CAN I BE SO BRAVE?

I have been hearing and seeing a lot lately on the new fad of wearing pajama bottoms in public in lieu of "real" pants. The first time I saw this happening was when Michael Jackson was shown being escorted somewhere wearing a dress jacket and the bottom of his pajamas. I considered the circumstances and the celebrity; I did not see it as a trend in dressing.

But in the last few months I've seen quite a number of men who have appeared just as the man above, obviously in pajama bottoms while he is out shopping. The first time I saw one of my neighbors wearing them was as I was walking around the complex and met him coming the other direction. We stopped to chat for a minute, and I couldn't help but see that he was definitely in flannel pj bottoms, a jacket and his walking shoes. Hmmm, I thought. Very strange.

This last week I went to the bank and got in line behind a youngish fellow, casually dressed with nice new running shoes on (way too white to be anything but new), a tee-shirt and pj bottoms. We are really very casual here in So. Cal, but I have been a little surprised at just how casual we are becoming.

Then this week I noticed an ad online for PajamaJeans. Ah Ha! Now these are more like it. Made to look like jeans, they fit better than Pajama bottoms, as you can see by the picture below, borrowed from their website. And I can see how it would be reasonable to wear them in public. I think they are quite nice, and although I don't see a pair in my future, it did give me an idea.

For the most part I basically sit at a computer all day long at home, unless I'm slouched on a couch reading or knitting. I do not have jogging suits or other such athletic attire, as in the course of the day I don't do much exercise beyond lifting my coffee cup to my mouth. But I did decide that in lieu of getting dressed each day with a pair of jeans that are always a bit too tight around the waist, or a perfectly good pair that fit nicely when I was 20 lbs. heavier but fall off my behind now unless I use a belt with it, I'd wear my one pair of cotton (not flannel) pajama bottoms. They have a nice design on them, not like hearts or teddy bears or such, so that if I needed to go outside to check my sweet peas I wouldn't have to change into jeans. I'd look quite appropriate, and maybe even fashionable, in them with a tee-shirt or a sweater. Not for marketing, or going to Starbucks, or to the library.

Now maybe a younger person could feel ok about going into those places. But objectively, if I saw an old lady in the market wearing a tee-shirt and pajama bottoms I'd think she was crazy as a hoot owl. So trust me when I say I'll stick around my apartment when I'm dressed thusly. In fact, I spent this last weekend in my new stylish attire and I'm sold on the comfort and ease of slopping around looking like this. I think this calls for a trip to Target for more bottoms.