Raining on the pajama parade

Might as well be comfortable.

That's the attitude behind the latest teen fashion trend: pajamas.

Once a novelty at school, "pajama day" was the chance to be silly and wear attire usually reserved for the privacy of home. But these days many young people are wearing PJs in public, anytime and just about anywhere.

Unfortunately for those fond of the fad, many schools have slammed the acceptable-clothing door shut against it.

"The PJ trend starts us down a road we do not feel we can go without crossing the line of dignity at some juncture," said Dr. Mike Cowan, principal at Central High School in Cape Girardeau.

Cowan and Vince Powell, assistant principal at Jackson High School, both said pajamas have the potential to cross the inappropriate line, though these days it may be hard to distinguish between sleepwear and sweats or casual pants.

"However, you can imagine that flannel PJs most likely cover one's anatomy sufficiently whereas silk and sheer tend to be less dignified for public dress," said Cowan. "Thus, if it quacks like a duck, then ... Certainly, ducks have their place, but the classroom is not it."

And speaking of ducks, now that pajamas are a fashion statement, such retailers are offering a myriad styles and prints for adults, teens and preteens.

Sixth-grader Haley Small's favorite look: a T-shirt, flip-flops and pajama bottoms, with designs on them ranging from Snoopy to monkeys, basketballs to smiley faces.

"Part of it is because it's cute; but the majority of it is because it's comfortable," says Small who lives in Glen Rock, N.J., and often wears her PJs, "so I can sleep the extra five minutes." Pajama bottoms are better than jeans, she adds, because they're cool but less constricting.

Haley's mom, Ellyn Small, says that the first time her daughter wanted to wear pajamas to school, "I was dead set against it." Then she realized other children were doing it and didn't mind so much.

"The pajama bottoms and T-shirts cover just as much of her body, if not more than the clothes she would normally wear," Small says. "I'm sure there will be plenty of times down the road for me to put my foot down and tell her she can't do or wear something."

Bob Hallman, another New Yorker whose 15-year-old who sports sleepwear in public, says he's also fine with it. "All I ask is that they wear PJs appropriately," he says. "Not too big and too loose, not too small and too tight."

Kristina Philips, a 20-year-old junior at Ashland University in Ohio, says she'll wear pajamas to early classes, informal meetings or when she's feeling too sick to wear regular clothes.

"But once you start wearing slippers with them, people start to make jokes about a pajama party," she says, recalling how one student got teased for doing so her freshman year.

She also believes that K-12 schools are well within their rights to impose pajama bans.

At Central High School, Cowan says he has seen an increase recently in students who have shown up for class in pajamas. Those students are usually asked to change clothes or are sent home, said Cowan, as per this clause in the student handbook: "The principal is empowered to require such modifications to the appearance or attire so that the appearance or attire no longer disrupts the educational process."

"This fad has risen and fallen before, and I suspect it will fall and rise again," said Cowan.

For now, retailers say the demand for pajamas only seems to be growing.

Valerie Bent, who launched the Las Vegas-based Big Feet Pajama Company a month ago, says she's heard from many people who want to wear her company's pajamas for outdoor activities -- fishing, camping and snowboarding, among them. And some young people also have told her they plan to wear the one-piece, footed PJs to school.

"I'm a kid at heart. But I couldn't even imagine wearing these out in public," Bent says, laughing. "But I guess if you're really brave ..."

cmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128