Not regularly. A couple of times.
OK, four. Maybe five.
Which might be a cause for concern, right? Older guy, strolling the neighborhood in his pj’s. One immediately thinks of Vincent Gigante, the Genovese crime family boss who wandered Greenwich Village for 30 years in a robe, pajamas and slippers. Pretending to be crazy, trying to build an insanity defense and keep himself out of jail.
Not the best company to be in. (Plus it didn’t work; he died in prison.)
So what’s my excuse?
Well, I have a few — not excuses, but reasons.
First Kitty, our elderly dog. She’s 16, or 112 in human years. Without going into detail, her habits are changing. While she used to be a regular 7 a.m., 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. kind of gal, now she might feel the urge at 1:30 a.m., or 3 a.m., or 5 a.m. or, one recent night, 1:30 and 3 and 5 a.m.
Let’s put it this way — right now my wife is in Washington, D.C., enjoying grandchildren No. 1 and No. 3, while I’m here, tending to a dog. Because we just couldn’t hand the dog to a neighbor with a wave and a breezy — “Oh, by the way, you might need to walk her every two hours, bye!” — as we waltz out the door.
Second, let me tell you something about Center Avenue. It isn’t like strolling Michigan Avenue in your jammies, though I imagine that happens. Not many people at noon. At 5 a.m. it’s pretty much me. So far, this fashion leap is only taken at night.
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My condolences and admiration.
ReplyDeleteI found this column particularly engaging: lots of chuckles regarding a topic that would never have occurred to me. And I am wishing the best for your feet.
ReplyDeleteI really don't care what anyone wears anymore. At one time, people would judge others on what they wore & assign a class to them, but jeans changed everything, as everyone wears them.
ReplyDeleteI just don't like the torn jeans thing though, as my mom would've killed me for wearing for anything other than cleaning up the back yard!
Still have quite a few pairs of torn jeans. Only wear them indoors and when doing yard work. Also have a bright orange sweatshirt...a gag gift from a friend...with a huge Star of David on the front, and the word "Yid" under the star...something I wouldn't dream of wearing outdoors. Do not need any of the tsouris that would follow!
DeleteI don't know Grizz .. I'm not sure I would take that off. I kinda want to see a photo.
DeleteFor your own safety, Grizz, don't wear that outdoors, lest some neo Nazi or jihadist comes after you.
DeleteExactly. Not that stupid. And I have just as much to fear from some crazed pro-Israel Zionist, Israeli or American or simply the child of a Holocaust survivor. They would not like seeing the word "Yid."
DeleteLived in Skokie for 11 years while growing up. Went to school with kids whose parents had numbers on their arms. And saw those same parents holding baseball bats, when the Nazis came around in '77...or tried to.
Found the logo online, Mr. S. It's on your Facebook page. Different colors, though. Mine is gray lettering on orange. Can also double as Browns football gear, if I wear a short-sleeved brown T-shirt over the star and the words. The "Yid Army" is what the fans of North London's soccer team, Tottenham Hotspur, like to call themselves. Like the Bleacher Creatures, only even more fanatical.
I think he wanted a photo of YOU wearing it Grizz. We all do
DeleteNo, you don't. You really, really don't. Be careful what you wish for.
DeleteRetirement looms, Neil. I don't wear pajamas, so it's a good thing that I don't have a dog. I'm thinking about getting a fez, though, or maybe a leopard skin pill box hat. Staying ahead of the eccentricities of a newspaper columnist is going to be a tough go.
ReplyDeleteIf I do get a fez, then I'm never gonna do it without the fez on.
DeleteOh, no...
That's what I am. Please understand.
Steely Dan!
DeleteWear a robe with those pajamas and you're all set.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be caught dead outside wearing pajamas without a robe and sleeping cap.
ReplyDeleteI am a firm believer in wearing sleepwear/robe outdoors within a 1 block radius of our house. My thinking is it's far more modest than most outfits I see. My husband is slightly mortified, but no longer says anything.
ReplyDeleteIn most situations, with age comes wisdom.
ReplyDeleteAnd with wisdom, comes the realization that not everything matters.
There is a time and a place for a tuxedo; as there is the same for pjs.
I should really look into the history of the pajama as I assume they were something created to make it acceptable to wander from between your bed and somewhere else with out announcing to the world what your nether regions look like. But most likely they came into fashion when we all shared one single bed in the new world... who knows.
