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Truly tactile: it's time to invest in a pair of velvet pyjamas

Sleepy Jones
Sleepy Jones

Though we may have made it through Blue Monday, the day dubbed the year’s most miserable, hauling yourself out of bed each morning is still a drag.

Because even if you’re not midway through a self-imposed booze ban, January is a pretty dry affair. Weather notwithstanding, of course. There’s the post-present-purchasing pinch. The realisation that you won’t get another mandatory weekday off until Easter. And the pressure to achieve a fitter, healthier “new year, new you” when you have a sneaking suspicion that you’re still not over your December 31 hangover.

It’s a month for frugality, fasting not feasting, and finding your feet. As for fashion, the razzle-dazzle of the festive season has dulled to the practical, the insulated and the waterproof. Snore.

It is now more than ever that something a little bit frivolous — dare we even say, decadent — can go a long way towards boosting your mood. Like, say, a pair of velvet PJs?

A far more effective antidote to winter blues than SAD lamps and turmeric lattes, a pair of strokeably soft velvet jimjams will make getting out of bed on a dark, blustery mid-winter morning a breeze. Because, as any style-conscious hibernator will know, PJs as good as these are wasted under the sheets. From dressing gown coats to nightie-slips, sleepwear has become an increasingly common sight on our streets.

But before you take to shivering at the bus stop in barely more than your smalls, consider packing away your paisley silk jammies until spring and slip into Sleepy Jones’s grosgrain-trimmed velvet set instead — featuring the cult US loungewear brand’s classic Marina fit, the shirt is comfortably oversized, while the matching tuxedo-trim pants boast a drawstring-button waistband.

Equipment — a brand whose luxurious washed silk pyjama sets have long been a go-to for the capital’s day-PJ party — is also crushing on velvet this season with its Odette set, which features a robe-inspired wrap shirt and wide-leg elasticated trousers in inky black velvet, designed to be worn as a double act at cocktail hour or mix and matched with jeans or a big knit.

Another brand worth waking up to is For Restless Sleepers — a Milanese luxury label which specialises in chic PJ staples crafted from artisanal Italian fabrics. In its current collection, velvet features heavily with decadent kimono-style robes, embroidered pyjama shirts and jacquard trousers offered up in floral tapestry prints and rich raspberry, mustard, emerald and teal shades.

On the high street, Whistles and Boden are both in bed with the trend — the former with its heather grey robe jacket and trouser combo, the latter with an emerald green set complete with ditzy floral print from its high-end Icons line.

Gucci’s Alessandro Michele also unveiled his own take on the trend in his current autumn/winter 17 catwalk collection with a midnight blue velvet PJ pair embellished with crystal trims, while Zara has a more conservative — and pocket-friendly — incarnation in its black velvet jumpsuit finished with pyjama-style contrast piping, which is now half price in the sale at a mere £16. Dreamy.