Alaskans Have a Weird Relationship with PJs

Alaskans in PJs partying outside in fall. "PJ-kurssi 17.-19.4.2015" by taru.kaisla is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Post author:Nicole Mölders
Reading time:3 mins read

This post reports about a recent street style Do in Fairbanks, Alaska. Read about wearing PJs in Alaska.

Contents

Alaskans Love Their PJs
Pajamas at the Grocery Store

Alaskans Love Their PJs

Many Alaskans have a weird relationship with their PJs. You often see people walking their dogs in PJs at sub-zero temperatures in bunny boots and a down coat. At sub-zero temperatures, people get outside in their PJs to pick up the newspaper from the box at the end of their driveway. They even drive their kids to school wearing their PJs underneath thermal pants and a down parka.

Fleece Pajama Trousers Are a Fairbanks Street Style Do

Recently, the obsession with fleece PJ pants has taken over even into public live. A month ago, I saw a guy at a dance place sitting at the bar in his PJs! One of our friends commented that the guy is having his good night drink and the cab driver has less hassle to dump the drunken guy into his bed in his dry cabin. Last week I saw some students wearing blue PJs with polar bears and snowflakes print. Well, the university’s mascot is the Nanook, which is a Native word for the polar bear. Therefore, I took it as a juvenile joke.

Pajamas at the Grocery Store

Yesterday I was at Fred Meyer’s West. There I saw six (!) people wearing fleece PJ pants with a down coat. At the checkout, a dad and his son were both wearing camouflage fleece PJ pants. The daughter/sister wore these pink and white Barbie print PJ trouser in this fabric. The other three were a man in his 60s, a man in his 30s, and a woman in her 40s. The older man and the woman pushed their charts in gray and plaid fleece PJs, respectively. The younger man loaded his shopping bags into the back of his truck wearing black fleece PJs with yellow and red emoticon print.

I have to admit I love my fleece pajama trousers from the men’s department in winter. But wearing them to the grocery store or on campus? No way! I also wouldn’t wear my women’s pajamas anywhere else than at home. Do you wear your PJs outside the house? PJs outside the house are a no-no for me.

You can find other curious Alaska stories on how people dress in Alaska for a rehearsal of an Alaska fashion show, or find out the reasons why skinnies are an Alaska classic, and what Alaskan brides might wear as their Alaska outdoor wedding shoes.

Photos of me: G. Kramm