‘They made me feel like I had my life together’: pyjama enthusiasts on their favourite sleepwear

I have two favourite pairs of pyjamas that are on high rotation through winter. The first is a pair of blue cotton men’s pyjamas from the Australian brand Contare that cost about $70. I bought them during lockdown when comfort was needed above all else. They have a narrow elastic waist and a generous amount of fabric through the pants and long-sleeve shirt. The flannel is so soft and light which makes them perfect for Australian winters.

The other is a mismatched pair by the Danish brand Tekla. They’re more expensive but also a bit more special. The shirt has a navy blue and white stripe. The pants are green with a wide elastic waistband, with small pleats that create a nice amount of volume in the legs. They’re made from an organic cotton drill (hence the price point) that is slightly stiffer than my Contare ones – which means I’m more inclined to wear them out of the house. The shirt is great for the beach and I’ve worn the pants with a blazer and heels to more than one party.

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If, like me, you travel a lot and often find yourself working from hotel beds in strange time zones, I recommend having at least one pair of pyjamas that are acceptable in-public attire to wear beneath a knit or a coat. You can get away with wearing them to the hotel breakfast or on the plane, which simplifies packing.

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Cotton and linen or a combination of the two make for great pyjamas because they’re lightweight, absorbent and breathable. I know people who love to sleep in silk or viscose derivatives like bamboo but personally, I find them too hot. Similarly, I’d never buy pyjamas made from a polyester, nylon or an elastane blend as oil-based fibres will make you sweat and the fabric will hold on to body odour.

But I’m not the only one who’s serious about sleepwear. This week I asked four pyjama lovers about their favourite pairs.

The op-shop find

Emma Håkansson, the Melbourne-based founder of Collective Fashion Justice, found a pair of blue striped Calvin Klein pyjama pants in an op-shop and they quickly became her favourite pair.

“I imagine they’re fairly old because the cotton has softened in a really nice way, so you don’t feel texture on your skin when you wear them,” she says.

They have pockets, with visible blue buttons on the fly, and an elastic waistband with the classic Calvin Klein logo.

“I usually wear them with a grey cotton, almost racer back singlet with a white lace trim,” she says. “They’re the right kind of stripe – not barely there but also not too loud.”

The luxury hotel pair

“There’s something about hotel fabrics that are so much more comforting and luxurious than the equivalent versions I have at home,” says Houston Barakat, a Sydney-based sommelier. “Sheets, pillowcases, towels, pyjamas. I’m certain it’s scientifically unexplainable.”

On his travels, he acquired a pair of pyjamas from a Four Seasons hotel in Tokyo.

The grey, cotton and polyester blend has the faintest stripe, and a darker grey piping around the shirt collar and seams that match the hotel’s embroidered logo.

“They’re just so unbelievably comfortable,” Barakat says. “Despite the high polyester content, they breathe well, they drape perfectly and don’t crumple.”

The airline pyjamas

Andrew Kelly has several favourite pyjamas. During the pandemic lockdowns, the co-founder of Oigåll Projects and Brud Studia in Melbourne went through periods of wearing a pink 1980s Giorgio Armani men’s night dress with Ugg boots, a coat and hat. “It was very Grey Gardens,” he says. “I would also top this look off with a bottle of pinot grigio.”

His other favourite is a pair of Qantas first class pyjamas. “I make our fancy friend Nick give me his ones,” he says.

The Qantas set is navy with a black trim, made from 100% cotton and comes with matching slippers. “I love that Nick goes without and keeps them for me,” he says.

The monogrammed set

After years of wearing old T-shirts or airline pyjamas given by her parents, Sydney-based writer Alice Jeffrey bought a pair of Desmond & Dempsey pyjamas with her initials monogrammed on the pocket.

The navy blue, long-sleeved pyjamas had white piping and were made from 100% cotton. “Honestly when I first got them, they were a bit stiff and I wondered if I’d made a bad choice but the cotton softened in such a lovely way over time,” she says.

Although she recently had to say goodbye to them after they’d been repaired too many times, she still thinks about them. “My favourite thing to do was have an ‘everything’ shower, put clean sheets on my bed and settle in for a night (or day) with a good book,” she says. “They always made me feel like I had my life together.”