We baby boomers all remember one of the universal rituals of our childhood. This was when one of our parents would stand in front of the TV screen and announce that it was “Time to put on your pajamas and get ready for bed.”
It meant that the day was over. We now had to get into our bed, go to sleep, and wake up in the morning to start a new day, with school or whatever. This was the time our parents looked forward to all evening. It didn’t matter if we really were not tired, it was our task to close our eyes and drift off to slumber land, and our pjs, jammies, or pajamas were the official uniform of the duty. Cotton or flannel, brown, yellow, pink, or blue with pictures of Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, puppies, kittens, or ponies, they were what we wore to bed.
They were and are worn by adults as well. To sleep in, or to lounge around the house in, pajamas are still a very popular garment for sleep and relaxation. Still, does anyone really know where this tradition came from? Were pajamas just always around? Did Abe Lincoln wear pjs? Did Columbus put his jammies on for bedtime? Did Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in his footie pajamas? Well, the answer is “undetermined.” The word pajama is derived from the Hindustani word piejamah which was the name of loose-fitting pants usually made of cotton and tightened at the waist by a drawstring. Indian males wore them as an all day garment, as well as for sleeping. They first appeared in Persia in the 11th century and spread into West and Southern Asia in the 14th century. Versions of the garment were worn by different classes, with peasants wearing cotton and flannel made pants, and the rich and nobility wearing full sleep suits made of silk or velour. Muslim Indians introduced the garment to India in the 14th century and they quickly caught on because of their comfort and durability. Eventually the top shirt came along, although many males continued to go bare-chested in the heat of summer or while they worked.
By the 16th century, ladies too started wearing their own version of the piejamah for everyday wear. The garment was a staple of the Asian and Indian wardrobe.
So how did this particular form of dress make it from the everyday wear of Indian farmers and laborers to the sleep suits of American kids in the 20th century? It was the Portuguese who brought the pajama to Europe from China in the 17th century. Pajamas were fashionable for a short time but soon fell out of favor and faded from the European marketplace. However, the British rediscovered the muslin “night suits” as they pushed their way into India, adding the country to their empire. Finding them comfortable to sleep in and lounge in, the Brits in India added pjs to their wardrobe and brought them home to England when they retired.
The word pajama first started appearing in British clothing catalogs in the first half of the 19th century but the garments really did not become popular with the general public until the 1870s during the Victorian Era. They were made from satin, cotton, flannel, and the more expensive silk. These days, synthetic materials such as polyester and Lycra are also used. The Chinese created footie pajamas, which are still made, proving popular with parents of babies and toddlers who won’t keep their covers on.
By the 20th century, pajamas had made their way to the United States. The 1906 Sears Roebuck catalog has a complete line of pajamas listed for children and adults. By World War II, pajamas had become the sleeping garb of most American kids. Hollywood made lounging pajamas popular with adult males — the sophisticated look of Clark Gable and William Powell sitting in the comfort of a penthouse, sipping a martini, with a cigarette in hand, wearing a silk robe and leather slippers looked extremely comfortable to movie audiences.
In the 1950s, manufacturers started incorporating the image of popular television and movie icons into their sleepwear. I had a pair of Superman pajamas. In certain cultures, pajamas have been worn in the daytime as clothing to go out in the world in. In certain quarters in the United States, wearing pajamas in public has become a “thing.” However, in the last several years, a number of municipalities in Britain and the United States have had to pass ordinances banning the wearing of pajamas in public. As one Louisiana City Councilman observed. “If it’s pajamas today, will it be underwear tomorrow?”
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