Walking through the halls you can see them everywhere: pajama bottoms. Whatever you want to call them, they are sleepwear. I recently wrote an article on this topic, and I felt the need to write this perspective so I could express my own opinion on the fashion trend that characterizes my generation. I really feel as though this is one of those trends that has come by solely in my lifetime, and it is shocking to see how hugely popular it is becoming with younger generations.
I know pajama bottoms are comfortable and easy to wear to class. In fact, there are so many things that are appealing about these kinds of comfort clothes that it is hard not to condone wearing them. Certainly students have a right to wear something comfortable to class as long as it suitably covers their body. And let’s face facts: we all know that an 8:15 a.m. class is not usually the epicenter of high fashion, so it would seem pajama bottoms are ok under these circumstances.
However, there is another side to this argument. We are constantly told in college about the importance of being mature and professional regarding our education. In fact, I remember constantly hearing this from my high school teachers and advisers. We are also constantly told that college is designed to prepare us for the real world, the working world, and we are to be a functional and contributing member of society. Frankly, it seems odd that an institution designed for this purpose allows students to come to class looking like they just rolled out of bed.
I don’t know about other students, but I don’t see getting up in the morning and at least throwing on jeans and a t-shirt a very difficult task. I attended Catholic schools for 12 years and honestly, I was happy just to get to be able to choose what I wore to class when I got to college. I put up with annoying plaid skirts and tights for all those years, so I do not take my clothing freedom for granted. I don’t dress to the nines every Tuesday and Thursday to go to my 8:15 a.m. class, but I don’t indulge in the pajama craze either. No matter what, pajamas will always be sleepwear to me; not early-morning or half-the-day wear.
Pajamas always look lazy and give off the feeling of laziness and lack of caring for one’s appearance. I understand that the temptation in college to hop out of bed and walk over to class without changing is great, especially if you are planning on going back to bed after your class. However, it is important to remember when you head off to class that what you look like projects the type of person you are to the world. Even if your professors don’t mind or all your friends wear them too, you are still showing the world that it was just too tough for you to change clothes before you came to class that morning. And things are really bad if it gets to be time for dinner and you are in the cafeteria still wearing those pajamas.
I am certainly not completely innocent. I’ve indulged in the occasional day where I wore sweatpants or a pair of loose track pants to my morning class. But I can honestly say I have never come to class in the same thing I wore to bed the night before. I am not saying we should all be showing up in skirts and suits and ties. Nonetheless, the next time you wake up in the morning and you think “Should I change or just go like this?” Remember that one day you are going to probably have a job where you will wake up in the morning and have to come in looking like the consummate professional. So condition yourselves just a bit for the shock, and get up in the morning to put on at least something casual that you got out of a drawer and not something you slept in.
Posted to the web by Tim Hague
