The thought struck me tonight of how much I love putting on my soft, comfy pajamas. A lot of the clothes I wear (and I don't think I'm alone here!) are pretty uncomfortable, and at the very least restrictive. So why don't we wear what is the most comfortable all of the time, and not just while we sleep? There are so many advantages inherent in this system it's unbelievable!
  • This could be the basis of a classless society. One of the many functions that apparel has served the human race for the thousands of years of civilization is as a means of establishing a social order. Clothing is an outward reflection of one's means and status in society, from Abercrombie and Fitch in high school to Armani suits later on, clothing is one way of saying "I'm better than you are." Even for a person who doesn't pay attention to that kind of stuff (or just thinks that they don't), it still is there subconsciously.

    Yes, even in a pajama-based society there will be couture pajamas, at least for a little while, but then people will realize that paying thousands of dollars for designer sleepwear is ridiculous when they can be just as comfortable in flannel from Wal-mart.

  • It would virtually eliminate sizing woes. You've read many nodes about the sad state of women's dress sizes, but how many times have you heard women saying, "Do these flannel PJs make my butt look big?" Have you ever spent hours trying on different pairs of pajama pants? I didn't think so. You find a size that roughly describes your physique, grab them, and go. Shopping is quick, easy, and painless. Men should find this concept especially inviting. :)
  • It just makes sense, dammit! Think about it, why do humans wear clothes? For protection from the elements and for protection for our delicate flesh from outside forces. Climate control makes the first purpose unnecessary in most situations as we dash from heated building to heated car and back again (and coats are acceptable in a pajama-less society I've decided), and the fact that many people work behind a desk and aren't out mining and pillaging small villages renders the second purpose of clothing obsolete.

    So why not run around naked, you ask? Well, that's another possibility, but the pajamas will be more acceptable to the oft-touted Moral Majority while still maintaining the ideal of comfort at all times, and face it, there's a lot of people out there that you don't want to see naked.

Is it just a matter of time before people start thinking of comfort over conformity and choose pajamas over a suit and tie? Probably not, conformity usually wins. :( But in a perfect world...

I hesitated before writing this up, as it's yet another east coast vs. west coast riff, but I have to node what I know...

People actually wear pajamas into the office here in LA. They do it with shocking frequency. They wear slippers, sweatpants, surgical scrubs. They wear the flannel tops. They eat cereal from bowls, provided by the company. They being their dogs to work. They bring their scooters.

This isn't me complaining. This is me marveling. I know I that my last WU was "my office is a sensory deprivation chamber". In someways, that was more an observation based on my last place of work. This is more like a giant post-industrial kindergarten for adults. It isn't just here - I have seen this in multiple offices around the city.

To qualify: not everybody wears pajamas. But that there is even a minority that wears them TO WORK continually blows my hick/east coast mind.

I would seriously love to walk around in my jammies--worn out t-shirt and flannel bottoms, maybe a pair of socks... A lot of girls at my college do already, at least for the morning classes. The only problem I see with this is that I would become quite lazy and find it difficult to motivate myself to engage in personal hygene.

Knowing that, I fear I must stick with my current uniform of t-shirt and jeans. Not bad, plus it forces me to bother to get naked and shower.

In a week's time, this node will be old enough to drink, and we can only imagine what it will be drinking--- probably some sweet wine while watching netflix under a pile of blankets. But I feel I should answer this rhetorical question quite seriously. And to do so, I will rest my argument on the cake and frosting principle. While it is fun to feel the creamy texture of frosting before biting into cake, sometimes we get a corner piece and feel our mouth overwhelmed by frosting. And as well, if you have ever tried to eat frosting straight from the can---well, lets just say it doesn't leave us with a feeling of pride or pleasure.

There are a few reasons why wearing pajamas all the time isn't as good as wearing pajamas some of the time:

  • Loose clothing can be just as uncomfortable as tight clothing. The looseness of pajamas doesn't cause a problem because we are usually wearing them at home, not acting, and usually sleeping. If we were in motion in our pajamas, and constantly having to pull them up and adjust them, it would get annoying.
  • Pajamas lack pockets. Mostly. Sometimes pajamas do have a small pocket, but they can't take anything of any weight, and if they do, they will often sag downwards, see above.
  • Pajamas might not actually be that warm. I know that pajamas might seem like the epitome of warmth and snugness, but we are usually wearing them in a warm, comfortable environment. Would they actually be substantial enough to protect us from a cold wind, and a rainy day, which brings us to...
  • Pajamas are not very weatherized, because as above, they don't need to be. That comfortable fabric that is so soft also has no protection against rain or mud. Even little drops of water and mud that might splash up from the street and be repelled my denim will turn that soft, fuzzy fabric of pajamas into a sodden mess. I have also noticed that my pajamas tend to pick up the odor of sweat more than regular clothing, although usually I am not sweating too much in my pajamas. But when I do, they often get grody quickly.
Pajamas as clothing face the dilemma of the Kantian bird who thinks that it could fly better without air. Those warm, comfortable pajamas that are so comfortable at home would turn into a sodden, slumpy mass of mud, chilly wetness and body odor if we were to try to wear them every day. Of course, some of these problems could be fixed, by adding more structure and resistant fabrics to our pajamas---but at that point, we have basically just reinvented clothing.

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