through the Ages

By Emily Friedman, The Pajama Company Intern

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, people didn’t wear pajamas. As avid fans of everything “PJ,” it’s hard for us at The Pajama Company to understand or even begin to comprehend. Regardless of how horrific the thought is, pajamas were only truly introduced to England and the rest of the world in 1870.

British colonists discovered and adapted the loose fitting attire from the East, embracing it especially on hot days. Eventually, a form of Indian pajama was brought over to England, quickly gaining popularity with men as a change from traditional nightshirts. Many of the original patterns of Indian pajamas came over as well, adding an element of style to the sleeping outfits.

Twenty years later, pajamas first entered the U.S.A., creating a huge fad with men and women alike. However, it was much colder during the winters for Americans, so the weather necessitated some changes to pajamas. They became thicker and warmer and footie pajamas followed soon after.

Pajamas haven’t changed much since first becoming big in the 1800’s. The designs of one hundred years ago are timeless. You can still find traditional Indian pajamas or funky, babydoll jammies from the 60’s. We add options, but never divert too much from the tried-and-true, amazing design of the pajamas we love.

In the mood for a classic? Buy some traditional flannel footies.

Gift Closet Worth Sharing!

By Makenzie Lynch, The Pajama Company Intern

At some point or another, each of us has been at one end of a gift closet. You might have one, or you might have received a last-minute gift from someone delivered straight from the gift drawer, but we all have experience with the trinket-filled, all-pleasing gift closet.

Gift closets are for seemingly everyone. They ensure that if you don’t have time to get a present, or can’t think of anything spectacular, you can still show others that they’re appreciated. However, the gifts in a gift drawer have to be all encompassing. Because you don’t know who they’ll be for when you buy them, you have to make sure anyone could like them. They must be universal.

Now, here’s an obvious answer to the question of “What is universal enough to please everyone?” Sleep of course! We all do it. Babies, parents, grandparents, everyone! Additionally, I have yet to meet a person who doesn’t love sleep.

Filling your gift drawers and closets can be hard, but The Pajama Company has some amazing, affordable gifts to stock up on for a rainy day.

Consider an eye mask for a boss or co-worker! Simple, but subtly showing you care.

Maybe a chocolate bar for your best friend if she’s having a rough day? The funny quotes on ours are sure to cheer up a pal. Plus, if you always have a couple in your gift closet, you’ll always be prepared for a bad day.

Finally, everyone always loves a good mug (of which we have plenty!).

 

Check out our full gift collection on thepajamacompany.com

 

Jammin’ in Jammies!

Nothing beats music in your pajamas. A midnight dance party with your best friends, that one lullaby that helps you get to sleep, and the song you listen to while getting ready for school, grooving in front of your mirror. Music and pajamas go together like peanut butter and jelly. Their loose-fighting design enables some truly “out-there” boogie moves. Their bright colors encourage a little loss of inhibitions. The comfort level ensures that you feel free to express yourself, whether by curling up into a ball of sleep or bopping around your bedroom.

Music can truly define a night (regardless of if it’s spent sleeping or partying). Here, we share a few of our favorite pajama jams and fellow pajama lovers rocking out.

A couple of rock stars in their footies

A cover of Bruno Mars’ “The Lazy Song” (our theme song!) done in fab pajamas

A great “summer nights” song to play over the radio for late night pajama drives with friends

A sweet lullaby to send you off to sleep

PS: Match your slick moves and cool tunes with this funny instrument pajamas: Music Pajama by Papa Bear.

Breaking World Records, Looking Good Doing It

By Emily Friedman, The Pajama Company Summer Intern

So you love Harry Potter? AND you love footie pajamas? AND you live near Chicago? Well, this is your lucky day!

After an extremely successful appearance at VidCon, a group of people are following up with an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for a footie pajama gathering at this year’s LeakyCon!

LeakyCon celebrates Harry Potter and everything related to it. However, it’s also an opportunity to enjoy the imagination, ingenuity, and enthusiasm of other fans. This footie pajama “parade” is a prime example of such qualities. A bunch of people, sharing a similar interest, coming together to celebrate one of OUR favorite things: footies! This attempted World Record proves once and for all that footies are stylish, cool, and hip.

Perhaps more importantly though, this event illustrates the bonding power of pajamas. Hundreds of strangers are coming together to enjoy each other’s company and the satisfaction of a record well-broken. On the official Facebook page for the event, participants swap advice on where to buy and what pattern to don. Melissa Diedricks posted an enthused, “Lets get our record breaking on!” Footie pajamas are bringing people together in a way that I doubt other clothing items could.

This is one cause that we can really get behind! So stock up on footies, get over to Chicago, and revel in one of the best parties of the year!

Want to know more? Check out their official Facebook Page and prepare for the world record breaking by buying your own adult footies.

