From bedroom to boardroom: is Britain ready for M&S luxe outdoor pyjamas?

The Guardian

07-04-2025

For me, putting on a pair of pyjamas usually means time to take off my makeup. So it feels a little strange to instead be applying a full face as I prepare to leave my flat wearing a pair of PJs.
At first glance, it might look like I haven't bothered to get dressed this morning, but I am road-testing Marks & Spencer's new fashion collaboration. The retailer is gearing up to release what it calls 'the most luxurious pyjamas the high street has ever seen'. It has teamed up with Olivia von Halle, a British designer known for her fancy silk PJs that sell for upwards of £600. From Tuesday, at M&S you'll be able to pick up a similar set for £55.
Jennifer Lopez, Kate Moss and Gwyneth Paltrow are all fans of OVH – as she is known in the industry – and like to wear her sleepwear designs for, presumably, sleeping but also for running errands in and even going to fancy events.
Daytime PJs are championed by the catwalks, too. This season, designers including Burberry, Calvin Klein and Prada featured jimjams in their collections. Now M&S customers can embrace the trend, too.
Like many, I have taken the bins out in my PJs and I regularly spot parents dropping their kids at the school gates in last night's sleepwear. But choosing to wear pyjamas publicly rather than covertly seems much more Hollywood than Hackney, where I live. Even with a hangover I wouldn't usually even nip to the corner shop in my nightwear. Could I really pull it off?
The collection features 10 pieces in three different prints. Each one riffs on von Halle's bestselling designs, there are stripes, felines and botanicals. I lean into spring and go for a floral pair. Each £55 set features a nightshirt and either full-length trousers or shorts. It also comes with a matching eye mask, which I swap for sunglasses. There are also robes (£55) and nighties (£45) available.
There is still a chill in the air so I follow the model Gigi Hadid's lead and pop a jacket on top. Lots of A-listers wear high heels with their PJs but as I don't have a personal driver, it's flats for me. After a little thought, I land on a pair of velvet Mary Janes that feel slipper-adjacent.
OVH's mainline are made from the heaviest weight of silk available, 19 momme. The M&S versions, however, are made from a viscose blend – a semi-synthetic fabric. I spy lots of von Halle detailing – the inside labels are made of the same satin fabric so they don't scratch and the buttons are engraved. But unlike OVH's £2,450 cashmere PJs, the M&S ones can be chucked in a washing machine. Before heading out, I steam them to remove any creases, something I have never bothered to do with pyjamas before.
My first stop is my local coffee shop. I ask the barista, Bahadir, if he serves many customers in nightwear. He shrugs and says anything goes around here. Several customers are wearing gorp-core – practical outdoor wear such as Patagonia fleeces and Salomon trail running shoes – that have been appropriated by hipster urbanites. If they can pull off a fishing vest over a flat white, surely I can get away with some posh PJs?
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Next, I stroll down the high street to my local market. No one even bats an eyelid. I ask Junior, a council employee working nearby, if he likes my look. He tells me the floral style reminds him of a Japanese kimono. I explain they are pyjamas. 'You do you,' he replies.
I go to hop on a Lime bike but someone else has beaten me to the closest one. 'Does it look like I am wearing pyjamas?' I shout over to the man unlocking it. He pauses and asks if I am a fashion influencer. I tell him I am a journalist for a national newspaper on an important assignment.
Later, outside a hair salon, a stylist called Shaianne stops to tell me she likes my look. I confess to her I am wearing pyjamas. She wants to know where she can buy them. Maybe I am an influencer.