Public Pajamas

Don't be upset, sir, you are bound for blog-post glory

The Chinese have a number of, um, *interesting* fashion trends (don’t get me started on their maternity clothes!).  

My hands-down favorite is their penchant for wearing pajamas out in public.

Yes, pajamas, as in full-scale sets that I really didn’t even think people actually wore outside of Christmas movies and the classic happy-family-type television shows I used to watch on Nick at Night.

Gold satin, head-to-toe: perfect for a stroll in the park

The vision of Chinese familial bliss, as displayed on oddly Caucasian mannequins

They even have entire clothing boutiques dedicated to selling sets for the whole family.

I feel like most of their merchandise is overstock from the 1980s, but apparently this is the cutting edge in Chinese pajama fashions.

Unfortunately, my attempts to capture this trend in photos have been less successful than I would have liked.  But it’s tricky to whip out the iPhone, unlock it, turn on the camera mode, focus, and snap a photo, all while attempting to be somewhat surreptitious so as not to completely offend my subjects or embarrass myself.

Apparently his friend missed the memo

I have heard many explanations for this trend.   

One idea is simply that pajamas are comfortable loungewear for the weekends, much like how women in NYC run errands in their yoga outfits and in-season swimmers would live in their deck parkas if the stench didn't offend their roommates.   

Another is that proper pajamas denote a certain elevated economic and cultural class, as in “I have so much money that I can buy special clothes just to sleep in.”   

A third theory told to me by an expat friend is that it distinguishes the “true” Shanghainese, because apparently they enacted a law forbidding public pajama wearing, except families who had lived here for so many generations could be grandfathered in and thus allowed to continue showing off their nighties (and therefore, their local roots).

Pajamas + black spiked heels = perfect for errands

Someday, I do hope to learn the real reason(s) for this fashion phenomenon.  In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy being entertained by the public pajama-wearers, and hopefully will become more adept at photographing this amazingness.

Pajamas for the commute home