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Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

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catgirl

Veteran

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General

46 replies

Latest reply was from Janet

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

At my house, if you're feeling well enough to go to school (ie the living room), then you need to be properly dressed. It doesn't always happen early, but it does happen. I remember my niece wearing PJ bottoms to school in high school several years ago. I have no idea if they do it around here.

Polly (thunalata)

Veteran

It's the reason that UK schools have a uniform, partly, to give you a sense of what is appropriate to wear in the workplace so I can't even imagine someone wearing pjs to school!

ETA which is not to say that all UK schoolchildren are dressed immaculately at all times, to say the least...

kitty400

My oldest son is in middle school and he does not wear pj's to school. In fact the public schools here have a uniform policy that all the elementary and middle school kids have to follow. The high school is technically a private school and does not have to enforce the same dress code. I have seen many of the high school kids wearing pj's and I have noticed that the majority are high school girls. Even if my sons school did not have the uniform policy there is no way he would leave the house in his pj's. In fact on weekends the first thing he does is shower and get dressed even if it is to just laze around the house. Now if I could just get my 8 yr old to do the same lol...

catgirl

Veteran

We did talk about uniforms, Polly! Interesting.

I realize that after a certain age, you probably don't have control over what your kids wear.

biscuitsmom

Veteran

I havent been in school since the late 70's and have no kids (except B!) but I just cant understand the attraction at all....sure, they're comfy but so are *many* other items and most are sloppy fitting.... to me, its *almost* on the level of very oversized sweats...I guess its the ones who REALLY want to draw attention to themselves....I have never seen it in my neighborhood (suburb of Mpls, Mn) but saw it almost weekly the last 5-6 years while working at my job in a large grocery store....mostly teenagers/college kids, but a suprising number of adult women too! OY!

Aziraphale

Veteran

I don't think there is a "no pajamas" rule at my kids' elementary school because I don't think anyone sends their kids to school in their pajamas! I have no idea what's going on in the high schools these days, but I suspect it's not a problem here (we live in a Vancouver suburb). I taught at a high school (in Vancouver proper) for six years, and never once did a student show up in his or her jammies.

I occasionally used to go to university in what basically amounted to pajamas. It was only because I COULD -- no one was stopping me! -- and I really hated getting out of bed for 8:30 a.m. calculus classes. It was sort of a protest at having to force my brain to focus on calculus so early in the morning; I'd "make up for it" by wearing the comfiest, loungiest clothing possible. Weird logic, I know, but I was young and silly.

Irene

Veteran

Wow, two things surprise me here:

1) Kids are allowed to go to school in their pajamas. Pajamas are what you sleep with, right? They are not sweatpants or oversize pullovers but just matching pants and tops with sweet patterns like teddy bears, candy or pink hearts. I mean, we could only do this on a special day called Carnival. Then we'd go back to the normal thing. I've never ever been to a school with wrongly dressed kids, nor have I taught any improperly dressed kids.

2) Teenagers wearing pajamas! Really? I can understand a kid doing this because they don't care -most of them, anyways- and they want to be comfy, period. But teenagers tend to struggle with their body image and want to look amazing every single hour of their young lives, at least in Spain. Last week I actually saw a teenager wearing 5 inch heels at the library. For real. So I just can't understand how a teenager would wear pajamas to school, unless they are the sexiest pajamas ever, which would make for another controversial topic.

rae

(website)

Veteran

What is the world coming to? Back in my day, even the schools that did not have uniforms had detailed dress codes -- it wasn't *that* long ago, was it? My middle school was especially strict; we could not wear open toed shoes, straps thinner than 1.5 inches, belt loops without belts, brand logos, dyed hair, or anything that would "distract from the learning process." No one cared about our individuality -- school was for learning, fostering individuality/personality was the parents' job. My high school was strict, too, but this was part of the effort to keep the gang influence down. No visible underwear, no super long belt tails... I think *I* turned out okay.

Queen Mum

Veteran

There is no reason, outside of being deathly ill, to wear your pajamas out of the house.

