This isn't your grandmother's nightgown, or maybe it is. What used to be just for sleeping is now the summer dress of the year.
Reformation's Holly Sleep Dress is a short dress with a 1950s-style neckline and scalloped edges, inspired by old nightgowns you can wear out. Damson Madder's Elspeth Nightdress has floral embroidery and can be worn day or night. If Only If, known for nightgowns seen in Lena Dunham's Netflix series "Too Much," shows models wearing them at markets or outside.
On TikTok, videos with #nightgown have gone up 200% in a year. Instagram creators are also excited. Influencer Bridget Brown told her 99,000 followers she can't stop buying vintage nightgowns, showing off one she bought secondhand.
Wearing nightclothes outside isn’t new. In the late 1700s, French artist Elizabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun painted Marie Antoinette in a nightie that was considered too revealing for public view.
Designers have long tried to shock by using lingerie on the runway. In 1992, John Galliano featured see-through nightdresses. At Calvin Klein's 1995 show, silky nightgowns were sophisticated and sometimes suitable for work. In 1997, Stella McCartney's designs for Chloé looked like real sleepwear.
The trend has changed since Marie Antoinette's time. Even Princess Diana wore a slip dress to the 1996 Met Gala. Today’s styles focus on comfort and historical looks.
Fashion critic Rachel Tashjian wears a cotton nightgown from the late 1800s while walking her dog. It belonged to her husband's great-grandmother and has detailed lacework.
Sandeep Salter, co-founder of Salter House, says their organic cotton nightdresses are very popular. Inspired by her mother and "Peter Pan," one design called "The Lamb" is based on old French undergarments. Salter likes to style nightdresses as daywear with accessories.
These loose gowns are all about comfort, a trend that grew during the 2020 lockdowns when people stayed home and wore sweatpants. Even after restrictions lifted, the love for comfort remained.
Nightwear styles are popular with men too. At Milan's Men's Fashion Week, Dolce & Gabbana showed pajama-like outfits.
