Pajamas

"Pyjama" redirects here; for cartoon character, see Vasco Pyjama; for Google Web Toolkit, see Pyjamas (software); for blog hosting company, see Pajamas Media

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  Muslim girl, India, in paijama and kurti, 1844.
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  Girl in short sleeve pj's; doll in traditional.
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  Boys in stretch-knit pyjamas.
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  Toddler in footed pajamas.

Pajamas, also spelled pyjamas (see also spelling differences) can refer to several related types of clothing. The original paijama are loose, lightweight trousers fitted with drawstring waistbands and worn in South and West Asia by both sexes. In many English-speaking nations, pajamas are loose-fitting, two-piece garments derived from the original garment and worn chiefly for sleeping, but sometimes also for lounging, also by both sexes. More generally, pajamas may refer to several garments, for both daywear and nightwear, derived from traditional pyjamas and involving variations of style and material.

Types of Pajamas

Original

Salwar pyjama pants as worn in South and Central Asia.

These are items of both daywear and nightwear and are combined with a loose over-shirt such as a kurta. They are usually wide-legged, but may also come in baggy salwar versions or narrow-legged churidar versions.

Traditional

Traditional pyjamas.

Traditional pyjamas consist of a jacket-and-trousers combination made of soft fabric, such as flannel; the jacket has a placket front and its sleeves have no cuffs. In colloquial speech, these are often called pjs or jammies; in South Asia, and sometimes in South Africa, they are known as night suits.

Contemporary

Pyjama bottoms worn with sweatshirt.

These are derived from traditional pajamas, and may be variations of style only, such as short sleeve pajamas, pyjama-bottoms of varying length, or, on occasion, one-piece pajamas, or may involve variation in material used as well. Chiefly in the US, the latter type may refer to stretch-knit sleep apparel with rib-knit trimmings. Usually worn by children, these garments have pullover tops (if two-piece) or have zippers down the fronts (if one-piece), and may also be footed. Although pyjamas are usually distinguished from non-bifurcated sleeping garments such as nightgowns, in the US, they can sometimes include the latter, as in babydoll pajamas.

Daywear

Even more generally, Pajamas may refer to women's combination daywear, consisting of short-sleeved or sleeveless blouses and lightweight pants; examples of these are capri pajamas, beach pyjamas, and hostess pajamas.

Material

Pyjamas are usually loose fitting and designed for comfort, using softer materials such as cotton or the more luxurious silk or satin. Synthetic materials such as polyester and Lycra are also available.

Designs and patterns

Pyjamas often contain visual references to a thing that may hold some special appeal to the wearer. Images of sports, animals, balloons, polka dots and other things may all be used to decorate them. Pyjamas may also be found in plainer designs, such as plaid or plain gray, but when worn in public, they are usually designed in such a way that makes their identity unambiguous.

Custom

Pajamas are usually worn with bare feet and often without underwear, although these vary by personal preference. They are often worn as comfort wear even when not in bed, and are also sometimes worn as a fashion statement. In North America, some people (mainly young females) have started to wear pyjama pants in public as fashion. In China, it is not unusual in the late afternoon or evening, to have adults wear their pyjamas in public around their local neighborhood. In Ireland Pajamas are worn in Public by Skangers often in their teens and are noted for loitering around public places and anti-social behaviour.

History

The word "pyjama" was incorporated into the English language from Hindustani language. The word originally derives from the Persian word پايجامه Payjama meaning "leg garment."

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  Courier in white paijama, India, 1844.
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  Men in white paijama with hunting cheetahs, India 1844.
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  Muslim men in paijamas (various styles), Bombay, 1867
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  Muslim woman in salwar-style pyjamas, Sind, 1870.

The worldwide use of pyjamas (the word and the garment) is the result of British presence in South Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries. According to Yule and Burnell's Hobson-Jobson (1903) the word originally referred to loose trousers tied around the waist.

Such a garment is used by various persons in India e.g. by women of various classes, by Sikh men, and most by Muslim of both sexes. It was adopted from the Muslim by Europeans as an article of dishabille and of night attire ... It is probable that we English took the habit like a good many others from the Portuguese. Thus Pyrard (c. 1610) says, in speaking of Goa Hospital: "Ils ont force calsons sans quoy ne couchent iamais les Portugais des Indes" ... The word is now used in London shops. A friend furnishes the following reminiscence: "The late Mr. B—, tailor in Jermyn Street, some 40 years ago, in reply to a question why pyjammas had feet sewn on to them (as was sometimes the case with those furnished by London outfitters) answered: 'I believe, Sir, it is because of the White Ants." Examples. 1828: "His chief joy smoking a cigar in loose Paee-jams and native slippers." Orient. Sport. Mag. reprint 1873, i. 64. 1881: "The rest of our attire consisted of that particularly light and airy white flannel garment, known throughout India as a pyjama suit." Haekel, Ceylon, p. 329.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, "They were introduced in England as lounging attire in the 17th century but soon went out of fashion. About 1870 they reappeared in the Western world as sleeping attire for men, after returning British colonials brought (them) back ...."

References in popular culture

The Pajama Game was a Broadway musical and film highlighting workers at a pyjama factory.

Pyjamas played a prominent role on a popular kids television show known as Bananas in Pyjamas. The show detailed the adventures of two bananas while wearing their pyjamas.

Pajamas Media is an online advertising and publishing company created by bloggers Roger L. Simon and Charles Johnson. The term derives from CNN president Jonathan Klein's 2004 dismissal of bloggers as "a guy sitting in his living room in his pyjamas.".

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a novel and subsequent film of the same name about a Nazi Germany concentration camp where the son of the officer running the camp befriends a Jewish boy in the camp.

See also

• blanket sleeper
• sleepover
• nightie
• sleep