Anything that throws our outdated and pathetic puritanical "sensibilities" out the window is ok by me.
As a Skokie high school kid, and while home from college in the summertime, thought nothing of walking down to the USPS box at night, without any shoes on. The cool sidewalk felt good on my bare feet. Had to walk a block down to the main street...which was actually named Main Street...in order to drop the mail right into the slot.
DeleteStill walk around barefoot a lot these days. With geezerhood came swollen feet, and it feels good to be shoeless. Still love the feeling of cool sidewalks and grass on the hot soles of my poor tootsies.But stepping on sharp objects is a hazard. So is stubbing your toe. Happens frequently. I'm such a klutz.
Not a fan of pajamas outside, or being worn to the store, or even on planes, for God's sake. Or anywhere but in the house or to bed. Then there are the lounge pants and the sweatpants. Lounge pants ought to be for lounging, not for parading around in public. Sweatpants are for the couch or the gym. Anywhere else and you look like a slob, or an outpatient from a halfway house, forced out onto the sidewalk and puffing on your cigarette outdoors.
The worst offenders are those plus-sized women who insist on wearing leotards or tights or body stockings or whatever the hell they are calling them. They look like they are walking around in long underwear, especially from the rear. The push their strollers past my house. One of them was ahead of me while checking in at the eye doctor's office yesterday. A sight that made my sore eyes even more so.
Grizz, bare feet on the cold concrete is proof of something... because my god it's perfection.
DeleteI love golfing barefoot. I don’t do it often, uptight golfers find it offensive, including my playing partners. The feel of the fairways, rough, bunkers, and greens under bare feet is wonderful.
Delete"I need to buy a fez." Thanks for the fun column and great morning visual.
ReplyDeleteas the season changes, should we go-fund you a dressing gown? or a smoking jacket, since I believe you still enjoy the occasional stogie?
ReplyDeletePajamas (the full matching set) are excused on the basis of emergency. (for your dog). But I'm not keen on the idea for any other occasions. Youth provides cover as quirky individualism, retro fashion, making a statement. However, age tends to give the appearance you've lost your sense of self awareness, an indication of mental decline. Sorry, that's just how it is.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I would tend to agree with you if it were not for the four legged friend. I would never claim someone out in their pajamas -- especially at odd hours -- while walking a dog to be anything other than a good human.
DeleteThe devolution of one’s own wardrobe is one of the privileges of maturity, as long as it is not imposed by force or poverty. Whatever you wear, “own” the choice. You know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as a woman, I would never do it, and wouldn't like to see others walking the neighborhood in pajamas. When circumstances called for a quick rush outside, I put on an oversized hoodie and, unless I'm wearing leggings, jeans/sweatpants over the pajamas. Takes 10 seconds. Or you can let Kitty relieve herself in your back yard.
ReplyDeletewell said anon at 9:18 and sensible too
DeleteAbout twenty years ago I was a shipping supervisor. One day my boss told me one of my workers was wearing pajamas. He was a fundamentalist Christian and was all freaked out about it. I said, ya, the kids wear pajama pants like sweatpants pants now. He looked at me like I was the crazy one and said, “There not sweat pants, there pajamas! you need to send him home! “ I didn’t see the problem. They were just flannel pants with cartoon characters on them.
ReplyDeleteMy next job I used to conduct a lot of interviews for entry level positions. I can’t tell you how many applicants showed up in pajama pants, flip flops, and halter tops.
Move to the country, you won't need pajamas.
ReplyDeletewow just wow
ReplyDeleteI put on sweatpants and a hoodie yesterday and headed to the laundry mat wanting to get my limited wardrobe completely clean. I wouldn't ordinarily go out in my sweats. I'm not exactly dapper but I'm hard-pressed to even wear shorts outdoors it just feels funny
ReplyDeleteLaundromats are a special kind of place where I think people wear stuff they almost never wear outside I've seen pajamas several times.
Well I don't own any I totally respect your right to wear whatever you choose whenever you choose..
What I have the utmost of respect for is that you walk the dog so many people would just open the back door and let them into the yard which even though Kittie is probably only having trouble with her bladder its still gross I don't want to sit out in the yard or have a picnic or whatever in a dog toilet but lots of people do
you don't have a washer/ dryer at your house or apt. FME???!!