I just asked my 17 year old if they were allowed to wear pajamas to school and he said "No, not really... I mean people get away with it, but they really aren't supposed to" How's that for enforcing rules

My middle schooler's school has a uniform that they enforce very lightly, but I'm sure they wouldn't get away with pajamas.

I remember one of my kids trying to leave the house one Sunday night in PJ bottoms for church (the high school group) and my husband about had a coronary.

thimblelina

(website)

Veteran

I only let my kids go to school in pajamas on designated "pajama days." (But some teachers we know have admitted they hate those days, because the kids really should have their minds on their work, and be able to play without restrictive clothing, etc.) And I do remember a craze a few years ago, when my oldest was tiny, of pajama-bottom wearing teens streaming past our house on their way to and from school. These days premium denim appears to have trumped pajama bottoms in our community... but perhaps the harried underwater parents underwriting those jeans purchases would appreciate a comeback of the pajama trend. LOL! At my daughter's HS the worst looks are the current incarnation of "Ms.Kitty,Dancehall Slut" -- a look which is always with us, in some form or another, right? -- and the very sports oriented girls who wear school sweats, sweatshirts, uggs and slick their hair tightly back everyday without variation. I weep inside for their mothers. My daughter puts herself together to look cute and tasteful every day as if she were going to a job and for this I am deeply grateful. Sounds like what your friend is describing Una is a very strong local trend. The kids will probably move on from it eventually. I'm trying not to fall back on Northern Exposure stereotypes, but I have relatives in AK and all those rugged individualist types together can get a little quirky! Also, perhaps it is a seasonal weather/lack of light protest? But where are their parents?... They really should be taught that one gets dressed to show respect to the teachers and the institution and to develop the habits of mind to do the work at hand. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I wouldn't allow it. L.

catgirl

Veteran

Well, Alaska is uber-casual in general - I have seen ADULTS (with kids of their own) in pajama bottoms at Costco or the hardware store in the middle of the day. I'm talking flannel elastic waist pants, or some version of that. I'm not sure how different that is from sweats? I think it's actually a fashion among teens here, like Uggs and pants hanging off the butt.

Here's a related article about mothers wearing pajamas to drop their kids off:

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.....to-school/

Debbie

Veteran

There is a woman who has a child in my grandson's school who wears her pajama's every single morning. I have seen everything this year from Hello Kitty to Victoria Secret on her backside.
Drives me nuts!

cloud9

Veteran

PJs are definitely allowed at our schools... only ONE day though: Pajama Party Day!

Queen Mum

Veteran

Good article. I like that principal who scolded the mom's about their drop off attire!

I used to pride myself with the fact that I had never ever gone anywhere out of the house in PJ's until my son's homecoming last year. I was so tired I went on to bed. (Haha.. I might be in my prime, but I can't stay up past 9PM.) He called at 11:00 and asked if I would come get him at 11:30 from his girlfriends house. My mistake was closing my eyes again. at 12:00 he called... "ummm, Mom?" I jumped up, threw my robe on and grabbed another son who was still up on the computer to come with me (If I broke down he was going to have to do the walking That was a one and only isolated incident.
I will admit to dropping my kids off at school in sweats. I don't ever have to get out of the car though... I just slow down shove them out of the car

catgirl

Veteran

Giving "drop off" its true meaning!

Aida

Veteran

As much as I hate (HATE) people wearing PJs in public, I don't think schools should enforce a "No PJs" rule. Hats I can understand, they hide kid's faces, ok fine; phones makes sense; chains, fine I suppose though that one always bugged me as a teen (I wore lots!). PJs do not inherently make it harder for teachers to do their job, nor kids to learn. It IS terrible style though I know I wore a lot of slacks in high school that could have been misconstrued as flannel PJ pants but weren't; if it was against the rules, kids could always say "But I don't sleep in these, therefore they're not pajamas"? I think it's a tough call.

thimblelina

(website)

Veteran

OMG... I have a terrible story about not doing the school run fully dressed. I have a dear friend who often works late night events. And she drove her son (same as my daughter, freshman in HS) to catch an early xcountry meet bus in just her robe. And I mean JUST her robe, albeit a modest robe; but not a stitch else. Can you believe their car's transmission failed in the parking lot and she needed to get her husband to come and get her? It was gruesome. You can bet she's locked and loaded every time she now leaves the house... LOL ... L

catgirl

Veteran

Aida, interesting. It's true I'd rather see PJs in school than skimpy jeans and butt crack, or crop tops and cleavage.

