An open letter to those wearing jammies at the store this morning. Sunday, Nov. 3rd.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

To the infant in the stroller:
You probably wear something very-like jammies every day! I know it is frustrating, not being able to satisfy your own needs; but, trust me, there is a blissful innocence to human infancy. Enjoy it.

To the five-year-old in the seat of an unpiloted cart:
I can tell by the mixture of weariness, anguish and anger in your face that you were likely torn from a possibly-race-car-shaped bed against your will. No one can be expected to dress appropriately for their own abduction.

To the twelve-year-old, forlornly yoked to the cart of your oppressor who is examining the lettuces for some indistinguishable characteristic by which to judge them:
As challenging as this moment might seem to you, I do not envy you the next four years of your life—much less the four after that. Let your bangs hang over your eyes! Slouch and amble in demonstrative angst! Let none forget that an awkward pubescence is the pimply cost of a blossoming adulthood! Godspeed!

To the twenty-something woman in the checkout line:
Matching your jammer-jams with Ugg boots, a knit cap and sunglasses perched on your forehead has an air of slob-chic to it. As a middle-aged man, it is out of line for me to comment on your attractiveness (or lack of same). And I don’t expect women to dress for my tastes or anyone else’s. But still your guise leaves me thinking—dareIsayit—“hick.”

To the thirty-something man:
Ok, I plan to switch to sweats when I get home. And I will never be accused of being any kind of clothes-horse, fashionista, dapper-dan or snazzy, snappy, sharp and showy kind of guy. But the rest of us went to the trouble to at least put on some pants! Well, except for him… and her… and the guy in the stained wife-beater… and the couple arguing in the cereal aisle…

To the elderly gentleman, wheelchair-bound, mucousy-eyed, faintly reeking of urine or bowels:
So ends ends this strange eventful history… second childishness and mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
I’ll be right there. Let me just change into something more comfortable.

2

Moved Cafe Society --> MPSIMS

twicks, who’s dressed, but will admit to having slippers, not shoes, on.

3

In my fuzzy slippers-

Thanks for the laugh and the sigh. Very nicely done.

There’s one more stage and that’s retirement. A little too lazy to do the whole number just to run out for milk and bread, but not of the wear-your-jammies crowd.

On goes the long winter coat and knee-high boots. No make-up so you put on the sunglasses. Don’t take time to comb the hair, just pop on a chic hat.

No one needs to know. One of my favorite things about winter.

4

It’s a fashion piece! I object!

5

I did it once. It was Sunday morning, I needed milk for my cereal, my PJ bottoms were cute, I figured what the hell, I’m always reading about people out and about in their pajamas. I felt so self-conscious the whole time that I decided then and there that I would never do it again.

OTOH, I’m typing this now in my PJs. But I’m also still in bed. When I get up and go out, I will put on big girl pants.

6

In SpringI lament the loss of covering coat
In FallThe loss of plaid-shorts and socks and sandal

My next piece will be about the atrocity that is the costumery of these people on the internet. Have you seen what passes for passable on Facebook!?

7

I used to look with disdain at the very obese man who went to symphony concerts in Anchorage dressed in sweatpants (no undies), a T-shirt and a fuck-you jacket. I regard him with envy at this point in my life.

8

Can that be worn with F-Me pumps?

9

I am the queen of comfortable clothes at all times, and I still manage to put on something other than my pajamas to go out in public. It’s probably my age talking, but I will never see an adult out in public in their jammies and think it’s okay.

ETA: The exception as noted in the OP.

10

assuming you mean the 12-y.o.

11

This will never be a problem for me - I don’t own pajamas! :smiley: Worst I’ll do is run out in a sweatsuit, but that would be an extreme situation. I can usually manage a pair of jeans and a proper t-shirt.

I really hate seeing jammies in public. I think it’s beyond tacky. But I’m not the fashion police and I doubt that anyone cares about my opinion.

12

My mother raised me and my sisters to always go out in public dressed properly, meaning no sleepwear, clean clothing, combed hair and shoes other than bedroom slippers. The only time I ever broke this rule was on my way home from the hospital after my hysterectomy, when I ran into Target to use the bathroom. The most slovenly attire I’ve worn in public was yoga pants and flip-flops. I do threaten to go to Wal-Mart in a long T-shirt (bonus points for a crude saying printed on the front) and no pants, a la “People of Wal-Mart,” just to bug my sisters, but I’ve never actually gone through with it. :smiley:

13

Hah hah, you’re so funny. :slight_smile: No, I meant the old guy in the wheelchair.

14

I don’t even own any jammies.

15

They are just doing it to piss you off.

16

getoffamuhlawn

17

My husband’s response is good - he appreciates people who wear jammies in public, because they’re showing you exactly who they are (people who think wearing pajamas in public is a good idea). :slight_smile:

18

You know what the best part of being an adult is? Getting to do what you want, and not giving a damn what others think about it. Life is too damned short to be worrying about what others might think of oneself based entirely on their clothing.

That being said, I’m always in jeans and a t-shirt when I go out, unless I’m on the way to/from work, then it’s business casual.

19

The OP forgets:

The originators of the pyjama over in India, who are probably annoyed beyond telling at the British, and English-speaking Americans, who converted a perfectly presentable street outfit into sleepwear. And then wore it out on the street anyways. I suspect a comparable effect for the English would be for the Indians to make three-piece suits out of flannel and wear them to bed…

20

I’m glad you included the date, because my first thought was “so?”

For Halloween I dressed as “Fuck! I Overslept!” with an old pair of jammies, a ratty robe, my hair in sloppy curlers, and a shower cap perched on my head (with the rollers hanging out). I was going to wear fuzzy slippers but it was raining so I wore wellies and changed to the slippers when I got to work. People on the bus looked at me as if I were a mutant. One kid was so boggled I finally made eye contact with him and said “It’s Halloween, ok?” which didn’t help. He still kept staring at me as if I were crazy. I should have doused myself in fake blood and zombie makeup. He might have gotten the joke.

But your Jammie people weren’t doing it for Halloween. Ok. I must say, it was quite a liberating feeling to go out in public as sloppy as possible, though I did take a shower and wash my hair before I got, uh, dressed. Sloppy is ok. Stinky is not.