Thursday, February 4, 2010

Don't Wear Your Pajamas to the Grocery Store

A branch of the Tesco grocery chain in Wales, UK, has felt it necessary to ban the wearing of pyjamas to their stores. 

I'm all for this, although I think "don't wear your pyjamas to the grocery store" is one of those things that should go without saying.  I don't want the government telling me what to wear, but I'll support a private business turning away customers who can't be bothered to throw on pants and a shirt before they leave the house.

I'm a huge pyjama fan, by the way.  I'll keep mine on all day, if I've got the day off and don't need to leave the house.  But what makes them seem so comfortable is the fact that I don't have to go out and do chores in them.  Pyjama time = relaxing time.

I've worked in a place where attendance at weekly meetings was mandatory.  This meant that some folks who attended the meetings wouldn't be scheduled to work a shift directly after, and so to compensate us for making the extra trip in, the regular dress code was relaxed.  I always dressed in my usual business casual for these meetings.  I might put on sneakers rather than dress shoes, if I was going to fit in some errands after.  But otherwise, a button down shirt and a sweater is as comfortable as a sweatshirt, if you ask me, and I've never enjoyed the feel of jeans.  I'll wear jeans when I'm working on the house, doing carpentry, or hauling sheet-rock around.  That's when you need the ruggedness of denim.  (Denim time = hard labour time.)

One of my co-workers chose to flaunt the fact that she could "dress down" by coming to the meeting in her pyjamas.  That was her prerogative, I guess.  But it's hard to think of someone as a professional when they're sitting there in pink flannel with a teddy bear motif.  It certainly didn't make it any easier to stay focused and awake at an early morning meeting.  It put one more in the mood for cuddling than collaboration. 

But if  you're not with the people nor in the place you do your cuddling, why go around pushing those psychological buttons?

7 comments:

  1. I am glad that your "pyjama time" is vintage plaid top and bottom over t shirt with nice robe and slippers. Rather distinguished, if you ask me. In fact you might look more 'dressed up' than some people I see at the grocery store in their 'street clothes'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well put! My mother used to tell my sisters "don't dress like you're giving a guy a head start"

    ReplyDelete
  3. My friend posted this on her facebook site....she seemed to think this wasn't a bad idea. I think and wrote: PATHETIC!

    http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/02/03/what-do-pajama-jeans-say-about-americans/?icid=main

    I hope the link works.....

    ReplyDelete
  4. James - That's a wonderful line. I don't have anyone to use it on, but I think I'm going to remember it anyway, just in case.

    Lorie - Yuck! The other problem I have with pyjamas in public is I don't want any crud I get on my clothes throughout the day to crawl back into bed with me. Pajama-jeans seem just like asking for trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I LOVE that the ad said, "...rivets. So they look like they were made by some European designer!" Wha?! Really? "Some European designer?" First of all, no European designer would touch this! Second, that just sounds disrespectful of designers.
    One of the fellas I work with has flannel lined jeans to work in during the cold months. But he's not filthy; he'd never wear something like this! Neither would I. I'll bet the WalMart drones will, though.
    James, I laughed so hard when I read your comment! That is grand.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree that it should go without saying, not to wear your pajamas out shopping. (Makes me cringe thinking about it. Didn't we used to have nightmares of wearing our pajamas to school?)

    The comments are great. (Linda)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just need to add the very fact that they said "Pah-JAMMN-uzzz" is enough to turn me off, let alone that they are both, pyjamas and jeans together, OOh, what's next:bathrobe wedding dress?

    ReplyDelete