Elly

Veteran

PJs are very common here. It is sort of a clique thing, where the popular students (in our school district it means students in sports) wear PJs every time they travel for a sport. Most of the kids that wear PJs to school don't really plan on learning anything that day anyway, except how to make the co-ed bus seats feel more like their bedrooms.

It was pretty common to see kids in PJs at one college I attended, but up here in the land of snow and cold, not so much.

I will admit that a few years ago we had a bit of a role reversal in my house-- we were down a car and I would drop my mother off at school. I would have been asleep for maybe 5 hours when we had to go so I would go in what I was sleeping in plus a coat (I sleep in sweats though, so it wasn't bad) because I was coming back to go to bed after having worked 4-12. I looked just like half the parents at the school, and better than quiet a few. I once saw a man take a child INTO the school in his boxers and a barn jacket.

Marigold

Doesn't happen in schools where I live (busy town on the outskirts of a major city) but because all schools in the area have uniform policy - which I'm a big fan by the way. The uniforms are different colors polo shirts and pants for each individual school (High School has tan polos and black pants, Elementary has navy polos and tan pants etc, for both boys and girls. Girls wear leggings too, but school colors). I do see young people in flannel PJ bottoms and sweatshirts out and about (coffee shops and such) - the VS style, I suppose it's trendy for them? I also cringe when I see the athletic sandals with white socks (the kind that soccer players wear in the lockers) out on the streets...

Kari

Veteran

Guilty as charged. When I was a senior in high school I sometimes wore flannel pajama pants and sweatshirts to school, and not just on pajama spirit days. Other kids wore medical scrubs. It wasn't a daily thing, but now I cringe to think that I did this.

When my sister was in high school she had a friend from France staying with her when a group of girlfriends decided to go to the movies in pajamas. Talk about culture shock!

Maya

Veteran

Same as Kari. I did not make a habit of it, but on exam days when all I did was go to school, take a long test, and leave...I did sometimes wear my pajama pants (with a spaghetti strap top usually). Also like Kari, I am now adequately ashamed of myself.

It was the cool thing to do, and it was considered "cute" at the time to have your PJ's with little duckies or rainbows or who knows what else all over them. Why my parents didn't stop me from leaving the house mystifies me--probably because I'm incredibly stubborn and would have ended up staying at home and missing my exam if they challenged me...

What a bundle of joy I was.

Anonymous

I homeschool and my kids aren't allowed to wear pajamas to do schoolwork! UGH. I have no further comment.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

In my undergrad days, I wore pjs to class once. They were bright blue with snowmen.

I cannot believe I just admitted to that

marianna

Veteran

During my high school days (2001-2005) students wore PJs to school. I never did, but it was quite common to see.

elpgal

Veteran

I used to see this a lot when I was a teaching assistant and I thought it was just the sort of thing Americans did. This opinion was reinforced by seeing people dressed similarly at airports. I didn't mind and found that it was in no way related to their ability or behavior.

yublocka

(website)

Veteran

Back in my dance party days I used to wear candy striped pajamas out to nightclubs (the top or the bottom, never both at the same time). My how things change!!!

Vani

Veteran

This thread makes me very glad I had to wear a uniform to school. The most we could experiment/rebel with was the length of our socks which were always supposed to be knee-high (which I hated).

rute

Veteran

oh.. never heard of that.. wearing pajamas to school?? No Portuguese kid would want to do that.. they are so picky with clothes.. they always want to have nice clothes and they care about the brands either..

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