I have always considered the best approach to January to be not to get out of your pyjamas. This used to be tricky to pull off, back when pyjamas were pyjamas. Now, thankfully, they are no longer mere night-time attire; they are a fashion statement. More than that, they are everyday wear. I saw a woman walking down my street this week wearing a fleece animal-print pair under a coat. A grown woman.
I’m not saying that this approach is acceptable. It isn’t. Fashion pyjamas have to be silk and they can’t have a Sylvanian Families theme. When in doubt, ask yourself if Dorothy L Sayers’s PJ-loving Lord Peter Wimsey would have approved. (Given that he wore everything from mauve to “primrose” silk — what joy! — that gives you pretty much free rein.)
Street-stylers such as Caroline Sieber and Anya Ziourova are such fans of their jim-jams as to make me suspect that they are not very good when their alarm goes off. It has got to the point where, as a fashion journalist, I feel it is almost a duty to wear pyjamas in the day. I would worry I wasn’t fulfilling my job description if I didn’t baffle at least a brace of — usually male, usually sports — journalists in the lift each morning. “Is she wearing . . ? No, she can’t be.”
And where are my pyjamas from? (This isn’t those sports journalists asking, as I’m sure you have gathered.) If he were around today, Lord Peter would no doubt be wearing Derek Rose. I like the art deco-ish Esme 3, which come in berry or teal (£350, derek-rose.com). Similarly high-end are the offerings at Yolke (my favourite is the fuchsia and white Clementine style; £280, yolke.co.uk) and at Sundays London (the gorgeous emerald, black and white Drop Spot style is reduced by 50 per cent to £200, sundayslondon.com).
In truth, even I am prepared to concede that a head-to-toe pyjamas look is tricky to pull off in the daytime. With all of the above, before dark it is better to wear only the top half with black tailored trousers or a long pleated skirt. That’s why some brands have cut to the chase and offer a shirt top only. Topshop’s pretty red-on-black floral Twinkle shirt is £70 (topshop.com). Ganni’s Electra, which comes in wide green, black and white stripes, or in leopard print, is £170 (ganni.com).
Another route is the pyjama-style jacket, best worn layered over something simple, such as a cashmere polo-neck or crew neck, or a Nehru shirt. My go-to brand is the charmingly named For Restless Sleepers. Its grey and black animal-print cropped jacket is reduced to £232.37 (farfetch.com).
For Restless Sleepers also does super-sharp two-pieces that — as the brand’s name suggests — are absolutely not for the bedroom and are all about being seen. I have my eyes on a big, brushstrokey blue floral print that edges towards abstraction and can be bought as separates (shirt and trousers reduced to £267 and £194 respectively in the sale,mytheresa.com). Similarly, Ganni’s traditional-style Trinity shirt (red with black piping or midnight with white) can also be bought with a flatteringly tailored bottom half, which makes this a combo you could actually wear out and about in the real, as opposed to fashion, world (£170 and £180 respectively for midnight blue, ganni.com).
MaxMara’s matching shirt and bottoms in turtledove could also see the light of day (£133 and £118 respectively in the sale;maxmara.com). And for evening its black-and-white camisole top and bottoms (£60 and £103 respectively in the sale; maxmara.com) would be tickety-boo. Although the multitasker might want to make their after-dark mark by channelling two trends at once courtesy of Fleur du Mal’s black silk pyjama jumpsuit (£628.21, farfetch.com). Very Casino Royale.
But of course we are all staying in to watch box sets for evermore. Which rather illustrates my initial point.
These slippers are bootee-licious
And what will we be wearing on our feet while box-bingeing? A pair of Celtic & Co’s fabulous sheepskin Bootee slippers if we have any sense (£59, celticandco.com). After many years of rigorous slipper research — it’s a tough job but someone has to do it — I tracked down the definitive specimens just in time for the dark night of the soul that was last January. So I feel if not exactly light-hearted about this one then certainly warm-footed. (Which can get you a surprisingly long way, I find.)
The fact that they are called bootees is the only fault I can find with these slippers. Fully shearling-lined, they keep your ankles snug, which in turn keeps your feet even cosier, and they come in 12 lovely colours, from pretty lilac to cheery turquoise. Better still, they have a hard yet light sole, which means they last but don’t feel too outdoorsy. That said, they can be worn for brief forays on to the front step when the pizza — sorry, organic veg box — delivery man arrives. Sigh.