Every generation of youngsters has its own style of popular and fashionable attire.
From the bell bottoms of the '60s and '70s, to the platform shoes and leisure suits of the '70s and early '80s, one thing remains true: Kids love the dress, parents usually hate it. My mother, for example, couldn't understand why I needed to wear worn out jeans, ripped flannel shirts and scrubby ball caps (I guess that was called the "grunge" look) when I was a teen in the '90s. And I think parents are still trying to figure out why anyone wore leg warmers, parachute pants or acid washed jeans (and jean jackets) in the '80s. (Full disclosure: I had a jean jacket, albeit not acid washed, that was filled with "patches" - yes, I get the irony - of my favorite bands like Poison, Metallica, Guns 'N Roses and Skid Row. I suppose now I'd have a patch that said "Patch." Now that would be cool!)
Anyway, some fashions leave for a while and make a strong comeback - i.e. bell bottoms were cool again for a while in the late '90s and some of the '80s styles are somehow making a comeback now (though, don't ask me what's cool since I'm by no means considered fashionable - I now like jeans and T-shirts - and sometimes a scruffy ball cap.)
But there is one style out there now that bothers the heck out of me. We've never seen it in a previous generation, that I know of, and hopefully we won't see it in another. Teenagers are now wearing their pajamas in public. Go to a high school, the mall or anywhere where teens hang out, and you will see this atrocity on a regular basis. The cultural phenomenon has caught the attention of brand name stores which now put sweatpants and flannel PJs on display racks at the front of the store. These things are hotter than hotcakes, and I just don't get it. This has even caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal, which published an article about it last week that describes the trend in detail and says some schools have banned PJs.
I wonder: Am I getting old and prude in my relatively young age (I'll be 31 in a couple of weeks)? Or are there others out there who think PJs are meant for bed...period?
So the questions I have for you, dear reader, is, "Should teens wear PJs all day? Is this a good fashion trend or just silly? Is it inappropriate? Do you allow it?" Tell us in comments and take our poll. P.S. I also want to know what our younger readers think of this.
While you do that, I'll be headed into town. First, I have to change my baby daughter out of her pajamas - can't let that trend start in my household.
- Paul Singley is the editor of Oxford Patch. Love the column? Hate it? Have a better idea? Email him at paul.singley@patch.com
BIG PAIR on a BIG BUTT with BIG SHARKS on them, yikes it made me BACK up and I had thoughts of JAWS wading in front of me. So, PJ's should be worn with a thought of design and size. But, maybe it's their way of "speaking" out!
Well, maybe if I was younger (I'm 78) but I can't imagine my Fruit of the Looms in the summer and long johns in the winter! If they had a nice design and were colored...But, no thanks. Everything has its place.
I did not notice pajamas as I pay no attention to what teenagers are wearing. You can be wearing leather jacket with dog collar, it does not bother me. Believe it or not once upon a time I was teenager too. :) I think young people deserve some freedom so they can learn things. Its part of growing up and development.
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick the flowers in other people's gardens And learn to spit You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat And eat three pounds of sausages at a go Or only bread and pickle for a week And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes But now we must have clothes that keep us dry And pay our rent and not swear in the street And set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers. But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple. Taken from the book When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple Editd by Sandra Martz