pajama

"Pyjama" redirects here; for the cartoon character, see Vasco Pyjama;

For the Google Web Toolkit, see Pyjamas (software); for the blog hosting company, see Pajamas Media

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.^[1] In many English-speaking nations, pajamas are loose-fitting, two-piece garments derived from the original garment and worn chiefly for sleeping,^[2] but sometimes also for lounging,^[3] also by both sexes.^[4] More generally, pajamas may refer to several garments, for both daywear and nightwear, derived from traditional pajamas and involving variations of style and material.

In colloquial speech, sleeping pajamas are often called "pj's", "jj's", "jim jams", or "jammies";^[5] in South Asia, and sometimes in South Africa, they are known as night suits.

Muslim girl, India, in paijama and kurti, 1844.	Girl in short sleeve pj's; doll in traditional.	Boys in stretch-knit pajamas.	Toddler in footed pajamas.
Courier in white paijama, India, 1844.	Men in white paijama with hunting cheetahs, India 1844.	Muslim men in paijamas (various styles), Bombay, 1867	Muslim woman in salwar-style pyjamas, Sind, 1870.

History

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

The worldwide use of pyjamas, both the word and the garment, is the result of British presence in South Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries.^[6] According to Yule and Burnell's Hobson-Jobson (1903)^[7] 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."^[8]

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.^[9]

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 ...."^[10]

Over the past few decades pyjamas have become less popular and many younger men now sleep in their underwear or naked.

Types of Pajamas

Traditional pyjamas for sleeping.

Salwar pyjama pants as worn in South and Central Asia.

Pyjama bottoms worn with sweatshirt.

Original

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 consist of a jacket-and-trousers combination made of soft fabric, such as flannel;^[11] the jacket has a placket front and its sleeves have no cuffs.^[12]

Contemporary

These are derived from traditional pajamas, and may be variations of style only, such as short sleeve pajamas,^[13] pyjama-bottoms of varying length,^[14] or, on occasion, one-piece pajamas,^[15] 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.^[16]

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.^[17]

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 frequently worn with slippers or without footwear at all, and sometimes without underwear, depending on personal preference and cultural norms. 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 see adults wearing their pyjamas in public in their local neighborhood.^{[citation needed]} In Ireland, pajamas are worn in public by skangers, often in their teens.

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 Bananas in Pyjamas, which 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."^[18].
• 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.

External links

• Examples of Women's Pajamas online

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pyjamas

Look up pajamas in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• blanket sleeper
• sleepover
• nightie
• sleep

Notes