How well can anyone ever truly know you if they’ve never seen your pyjamas? What we wear to bed can reveal a lot about our priorities: are you drawn to the put-together luxury of a matching set, or the well-worn comfort of an old T-shirt? Something cozy, or a little bit daring? I was curious as to the general consensus on what we should be wearing at night, so I called upon fellow students to weigh in on the issue.

In winter, the pendulum of sexy and sleepable seems to swing in a decidedly comfortable direction. HML student Emily can be found wearing “long pyjama trousers, either plaid or stripe. I go for a flannel material which I find so comfy in winter”. She tends not to overthink the look, keeping it laid back with “a vest, usually, or a baggy T-shirt, but they don’t tend to match”.

“Law student Maddy sources her tees from the countries she visits”

Oversized T-shirts were a running theme throughout my conversations, and often held personal significance: Education student Hana told me she wears “a lot of charity T-shirts, from when I’ve done runs,” while Lou, a Natsci, often dons “one I got from a cheerleading competition when I was fourteen,” paired with purple tartan pyjama bottoms. Education student Kitty’s shirt rotation mostly consists of charity-shop tees that never saw the light of day, although her current favourite is a “big, oversized grey University of Cambridge top from Ryder and Amies… I wanted a piece of Cambridge merch, but I knew I would never want to wear it outside, so I now sleep in this top and it’s really nice”. Emily remarks of her own baggy tee collection: “quite often they’re concert T-shirts. Love a concert T-shirt to wear to bed”. Uniquely, Law student Maddy sources her tees from the countries she visits, building up a “globally” inspired collection.

Others prefer a more coherent ensemble. Anastasia, a Natsci, tells me she will likely be rotating her matching sets, “full length, either tartan or Santa Claus print, and that will probably be it… both cotton, and it’s a button up shirt type with a collar”. This commitment to coordination continues all year round: “In the summer I am probably in shorts and vest matching.” Maddy also sang the praises of her three matching sets. “I’ve only really started wearing the sets recently,” she explains, “I think that’s a maturing thing. Whereas before I would just wear oversized T-shirts all the time.”

For some, the decision is more seasonal; Emily commented that she wears sets “more in the summer,” these being either a shorts and T-shirt set, or shorts and a vest top. “I actually really back a little lingerie top, which may be a controversial take, but I think they can be really comfy, and in the summer, they’re really light and breezy, so I have nothing bad to say about them. Also… it can be nice to feel a little bit like, mmm, when you’re wandering around before you go to bed.” It’s a feeling we all crave: that little boost of self-confidence at the end of a long day, and the assurance that we will awaken feeling like our best (and sexiest) selves.

“It’s something we crave: the assurance that we will awaken feeling like our best (and sexiest) selves”

Like Emily, Lou also spoke of the false dichotomy between sexy and sleepable: “I feel sexier when I’m in my baggy pyjamas.” She explains, “I think there’s something quite attractive about effortlessness… it just looks more natural, and I think that is attractive.” Recalling her ‘sexy pyjamas era’, she self-deprecatingly jokes, “I don’t think it was very sexy; it was just shorts that made it look like I had a wedgie.” Kitty echoed this sentiment: “I like all the baggy T-shirts that I wear to bed because I feel comfortable, but I also think I look quite good. Like, chic… she’s going to bed and she’s got a T-shirt on.”

Hana also emphasised the joy of dressing for yourself, saying, “Some people would probably say that they like looking nice when they go to bed. That’s great, because… you’re only doing that for yourself.” Emily feels that all of her pyjamas are “relatively flattering”, meaning she feels confident, even when alone in her bedroom: “that’s something that I find quite important with the pyjamas that I choose to wear… I want to feel good in them, I don’t want to just chuck on anything random”. Hana held a similar belief: “It’s nice to wear actual pyjamas I think. When I just go to bed wearing anything at all, I don’t feel good.”

While far from a definitive answer, my investigation has revealed that dressing for bedtime is a deeply subjective and personal experience. Even so-called ‘sexy’ pyjamas can be comfortable, and vice versa. Only one thing is for sure: wearing what you want might just be the sexiest possible move.