Letter Six Things Pyjama Sets Linda
Thirty years in my husband's old T-shirts. One night in a hotel car park put a stop to that
Six things these pyjama sets get right that most nightwear gets wrong, from a woman who'd never given her nightclothes a second thought.
Linda Marsh · Customer · Chester · 5 min read
Let me tell you who's writing this. I'm Linda, I'm 68, I live in Chester, and until this summer I hadn't bought myself a pair of pyjamas since the nineties. I slept in whatever was to hand: an old T-shirt of my husband's, a nightie my sister gave me one Christmas, leggings that had seen better days. Nobody saw me, so what did it matter? That's what I thought, anyway.
The pyjamas are from Beatrice London, a small British shop. When they asked whether they could share my letter with other women, I said yes, on condition I could say exactly what I thought. So here it is.
It started in July, at a hotel in Ludlow. Half past two in the morning, the fire alarm went off, and the whole building trooped out into the car park in whatever they'd gone to bed in. Me included, in a faded T-shirt of my husband's and a pair of leggings that should have gone in the bin years ago.
Standing next to me under the lamp post was a woman called Dilys, in a matching pyjama set with a proper collar, little buttons and piping round the pocket. Hair all over the place, same as the rest of us, but she looked as if she'd dressed for the occasion. I looked as if I'd been pulled through a hedge.
It was a false alarm, thank goodness. At breakfast I went over and asked her where her pyjamas were from. She wrote it on a napkin, and I ordered the Autumn set the minute I got home. I've still got the napkin.
The Autumn set, in the armchair by the window. Blue, with big autumn leaves in rust and olive.
Here's what I'd learnt about nightwear in fifty-odd years. There are two kinds. The nice kind, which you save for hospital stays and visitors and which itches or twists round you in the night. And the comfortable kind, which is so washed out you'd hide behind the door if the postman knocked.
Too good to sleep in, or too tatty to be seen in. I'd never once owned a pair of pyjamas that was neither.
These are the first. I've worn them through the end of summer and into the colder nights now, and I can tell you it comes down to six things.
Folded on the kitchen table the day it arrived. I'd expected thin and cheap. I was wrong.
A print you'd wear in daylight
The Autumn set is a slate blue with big leaves in rust, orange and olive. It doesn't look like nightwear at all. It looks like a blouse you'd wear to lunch. I've answered the door in it, had the neighbour round for coffee in it, and once, I'll confess, walked to the end of the drive for the bins in it without a second thought.
My daughter saw the top on the back of a chair and asked if it was a new blouse. She wasn't best pleased when I said it was my pyjamas and she couldn't borrow it.
Margaret L., NantwichA proper shirt, with a proper collar
It's a real button-up shirt: a notch collar, buttons all the way down, long sleeves and a pocket on the chest. The buttons stay done up all night, which is more than I can say for most. You put it on in the evening and you feel dressed, not just ready for bed.
The collar, the buttons and the pocket. Proper details, properly done.
The buttons don't pop open when you turn over. Such a small thing, but I'd forgotten what it was like to wake up still looking tidy.
Jean H., LudlowThe piping that makes them look dearer
There's a thin contrast piping round the collar, the cuffs and the pocket. On the Autumn set it's orange, picking up the leaves. It's the kind of detail you find on pyjamas in department stores at three times the price, and it was the first thing I noticed on Dilys in that car park.
It's the piping that does it. They look far more expensive than they were, and they've washed beautifully so far.
Susan T., KendalSoft, light, and a crinkle that's meant to be there
The fabric is soft and light, with a little crinkle to it, and that crinkle is meant to be there. It means there's nothing to iron, ever, which at my age is a selling point all of its own. It lets the air through, too. I run hot at night, and these are the first pyjamas I haven't ended up kicking off by three o'clock.
I always get too warm in bed, but these are so light I keep them on all night. And no ironing, which suits me down to the ground.
Pauline R., HarrogateTrousers that leave you alone
Long, straight legs that don't ride up, and a soft elasticated waist that doesn't dig in after supper. They come in sizes UK 10 to UK 18, and the fit is relaxed, so there's room to move. After the Autumn set I ordered the Kinsley, the same leaf pattern in a warm rust, for the colder months.
The Kinsley, waiting on the wardrobe door. My winter pair.
The waist is so comfortable, no marks at all in the morning. I bought the rust ones first, then went back for the blue.
Christine W., MalvernTen sets, every one the same price
There are ten designs, and every one is the same price, so you choose the print you love rather than the one you can justify. Leaves, florals, stars, little daisies, bunnies, and a plain blush pink for those who like things simple. Which is how I ended up with two for me and a third for my sister's birthday.
One for me and two for Christmas presents. Both of them have rung to say thank you, and my sister's already asked which other prints there are.
Valerie D., AbergavennyThese pyjamas, against the nightwear you've been buying
You can buy a pair of pyjamas anywhere. I've bought plenty of the forgettable kind myself. Here's the difference, set out plainly.
Thin cotton that bobbles after a few washes
Childish prints or dreary plain colours
Buttons that pop open in the night
Tight waistbands that leave a mark
Itchy, or too warm to keep on
Soft, light crinkle fabric, no ironing
Prints you'd happily wear in the daytime
A proper collar and buttons that stay done up
A soft elasticated waist with room to move
Light enough to keep on all night
About the price
Every set is £39.95, down from £133.15. Delivery is free to the UK and Ireland, and you've 30 days to send them back if they're not for you.
The shop told me the sizes go one at a time, and once a size has gone in a print, it can be a while before it's back. That's their word, not mine. All I'll say is that when something's 70% off, I usually start looking for the catch, and I've yet to find one.
I'm suspicious of perfect scores, so I read the reviews before ordering. Over three hundred of them, averaging 4.2 stars, which sounded to me like real women rather than robots. And the same things I've told you about kept coming up, in their own words.
Both of them at the foot of the bed. Autumn for now, Kinsley for when it turns cold.
If you're still sleeping in an old T-shirt, or saving the good nightie for an occasion that never comes, do yourself a favour and have a look while your size is still there. You never know when the fire alarm's going to go off.
Linda
P.S. I never did find out Dilys's surname, but if she's reading this: thank you. I've kept the napkin.
Pyjama Sets
- Prints you'd happily wear in the daytime
- A proper collar and buttons that stay done up
- Contrast piping on the collar, cuffs and pocket
- Soft, light crinkle fabric, no ironing needed
- Soft elasticated waist, sizes UK 10 to UK 18
- Ten prints, all the same price
- Free delivery to the UK and Ireland
Sale on now. The autumn stock is already going.