DeleteIn general, I'm in the "no pajamas in public" camp. In your own back yard, wear whatever you want. But elsewhere, if you care at all about what others think of you, there are bedtime options that don't scream "pajamas" to the innocent passer-by. A long- or short-sleeved tee with so-called lounge pants in a solid color will do the trick. MeUndies makes very comfortable ones, although they're a bit overpriced in my opinion. Even sweatpants are a step up from pajamas.
ReplyDeleteOne of the joys of having a fenced-in back yard is that you don't have to walk the dog if you don't want to. Let 'im out the back and tell him to scratch when he wants to come back in. This system has worked well for us through several dogs and decades. Plus, the poop is remarkably biodegradable; you just need to watch where you're walking while mowing the lawn, and it's deteriorated to nothing in a week or two.
ReplyDeleteSo, I am not the world's best dog owner; the other family members do a better job. I didn't select any of them (the dogs, that is); every one so far has been a rescue dog who lived a long and happy life at our place. In fact, daughter #3 went for a degree in Animal Psychology and now works at a rescue facility specializing in older animals for adoption, for which I have to credit growing up with our dogs.
Where were we? Oh, right, walking the dog in our pajamas (or pyjamas for us British folks). Not for me, thanks. I did once venture down our driveway in a bathrobe to retrieve the newspaper, but I felt wildly out of place like that, thinking of a scene in which Tony Soprano does the same thing and is surprised by an attacker. Of course, I am also the last person on our street to get daily home delivery, so seeing me in a bathrobe is probably not as surprising to the neighbors as seeing a paper on the pavement.
Always pickup the dog poop, as rats love to eat it!
DeleteSo happy NS guided me to the blog comments! They are as much of the blog as the blog! And wear whatever whenever is my motto at 67!
ReplyDeleteAs a Fifties kid, I read many old Twenties and Thirties library books that still used the original British spelling for "pyjamas". So many words from India entered the English language during the British colonial era...especially for clothing: cashmere, dungarees, jodhpurs, khaki. And there were countless other words from India that entered the language in the UK and the U.S. Among them were bungalow, cheetah, jungle, shampoo, and thug.
ReplyDeleteWe pretty much live in an "anything goes" culture. I imagine your quality pajamas are closer to seeming like a 3-piece suit, compared with half the stuff folks wear in public these days. But I suppose ironing them before heading out would have defeated the purpose. 😉
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I've never been much of a pajama person, myself. Except when it gets really cold in winter, it just seems like an extra change of clothes, for no reason. But then, I don't "dress for dinner," the way they did on "Downton Abbey," either.
You do have the additional factor of seeming to have house guests rather often lately, which we don't. That would certainly be an additional reason to wear pajamas.
Interesting perspectives from the Anonymice @ 8:22 and 9:18 and from Coey. To me, the key is the reason for and timing of your off-hours appearances. If nobody sees you, who cares? If somebody does at 3 a.m., they should certainly understand what's going on and not assume that "you've lost your sense of self awareness."
I did suggest to the photo editor (originally, my editor assigned a photographer to come to the house, but she felt a selfie would be more natural) that I needed to iron the pajamas first. She nixed that, saying that wrinkles would enhance the effect. Hard to imagine, but this kind of thing gets discussed in meetings.
DeleteThat's wonderful; I love behind-the-scenes stuff like that! Thanks for the response, NS.
DeleteThis is such a casual topic that I pretty much forgot that I read it in the paper and not as a blog post, by the time I read all the comments.
FWIW, I agree with the editor on both counts.
Bravo Bro! You're an ace being there for your beloved Kitty. And now, watch, you'll be the poster boy of the PJ industry. Macy's and Nordstrom will be fighting for a piece of Neil Steinberg!
ReplyDeletePerhaps the vet can give some med to help her kidneys / bladder so she isn't out half the night. And yes, as others said, let her out in back if you've a fenced in yard. That disrupted sleep isn't good for your health.
ReplyDeleteCan a dog take Mirabegron, that makes you go less at night.
DeleteSome men's pj's have a pullover long tee look and are a bit more hip than the 1950's pj style. ;)
ReplyDeleteyou have hazel eyes, I see
ReplyDeleteAs long as a person is modestly covered, I am not bothered by any thing they wear including pajamas. I do get sick and tired of seeing boobs pushing out & over; same for the floppy bottom shorts that let the butt checks hang out. I find that about as unattractive as the plumber's crack that these same boob-showing, butt-showing people complain about.
ReplyDeleteHow droll you are today, NS.
ReplyDeleteOne word, Benjamin - - silk!
ReplyDelete