PJs Are Climbing Out of Bed

In pink poodle print jammies and matching marabou-adorned mules, Shelley Kozek plays Pied Piper to 35 gal pals--all of whom have changed from their designer pantsuits and party dresses into cozy Fifi-the-pooch decorated duds like hers.

And they’re not even home. They are cocooning in West Hollywood, shamelessly weaving their way through the lobby of the Hotel Sofitel--moms, lawyers and therapists among them--click-clacking atop pointy Ferragamos, several carrying Louis Vuitton handbags, a few spritzing perfume and many holding glasses of red wine served minutes earlier in a 10th-floor suite.

Giggling on their way to the hotel’s restaurant, they catch the attention of the concierge. Bellboys freeze while lifting luggage. Guests at the bar are wondering if, maybe, they’ve had one too many dirty martinis: “Is there a hotel evacuation going on?” one asks out loud.

“It’s pajama mania,” Kozek announces to everyone, her arms joyously extended, forming a human Y as she leads her parade of pajamanistas to her 50th birthday dinner bash. Between courses of French cuisine they play pin-the-tail-on-the-poodle and pose for photos, their pajamas scrunched up at the sleeves, rolled up at the ankles or turned up at the collar.

Chances are that you, dear reader, just might be chilling out in jammies right now--cocooning on the couch. Many sleepwear makers say the acceptance of PJs as round-the-clock attire and the emphasis on family togetherness since Sept. 11 have made this year one of the best for pajama sales.

Today’s fashion-forward jammies are no longer limited to chilly seasons or snooze time; they are doing double duty out of the bedroom. Forget the fuddy-duddy stripes, plaids or florals of the past; today’s whimsical and novelty prints pop with sushi, lips or martini glasses in fabrics ranging from sheer Egyptian cotton to cashmere.

That could be why so many men and women slip into them as soon as they get home from the office and then tend to chores like walking the dog or running a quick errand at the supermarket. Moms carpool in them. And with more people working at home, it’s not surprising to find a work force in pajamas.

Former Mayor Richard Riordan was described as wearing what “looked an awful lot like gray pajamas” for a recent New York Times interview at his Brentwood home. But for a photograph, His Honor changed into jeans, a dress shirt and socks and shoes.

With more people turning to television for fashion inspiration, it’s not uncommon to see quirky novelty pajamas on “Friends,” “Will & Grace,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Ally McBeal.” Leading pajama designer Karen Neuburger got her big break a few years ago when Oprah wore one of Neuburger’s jammies on her talk show.

Even Victoria’s Secret has its own pink cotton flannel pajamas in shop windows instead of the usual come-hither nighties. Hugh Hefner, the 75-year-old silk pajama-wearing master of the mansion, is playing a new pajama game with a line of bunny-inspired jammies introduced earlier this month at Bloomingdale’s. Old Navy has made pajama bottoms--a favorite among college coeds who pair them with tank tops--a mainstay on campuses in the last few years.

Like boxer shorts that can masquerade as shorts and swimsuits, some PJs don’t even resemble sleepwear, especially when bottoms are teamed with thermal tops, T-shirts or jean jackets.

“Pajamas have to be fun because they’re not just for bed anymore,” says Michael Hagen, who designs pajamas and matching bedding under the label Insomniac with his partners in Huntington Beach.

Indeed, Kozek’s “Parisian Pajama Party” puts a whole new spin on cocooning. It runs away from home. Kozek’s guests had no clue what she had in store for them when they showed up for her party and were greeted by the pajama-clad hostess. Kozek, who planned the shindig with buddy Sheilah Miller, escorted each friend into the suite’s bedroom to join others--including Kozek’s mother, Sylvia Savitch, 72, and daughters Morgan, 12, and Jennifer, 26--excitedly changing their clothes. And these PJs never looked better, accessorized with glitzy costume jewelry or Chanel baubles.

“Look at them. They’re having a ball,” Savitch says, surveying the passel of women in pink. “We need something like this because people have been down and depressed since Sept. 11. We need to laugh, even if it’s just for one night.”

