This Charming Dame Lesson 7 - Wear Pajamas

Pajamas?  How dreadfully outdated.  Boring even.  Oversized T-Shirts and sweat pants or boxer shorts...now that's the ticket!!  Right?  Wrong!

Oh Kittens, I don't know why it's taken me so long to write this post, because this one idea - the idea of pajamas - was one of the main drivers behind starting The Vintage Project.  I'm not sure how many pairs of pajamas I am personally responsible for being sold in the last year, but I'd say it was rather significant.  All through the fall of 2012, I was waxing poetic about pajamas to anyone that would listen and I was pretty surprised when other people were getting excited about pajamas as well!

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Now that we're FINALLY getting winter weather in Southern California, it's only fitting that I mention pajamas here.  Are pajamas strictly for cold weather?  No.  But the majority of the ones I own just happen to be.  This might have something to do with the fact that I had my Grand Pajama Revelation in the fall and immediately went to my dresser and threw out most of my T-shirts and pants I'd been sleeping in post haste and began purchasing pajamas.  Yes, I was one of those people that had lost the inclination to dress nicely for bed once I began living alone.  Since no one was going to actually see me, I didn't give much thought to what I was sleeping in.  Ashamedly, I had regressed to wearing ratty old T-shirts and sweat pants full of holes to bed.  And whenever I saw myself dressed for bed, I felt terrible about myself.  Even if you don't have company in bed, knowing that you take absolutely no pride in what you're sleeping in is pretty detrimental to how you feel about yourself as a woman.

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Classing up your nighttime ensemble is an easy way to feel better about yourself.  There's simply something romantic and classy about the idea of sleeping in actual pajamas.  But somehow, I had just associated them with a different time, and I know for a fact that I'm not alone.  How foolish are we?  To think that pajamas, of all things, are out of our reach!  I'm not sure exactly how the shift happened for me, but I'm incredibly embarrassed that it took me so long to get the memo.  Le sigh... 

Kittens, what have you been wearing to bed?  Perhaps you aren't as terribly lazy as I was, but ask yourself, are you happy with your ensemble choices when you turn in?  You don't need to go as far as matching pajamas with your significant other - although, how cute are Lucy and Ricky?!?  (PS - a man in pajamas??  That's the ticket!!)  No, you can (and in my opinion, should) be pulled together all on your own.  If you still aren't on board with the idea of pajamas, these incredibly fabulous ladies might bring you around to my way of thinking!

See, Lucy doesn't need Ricky for her pajama set to be fantastic!  (She probably didn't even need Fred the puppy, but he certainly was adorable!)

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Jean Harlow looks divine - even amongst all the mess!

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Carole Lombard's geese approve of her plaid pajamas.

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Sophia Loren does a little reading before bed!

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See how fabulous the pajama set can be?  I picked up four pair last winter while Victoria Secret was having a pretty spectacular sale which included free slippers.  Yes please!  The leopard print and polka dots are The Dreamer Flannel Pajama (though neither of these designs seem to be available this year), the black is The Afterhours Satin Pajama, and the grey is The Sleepover Cotton Pajama.  While the Sleepover pajama is ultra light-weight, most of my light, summer pajamas have come from Target and I LOVE them, so you don't need to spend much on your pajamas if you don't want to.

If full pajamas aren't quite your thing, there are plenty of night shirts out there for you to chose from.  Or you could always pull a Holly Golightly and simply wear a tuxedo shirt!

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With her sleep mask and fabulous tasseled ear plugs, Holly is super glam while sleeping!  You can either accessorize like her, or you can simplify like Marilyn.

While it may appear that she's sleeping in the nude, she's not.  She famously told reporters, "What do I wear to bed?  Why, Chanel No. 5 of course."

Really, the choice in what you wear to bed is your own, but please, do something for yourself and toss out the T-shirts and sweat pants riddled with holes.  You'll be glad you did!

Wishing you a beautiful night in beautiful pajamas!
XOXO!!