Pajamas are no longer worn only at night. Many people, particularly young college students, have begun to wear pajamas on casual days or to class. The most common way to wear pajamas in this way is to wear a pair of pajama pants with a t-shirt or a tank top. Some kinds of pajama pants are actually manufactured so that they can be worn during the day. These pajama-style pants are slim-fitting and usually have a plaid or striped pattern on them. Sometimes they have pockets, although girls’ pants usually do not have them because they disrupt the silhouette and make the hips look wider. Girls’ pajama pants are similar to or sometimes indistinguishable from pants that are made for running or yoga. It is the patten on them that makes them look like pajamas.
Boys generally wear t-shirts with these pants, and girls usually wear ribbed tank tops or fitted t-shirts. These tops can be found in the active wear or pajamas section of any clothing store, although any casual top will suffice. As an alternative to pajama pants, people of both genders sometimes prefer to wear boxer shorts. Like the pants, boxer shorts are made to be worn outdoors, so they are modified to preserve the modesty of the wearer. Of course, proper boxer shorts can be worn, especially if the wearer really does just want to wear them to bed, but pajamas have become such a popular style of comfortable clothing that companies have begun to either alter their designs to accommodate outdoor wear or make their traditional active wear out of fabric that has a pajama-friendly pattern or color scheme.
Nightgowns are still a popular option for girls who want to be warm at night without feeling any restriction around their legs. Nightgowns can be purely functional by provided ample coverage and warmth, or, like pants and boxers, they may have elements of style to them. Unlike the pants, however, stylized nightgowns tend to be provocative and should not be worn in public.
Another kind of pajamas that cannot be worn in public is one-piece footie pajamas. While these pajamas are often initially purchased as a joke, many people who own them do wear them to bed and find them rather comfortable. They usually have rubber grips on the feet and an “exit” flap in the back, although few people use them for their intended function.