PYJAMA PARTY

Get your pyjama dressing cues from Noel Coward and characters like those found in Private Lives.

If you want to be fashionable this spring/summer, get up, out of bed and put your pjs on. Pyjama dressing is a very big trend for S/S 2012. It’s more of a slouch chic than a full on nightwear gig, and although the phrase itself seems to be a bit of an oxymoron, it’s the ideal description for the new laid-back approach to dressing down. It’s less Jerry Seinfeld’s mother (a lot less) and more Noel Coward character. Think loose, baggy and body-friendly – these pieces have not lost in the tailoring department. It’s a simple silky tank with wide trousers as soft as pyjama bottoms. Alternatively, the bottoms may be ankle length and bold in pattern - something that begs for a library backdrop accompanied by a pipe and a brandy. Finish the look off with a smoking jacket (Hugh Hefner style) and you’re done.

Clockwise from top left: Haider Ackermann, Richard Nicoll, The Row and Stella McCartney master slouchy chic.

It’s a look that’s at its best when the colors, like the fabrics, are super soft: cloud whites, summer sky blues, oatmeal beiges, pistachios greens, and candy floss pinks. Accessories are best kept minimal, save a smart leather banded Roman numeral watch and a strand of pearls or three. The coordinating shoes are slipper style flats or flatform sandals and the only attitude permissible says yes I’m a tad floppy but certainly never sloppy.

Clockwise from top left: Dolce & Gabbana velvet loafers from www.net-a-porter.com,  The Row pyjama pants from www.net-a-porter.com, Alexander McQueen embroidered suede loafers from www.matchesfashion.com, Top Shop suede slipper-style loafers from www.topshop.com, Haider Ackermann pants, tank and bathrobe style topper from www.119corbo.com .