New York Street Style: Pajama-Inspired Pants!

By Cat Fish, The Pajama Company Director of Outreach

Everybody knows that the Big Apple is one of the most fashionable cities in the world. We at The Pajama Company have noticed that one of the of the hottest trends for summer in NYC is pajama-inspired pants!

These spunky trousers are loose and comfortable in the summer heat. They look casual and chic paired with a simple tank or cotton t-shirt. We met Tessa Peach (pictured), who was rockin’ her fun and colorful pants while spending the day exploring Central Park.

Check out The Pajama Company’s Just PJ Pants section for an array of bright patterned pajama pants!

Food and Footies

By Emily Friedman, The Pajama Company Summer Intern

The word “comfort” brings to mind two seemingly different visuals. First, that of a person, curled up in pajamas with a cup of tea. The second image is that of comfort food. We all indulge in mac and cheese, mom’s meatballs, or fried chicken at some point of emotional weakness. We go to food for physical comfort as often as we go to pajamas!


Perhaps the best part of comfort food is the memory associated with it. You might fondly recall your parents popping popcorn over the stove before settling down to watch a movie. You might dwell on the times you spent with your roommates snacking on fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies as a midnight study break. You might think back on lying sick in bed, helped along to health by homemade chicken noodle soup.


Comfort food and pajamas have something very distinctive in common in that they recollect memories and nostalgia. Some of our best memories are spent this way with family and friends. So settle down in your footies with a bowl of ice cream and your gal pals!

As a final touch, try having your food and wearing it too with these stylish foodie pajamas!

In Character In PJ’s

By Emily Friedman, The Pajama Company Summer Intern

One of the special things about pajama-lovers is our uncanny ability to spot a really nice pair of jammies on our favorite TV shows. We’ll yelp out in bemusement if we spy a character rolling out of bed, decked out in a really nice set of footies. Even glamorous TV characters need sleep! So, here’s a compilation of our absolute favorite pajama cameos.

New Girl

True Blood

30 Rock

Mad Men

PS: Check out a DIFFERENT set of cupcake pajamas Liz Lemon wore from The Pajama Company!

 

Kourtney Kardashian’s Pajama Style

By Makenzie Lynch, The Pajama Company Summer Intern

If there were one celebrity known for wearing her pajamas on television, it would have to be the new mother of two, Kourtney Kardashian. Whether you love them or hate them, Kourtney and the Kardashian clan have become staples in the American media, and stylish pajamas have obviously become a staple in Kourtney’s wardrobe.

In silky striped pajamas on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”

I can admit that watching “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and the other myriad of Kardashian spinoffs on E! has become a guilty pleasure of mine, and judging by the amount of money the show has brought them (Kim is #6 on the Forbes “Most Powerful Celebrity List” for 2012) it has become a guilty pleasure of many. Although the reasons behind the Kardashians’ fame are questionable, the family has become known for a glamorous style that is always on trend.

While the Kardashian girls are typically seen strutting around in 6 inch heels and designer dresses, it has become clear that even these done-up, high fashion girls love their cozy pajamas. This is especially true of the eldest Kardashian sister, Kourtney, who says on her blog that she “wishes every day could be a PJ’s day.”

Throughout various drama-filled and overly-extravagant episodes of the Kardashian series, Kourtney has sported a variety of pajama looks from silky pajama sets to flannel long johns, and has been known to add her own flair with fun jewelry or headpieces as accessories (see above). We always love to see matching family pajamas!

Kourtney, Scott, Kim, and Mason match their Christmas PJs.

With new baby Penelope having just arrived, we can be sure Kourtney will be sporting pajamas more than ever. At The Pajama Company, we can’t help but admire Kourtney’s pajama style, and have a few looks we think she would definitely approve of.

Thank You, Maurice!

This post is belated to say the least, but there’s no such thing as being too late to appreciate the great Maurice Sendak. Maurice captured childhood and life in general in the short pages of children’s book, such as Where the Wild Things Are. Max was all of us: imaginative, wishful, and occasionally misguided.

At The Pajama Company, our favorite thing about Maurice and Where the Wild Things Are is the way they brought families, friends, and people together. Parents read his books to their children as they drift off to sleep, and those same children fondly remember his books when they’re grown. Maurice Sendak brought us together to explore life. This is exactly what The Pajama Company aims to do. We appreciate families and friendship. Comfort comes in at the top of our priority list. We want to thank and help the mothers that so devotedly read to their children through our partnership with Every Mother Counts.

We love Maurice. We love the way he saw life and the way he conveyed that perspective to others. Continue reading to your kids as you tuck them in at night, remembering Maurice Sendak’s contribution to all of us.

PS: Max in Where the Wild Things Are was a devout pajama-wearer. The Pajama Company has an extensive collection of pajamas for your kids so they can match Max as they read!