The New York Times delved into the growing trend of comfort clothing this week, and found that loungewear —specifically, the cold-weather staple of long johns—is making a grand comeback in both high and low fashion. Designers like Dries Van Noten and John Paul Gaultier have begun creating haute versions of the undergarments. And though waffle-textured onesies are as basic as can be, they’re not coming cheap: Club Monaco’s version of men’s printed long johns cost a whopping $600 when they first hit shelves last year.
A printed footed pajama offering from Jumpin Jammerz
On the “low” end of the spectrum, infomercial inventions like Pajama Jeans have been winning as much attention as Snuggies first did when they hit the market, and Jumpin Jammerz, a collection of footed pajamas for kids and adults, were the #1 trending search on Google last week.
All this ado about underwear makes sense — long johns offer a retro-feeling trend that, on the designer level, taps into the new renaissance for American heritage styling. Though the sale season for fleecy pajamas and long johns has probably peaked as retailers turn their thoughts to spring, we expect to see more warm undergarments hitting store shelves at the next holiday season.