You know that warm, fuzzy feeling we’ve all been craving since Sept. 11. “In pajamas you can let loose and relax and feel connected” to family and friends, says Ruth Rubinstein, a sociologist who teaches a course called Clothing and Society at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.

With a weak economy and the war dominating the news, people are seeking ways to feel comforted and comfortable. Many may be celebrating New Year’s in their jammies.

“After Sept. 11, business slowed down for a while, but it’s picked up and we’ve sold out for the year,” says Peter Burke, owner and president of P.J. Salvage, maker of the pajamas Kozek bought at $54 a pair for her party crew. Burke said that at $14 million, his sales this year are double last year’s. “People are buying pajamas in multiples for the whole family because they’re staying at home and spending more time as a family unit.”

Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard’s Retail Trend Report, a New Jersey firm specializing in consumer spending, says the pajama trend “is getting bigger and bigger” because more people are thinking, “‘Why shouldn’t I sit in my lounge chair and read a book in pajamas?’”

Today’s jammie trend began in young men’s lounge wear five years ago with designers such as Joe Boxer, Calvin Klein and Nautica by David Chu, says David Wolfe, creative director of the Doneger Group, a New York-based consulting firm that analyzes fashion and trends.

Though no one group specifically tracks pajama sales, NPD Fashionworld, a New York marketing firm, reports that as of September, men’s sleepwear sales had risen 7% from last year, and women’s 15%.

Wolfe says, “Women’s wear has always offered comfort clothes such as knit tops and stretchy fabrics, but all that was considered fashion, not fun. Today pajamas are making a fun, escapist statement because people desperately need a laugh” and want “less structure in their clothes.”

Ask Pam Beeks, a shopper at Pickett Fences in Larchmont Village, where pajamas range in price from $30 to $140. “I’m not a nightgown person. I live in pajamas,” Beeks says, adding that she often wears PJ bottoms with funky tops. With three kids--ages 3 months, 21 months and 3 years--Beeks is a jammie mommy on the go: doctor appointments, errands, the grocery store. She prefers hipper creations such as those from L.A. designer Renee Claire, whose Bedhead label offers capri styles in pique cotton as well as traditional cuts.

But it’s Claire’s toile flannel prints “that are on fire,” says shop owner Joane Pickett, who devotes nearly half of the store’s space to sleepwear from more than 30 designers, including Nick & Nora and the Cat’s Pajamas.

Claire, who was a women’s wear designer for 12 years, shifted to the niche pajama market two years ago. “That’s the only thing I do now,” she says, adding that since then her business has taken off, breaking the $1-million mark recently--double last year’s sales.

“It’s all about casualness in clothes nowadays, and if you can’t have it with your work wardrobe, you achieve it at home,” Claire says. After all, she says, “Home is where the heart is and also where there is no dress code.”

At Kozek’s pajamarama, several women fess up to putting more thought into what they wear at home these days, switching from jeans and sweats to stylish jammies or PJ bottoms with a T-shirt.

As Shelley Rosen waits her turn at pin-the-tail-on-the-poodle, she touts the convenience of her PJs. She likes them especially after a long day of organizing a charity auction with Kozek through their business, Shelley’s Closet. “I come home and rip off my clothes and jewelry, and on go the pajamas until the next morning.”

Linda Baum won’t begin cooking dinner for her family until she’s in her pajamas. Then she’ll watch TV or read “and it’s off to bed. Wearing pajamas keeps me young.”

Ditto for Sharon Hersch. “I put those pajamas on, and my daughters and I connect. I feel like a kid in them--and that’s not such a bad thing.”

Not at all, says Kozek, who days before her party was in bronco-print pajamas at a Starbucks, sipping her usual decaf latte. Now chatting with her partying girlfriends across tables decorated with tiny pink toy poodle centerpieces, Kozek says, “PJs do that to you; they take you back.”

Says Savitch, Kozek’s mom: “I feel like a schoolgirl. We all do.”

There’s that warm, fuzzy feeling again. “If anyone wants to sleep over, you can,” Kozek announces. “After all, you’re dressed for it.”

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Times staff writer Michael Quintanilla wrote this story in his favorite cowboy hat-print jammies.