The History of Pajamas and the Myth of Coco Chanel

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Whenever I see a claim that a famous person "popularized" or even "invented" a seemingly common type of fashion, I know I'm in for some lengthy research. Especially when so many of the articles claiming that had admitted in the previous paragraphs that a style was quite old before it reached said famous hands. Simple menswear was not popularized by Beau Brummell, he simple became well known while wearing it. Likewise, Coco Chanel did not popularize pajamas for day wear, trousers for women, the little black dress, or knitwear. But it's not enough to just dismiss the claims, regardless of their spurious lack of citations. We need to know how these garments actually came to be what we know them as today!

Luckily pajamas have a well recorded history and were the object of discussion in 19th and 20th c articles. And, yes, most of the Western spellings do come up as pyjamas until the early 20th century when Americans, once again, decided to split off and go their own way with spelling. But, as the name itself is pulled from the phonetic original version, there isn't really a correct way. So let's take a look at the journey of this popular garment from 16th c India through 19th c England and onto 20th c France to reach the broad concept it is today!

The main problem here is that pajamas started their life as a popular daily ensemble for both men and women. Though the purpose was altered when these garments were brought back to Europe, they were widespread for centuries prior. Especially when you include other areas of the world that developed similar trouser and shirt/coat daywear. Europeans may have relegated the concept to sleepwear for about 50 years, but that was never its original intention. And with the changes in western fashion at the beginning of the 20th c, pajamas were poised to return to their broader usage regardless of any individuals influence.

More on the Jama: https://www.sahapedia.org/the-jamas-o...

Further Reading
Orientalism (start here, but continue to the many critiques and expansions on this work: https://www.google.com/books/edition/...
Culture & Imperialism: https://www.google.com/books/edition/...
Restating Orientalism: https://www.google.com/books/edition/...
Radical Orientalism: https://www.google.com/books/edition/...
The Silk Road (I've just started trying to understand how styles moved about globally in the past and hope to have more like this soon): https://www.google.com/books/edition/...

V&A Conservation of a Jama:    • Conservation: Indian Jama  

What I'm wearing: https://www.turnblack.in/product/stel...

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00:00 Beau Brummell effect
05:56 Pae-jama
11:49 Night Trousers
15:00 Scandals & Sources
19:15 Beaches
24:44 Extra Pictures