Nightwear

Nightwear – also called sleepwear, nightclothes, or nightdress – is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. The style of nightwear worn may vary with the seasons, with warmer styles being worn in colder conditions and vice versa. Some styles or materials are selected to be visually appealing or erotic in addition to their functional purposes.

Nightwear includes:

• Adult onesie - and other all-in-one footed sleepsuits worn by adults but similar to an infant onesie, usually made from cotton, and marketed under a number of different brand names.
• Babydoll - a short, sometimes sleeveless, loose-fitting nightgown or negligee for women, generally designed to resemble a young girl's nightgown.
• Blanket sleeper - a warm sleeping garment for infants and young children.
• Chemise - when used in reference to sleepwear, it is a delicate, usually provocative, loose-fitting, sleeveless, shirt-like lingerie, similar to babydoll, but tighter at the hips.
• Negligee - loose, sensuous nightwear for women usually made of sheer or semi-translucent fabrics and trimmed with lace or other fine material, and bows.
• Nightgown - loose hanging nightwear for women, typically made from cotton, silk, satin, or nylon.
• Nightshirt - loose-fitting garment, longer than a regular shirt.
• Nightcap - a warm cloth cap sometimes worn by women or men with pajamas or a nightgown.
• Pajamas - loose fitting two-piece garments for women, men and children. They may be made from cotton, silk, satin or synthetic materials; some couples may choose to have the woman wear the pajama top, while the man wears the bottom.
• Peignoir - a long outer garment for women usually sheer and made of chiffon. They are usually sold with a matching nightgown, negligee or panties.

Other types of garment are commonly worn for sleeping, but not exclusively so, including t-shirts, tank tops, sweatpants and gym shorts as well as underwear with no outer garment. Also, sleeping without clothing is not uncommon.

Customs

According to a 2004 United States survey, 13% of men wear pajamas or nightgowns for sleeping, whereas 31% wear underwear and another 31% sleep nude. Among women, 55% wear pajamas or nightgowns, which were counted under the same option^[1]:

A survey by the BBC The Clothes Show Magazine in 1996 revealed the following about sleepwear in the UK^[2]

†Most common response in 'Other' from women was outdoor clothes, from men shorts.

References

Notes