Psst, don't tell anyone. Those silk charmeuse pants your neighbor wore at her party? They're actually her pajama bottoms. That rugby-striped henley cotton top her husband was wearing when he picked up the morning paper in the driveway? It's the same pajama top he snored in all night.
The new generation of pajamas is not just for sleeping anymore.
Pajama ensembles were the signature of "alterna-hunk" Evan Dando of the Lemonheads when the band was beginning to gain attention a few years ago. Mr. Dando would show up in restaurants and on stage wearing his PJs. Back then, his outfits were a statement.
Mainstream styles are more subtle. A page from a recent J. Crew catalog illustrates the point: A notch-collared plaid flannel pajama shirt with four buttons and matching elastic waist pants -- perfect for staying home and watching a video. But the ensemble is shown with a gray cashmere cardigan and white cotton tank. Hmm, that looks good.
Substitute jeans for the plaid flannel pants, then add lug-soled boots. You're ready to go out for a movie.
Pajamas have become multifunctional, and that's the reason for their popularity, said Karen Bromley, spokeswoman for the Intimate Apparel Council, a trade organization.
Manufacturers say pajamas have crossed over to street clothes not only because young people are good at finding new ways to wear them but because pajama designs have adopted a street look.
The notch-collared shirt in the J. Crew catalog, for example, looks similar to traditional pajama tops. But the notable absence of piping around the collar and front pocket makes it look like an ordinary flannel shirt.
"There's a strong ready-to-wear influence that's interpreted in sleepwear," said Christopher Scharff, vice president of Lanz Inc. in Culver City, one of the largest flannel sleepwear manufacturers in the United States and a major supplier of pajamas to the L.L. Bean catalog.
One of Lanz's brisk-selling updates on pajama tops is the piped henley or baseball top.
"Women will wear pajama tops and jeans to school," Mr. Scharff said. "I have a girlfriend who wears hers that way."
At Joe Boxer, yarn-dyed flannel pajama pants have been cut to look like sweatpants, said Denise Slattery, director of marketing.
L.L. Bean recently introduced thermal-knit pajamas that it touts as "our warmest knit sleepwear -- an innovative cross between pajamas and sweats. So comfortable you won't wait until bedtime to put them on."
Precisely.
Soft, cotton waffle-knit fabric was cut into a henley top, a mock turtleneck top and sweats-like pants with a drawstring waist and rib-knit cuffs. The Land's End catalog has similar PJs: colorful knit henley-collar rugby shirts and matching sweats-like knit pants with rib-knit cuffs just right for the gym or walking the dog.
Silk or polyester charmeuse pajamas long have been a staple of Victoria's Secret stores and catalogs. In most cases, the pants can be worn as eveningwear, whether for entertaining at home or for dinner at a restaurant, when paired with a different top, from a bustier to a jacket to a vest.