In a time when everyday fashion is dominated by athleisure and pajamas worn as streetwear, it’s refreshing to revisit sleepwear for the home that’s a little more luxurious.
Just look at the women of Old Hollywood, for example. When it came time for lounging at home (or sometimes at the beach), they wore matching pajama sets, silk dressing gowns and plush robes that made tasks as mundane as ironing or talking on the phone look glamorous. But that doesn’t mean their garments were any less comfortable than your average sweats.
If you can’t tell, we’re seriously coveting some vintage-inspired sleepwear and loungewear. After seeing the photos below, you will be too. And just in case you’re inspired to do a little shopping, we’d recommend checking out Reformation, OddBird, Sleepy Jones, Figleaves, Coyuchi, Journelle and Parachute.
Carole Lombard
John Kobal Foundation via Getty Images
Lombard wears a long silk robe, circa 1932.
Barbara Stanwyck
John Kobal Foundation via Getty Images
Stanwyck wears a white belted robe in a publicity still for "The Gay Sisters," 1942.
Martine Carol
Universal via Getty Images
French actress Martine Carol at home in pajamas, undated.
Ava Gardner
Frank Lilley via Getty Images
Gardner takes a break from the glitter to iron her pajamas in this 1950 photo.
Veronica Lake
John Kobal Foundation via Getty Images
Lake wears a negligee and dressing gown, circa 1942.
Lauren Bacall
Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
The actress wears a silk robe while sitting on the bed, sometime in the 1950s.
Ginger Rogers
Archive Photos via Getty Images
Rogers on the phone wearing a bathrobe in a scene from the film "Twist of Fate," 1954.
Loretta Young
A. L. Whitey Schafer via Getty Images
Young wears a striped robe in this image from 1940.
Marilyn Monroe
Bettmann via Getty Images
"The Seven Year Itch," filming on location on 61st Street in Manhattan, New York City.
Audrey Hepburn
Silver Screen Collection via Getty Images
Hepburn photographed in 1955 wearing a patterned robe.
Dorothy Malone
Pictorial Parade via Getty Images
Malone wears a pink dressing gown while on the phone, circa 1955.
Esther Williams
NBC via Getty Images
Williams wears a robe in this photo from 1956.
Claudette Colbert
John Kobal Foundation via Getty Images
Colbert wears a striped pajama set in "The Palm Beach Story," 1942.
Myrna Loy
George Hurrell via Getty Images
Loy wears a robe with furry trim, circa 1935.
Dorothy McGuire
Alfred Eisenstaedt via Getty Images
McGuire doing morning exercises wearing silk pajamas, undated.
Elizabeth Taylor
Hulton Archive via Getty Images
Taylor sits at a mirror-topped vanity table and applies perfume, circa 1940s.
Rita Hayworth
Bob Landry via Getty Images
Hayworth wears a bathrobe over her swimsuit as she pins up her hair while standing next to parked car at the beach in this undated photo.
Grace Kelly
Bettmann via Getty Images
Kelly bundles up in her robe after a dip in the swimming pool at her home in Hollywood, 1954.
Katharina "Toto" Koopman
Sasha via Getty Images
Koopman wears a dotted robe in this 1934 photo.
Carole Lesley
Mirrorpix via Getty Images
Lesley wears a robe while standing in a door frame, circa 1964.
Ann Sheridan
John Springer Collection via Getty Images
Sheridan poses in a black silk robe in this undated photo.
Katharine Hepburn
Bettmann via Getty Images
Movie star Katharine Hepburn models a gold robe and pajama set, circa 1935.
Joan Fontaine
RKO Pictures via Getty Images
Fontaine wears a robe with a floral pattern in Alfred Hitchcock's "Suspicion," 1941.
