Today, globalisation has homogenised our sleeping habits, compared to the past where there was a lot more variety to how people dressed at night. In the middle Ages, according to radicesleep.co, most pyjamas were essentially shapeless with simple trimmings. These were made by the wives and daughters of the family; easy to assemble and quick to create. It was only royalty and those of noble birth who wore pyjamas that were more than a simple long dress; their designs were inspired by Indian, Asian, and Roman costumes: large dress-shaped attires with wide sleeves for added comfort. They could either be tight all over the legs or wide at the waists and tight at the ankles. These trousers were generally paired with a belted tunic which fell to the wearer’s knees, and this combination was considered to be the best way to stay comfortable and clean in your home and as you slept. It was in the 14th and 15th centuries that Europeans found the pyjamas of these cultures and adopted them to fit their own climates. By the 17th century, nearly everyone in Europe wore some form of pyjamas adapted from those found in the Ottoman Empire. What jumpstarted the earliest forms of modern pyjamas was the combination of a long-term Western civilisation, the cold climate, and the developing foundations of modern fashion. Up until the 18th century, most pyjamas were nothing more than a simple overly long nightgown or nightshirt. But perhaps the single most important innovation for the pyjama industry was the invention of the sewing machine, and the transition of Western culture from creating their own clothes to purchasing ready-to-wear clothing from stores, a concept which had not existed until then. Over the next 200 years, the styles of the most popular pyjamas were most commonly dictated by what culture at the time viewed to be “right” or “wrong”, moral or immoral. The transition to the modern pyjama over the 20th Century involved a move away from formal habits as well as a liberation of female sexuality. The liberation of the pyjama in fact can in many ways is associated with the “liberation” of women, with pioneers in both fashion, and feminism making brave pyjama based statements. The most eminent name in terms of both fashion and the women’s movement in the 20s and 30s was of course Coco Chanel, French designer, feminist, and one of the biggest influences in modern fashion. That is according to dolcegabbana.com. By the 1970s, more and more individuals had begun wearing the silk shirt-and-pants sets inspired from Chinese and Indian sleepwear. Women had also started adopting the unisex look, wearing the same top-and-pants sets for men. Ducking in and out of fashion until its latest renaissance in 2016, the pyjama has been a canvas for many designers to express their creativity and for costumers to comment on the state of society and their position within it.
