I was always the archetypal cheapskate slob when it came to nightwear. If it was comfortable and could stand a few trips to the washing machine then it would do. After all who would ever see it? Now I have had cause to rethink my purchasing strategy and to invest in more stylish pieces because it turns out that lots of people see your nightwear if you are like me and don’t like changing out of it.
The Commuter
The real trouble began when I started to work from home. After years of getting up in the morning and going through the carefully orchestrated regime of having a shower, getting dressed, making breakfast and leaving for work, I suddenly found that my commute was merely from my bedroom to the spare room. I soon go into the habit of not bothering with the getting dressed bit and would sit in the home office in my nightdress until late morning.
The Knock on the Door
It shouldn’t have mattered because I was the only one in the house apart from the cats and they don’t care! But it did matter because of the incessant knocks on the door. It is astonishing how many people feel the need to visit my home every day. If it is not delivery drivers it is salesmen, religious groups, the local residents’ association looking for donations and charity workers. I get people collecting their eBay purchases, neighbours collecting parcels delivered to me because they were out and occasionally a friend or relative who has actually come to see me.
Travelling
I grew rather tired of apologising for my pathetic appearance and vowed to do better. As it turns out my new, more stylish nightwear has proved to be a real benefit. Not only can I answer the door in confidence, it is also incredibly handy when you are travelling. If you have decent sleepwear you can take less luggage with you as you don’t need extra clothes for relaxing on the balcony or wandering around the hotel. It always used to drive me mad when I realised that I needed to visit the ice machine in the hotel which always turned out to be as far from my room as possible whilst still being in the same building. I used to sneak around the corridors like a clandestine thief praying that nobody would see me, now I am happy if they do.
The Supermarket
If my local supermarket is anything to go by keeping your pyjamas on is all the rage. I keep passing people who are dressed for bed happily wandering the aisles to do their shopping. It has to be said that most of them could do with investing in more aesthetically pleasing nightwear not that their choices are any of my business. The situation is food for thought though. I haven’t yet become so lazy that I can’t be bothered to get dressed even if I am going out but there are those times when you suddenly realise you have forgotten something and end up deciding not to go out because you can’t be bothered to get dressed again. These days I wouldn’t have to worry!
Sally Stacey is a keen writer and business owner who divides her time between writing and running her shop
