Job Discussion Forums

[ChinaLady]

so, did you catch the latest Time magazine? Seems as though the starlets, the soccer moms and the university co-eds in the USA have "discovered" wearing "jammies" as street attire. Excuse me, but we in Shanghai have been wearing them for years as street clothes. Quilted ones in the winter and light cotton in the summer. And the university co-eds in Shanghai think it is silly, and only for old people.
Hey, I think it is great!! I only wish I could wear them to school as "work attire" but the line is drawn. Co-eds, yes. Teachers, no.
Always knew we in Shanghai were ahead of the fashion curve, and o, yes, a note. While the USA co-eds are paying $50 for "fashionable" bottoms only , , we in Shanghai get tops and bottoms for 20 yuan, under US$3. Guess what I am sending back to the states as gifts.
You got it - JAMMIES!!

[Roger]

Those jammies are popular with Shanghai's wrinkle brigade too - at least last time I was in Shanghai in a summer, just about anybody could be seen wearing them by day and by night.
But recently, I heard the local government is taking displeasure at the thought that the numerous foreign visitors might take home the wrong idea of how Shanghainese live. They want to "reeducate" their subjects.
This famous Hong Kong garments brand, Shanghai Tang, might have got some wires crossed in their minds...

[Edward]

Nice post from China Lady! Actually I have wondered what people thought about this; I see it all over Guangzhou--teenage girls and old men/women running around in their PJs.

From a western point of view, it just looks silly. After all, it really IS sleep attire. A decade or so ago, Madonna started the "wear your undergarments out in public" and once and awhile, a guy like me MIGHT see a fashionable girl at a disco in a mans suit jacket, red bra underneath, jacket open. But that didn't last long, it was just too..well too obvious! A trend for sure.

The Chinese government has already began a "crack down", not arresting anyone per say, but to "educate" the masses in letting them know this JUST isn't done. I read this in the paper more than once, because even in Bejieng they are working on this social "no no".

As for people in the west wearing them, I am SURE the ditsy college/University girls ARE wearing them around. It continues that whole "baby doll" routine they are so fond of flaunting while in school, you know, daddy's little girl.

China Lady, if you want to wear your jammies outside and enjoy it, I say go ahead, but it will never be an acceptable garment by western terms, and the reason Shanghai was so far "ahead of the curve" as you said was NOT about making a fashion statement. It was about not understanding what PJs were for! I had a long discussion on this with a friend who is a fashion/texstyle designer/instructor at a local University, Lasalle-GZ International.

Many times products seep into the market place in China, as they are being produced here to be sold elsewhere, i.e. Europe/North America. The fact that people began wearing them outside was due to a few things:

1) No one was told what they were for
2) there similarity to the "Maoist" quilted attire from a few decades ago
3) Chinese culture being uneducated to western ways, practices, and customs and taboos.

Now, don't think I am saying you or anyone is uneducated by wearing your sleeping clothes outside, but it does look odd to all foreigners. It would be like me wearing a Sumo wrestlers "thong" to the beach to sun/play in the surf...it LOOKS similar to a swim suit, but that doesn't mean I can WEAR it to the beach!

Fashion does change through time, and of course with todays relaxed rules [as in ...none] and young designers NOT following any sort of protocol, it goes to reason that PJs "could be" an acceptable outdoor attire, but I wouldn't write home about it just yet!

Michael
aka
Fashion Non-god, extraordinaire'

[davis]

Funny topic. Did anyone else ever have those "bad dreams" about going to school wearing only pajama's or underwear? I see people running around everyday here in our apartment complex wearing pajama's. Today I even saw a guy in pajama's and robe. My first thought is that they are ill and are just going to the local pharmacy for some meds.

[aaronschwartz]

This is spreading to other places in China.

[greentea]

"Pajamas (or in England pyjamas) came from Persian (pa� "foot, leg" + jamah "clothing") via the Indian language Urdu. Only in the West are pajamas sleepwear. In India one wears them in the street."

http://www.wordwizard.com/clubhouse/founddiscuss.asp?Num=2535

[Wolf]

[greentea]

Wolf,

I was quoting from the website at the end of my message.

I hope one of our Chinese contributors will comment on this. My understanding is that "the West" adopted traditional Eastern gear for sleep wear. About all we see of this traditional clothing in larger Chinese cities is the "cheongsam" at restaurants. Good on Shanghai for not caring what Westerners see as PJ's. I'd love to wear PJ's to work, too - practical & elegant. So far as I know, most Chinese sleep in their undies - not stupid enough to spend money on clothes nobody sees.

All very ironic.

Remember Western womens's "house coats" of the 1950's/60's ?