A friend called me last Tuesday. “Did you know,” he asked with total incredulity, “that the UK papers are reporting that, thanks to lockdown, 35 per cent of Brits don’t actually get out of their pyjamas All Day Long?!”
Well this baffled me too. Not the statistic, but his surprise. Because, for the past year, I’ve basically lived in my tracksuit. Obviously, it’s not always the same tracksuit – Washing Does Happen! But it’s the same sort of joggers, tshirt, and sweater combo day in and day out: whether I’m sleeping, walking, working, or going on a number 2 (the SMS code for popping out for necessities). In fact, my only change has been a concession to the seasons… As I sit here in my home office and type, I am now wearing a large rabbit onesie (complete with fluffy ears and awkward bunny tail) over the top of the aforementioned joggers.
Which begs the question, has the rest of Cyprus been similarly attired? Because my flabbergasted friend confesses he has got up each morning and changes out of his navy plaid M&S pyjamas into a fresh jeans, shirt, and sweater combo – even when he wouldn’t be leaving the house. And I have a neighbour who regularly appears over the fence in full make up (false eyelashes are involved! There’s lipstick! From the clacking sound, she’s wearing heels – even when I know she’ll be spending the day in the garden with her husband and son!) Am I, dressed as an oversized bunny, actually the odd islander out?
Age is certainly a factor in the slob versus smart debate. 75-year-old Oroklini retiree Adonis admits he doesn’t even own any loungewear, and wouldn’t know where to buy a tracksuit if he tried. “I’ve been retired for 10 years. And every single morning I get up, and put on trousers and a shirt. Now it’s cold, I add a jumper; if I have to go to the kiosk or the supermarket, I wear a smart coat. It’s what I have always worn, and I don’t see myself – at this time of life – changing my habits just because I’m at home most of the time. Maybe a tracksuit would be more comfortable for my body; but my mind is most relaxed when I’m wearing trousers and a shirt.”
At the other extreme are kids who, it transpires, consider a tracksuit formal wear! “I have a good tracksuit, it is Nike,” says six-year-old Vasilis. “I wear that to school when I go, or when I have a playdate. I have a bad tracksuit, which is old and not so nice, and I wear that if we go to the shop. When I am inside all day, like now, I wear my pyjamas”.
Vasilis, his mum clarifies, does actually own a pair of trousers and the odd shirt. “But what’s the point?” she asks. “We live in an apartment, there’s no garden for him to get messy in, so he just wears his pyjamas all day long. I do get him to change into joggers if we have to go to the doctor or somewhere a bit smart. But why create more washing when he can just live in his pjs all the time?!”
Nicosia clothes shop owner Dimitri laments this choice, but acknowledges that it makes sense. “We sell mostly childrenswear,” he explains, “and business has been very slow for the last year. Though we’ve definitely seen an increase in the amount of pyjamas and loungewear we’re selling, it’s certainly not enough to make up for the overall decrease in sales. We’re working with the bare minimum of staff, and trying to transfer to online – but what we’re seeing is that parents are just not buying clothes right now, for themselves or for their kids.”
Those who are still clothes shopping often prefer the ease of foreign outlets. 38-year-old Paralimni resident Helena shares my love of lockdown loungewear. “But I still shop, for nice clothes,” she notes. “I may have spent nearly 12 months living in stretchy shorts or leggings, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to dolling myself up again.”
A work-from-home account executive, Helena has always loved dressing up and going out. “I’m single, I’m still young, and I love a good party,” she reveals. “Just because that’s all been put on hold doesn’t mean I’m going to stop stockpiling.”
Helena admits to buying “three dresses – a smart charcoal shift dress for work; a strapless silk cocktail dress in deep blue; and a floaty summer thing to wear by the beach in the evening” in the last month alone, along with “several shirts and blouses, dark-wash Diesel jeans, and a pair of sky-high snakeskin pumps. I mostly buy online,” she adds, “from ASOS or Net-A-Porter or direct from the brand, because it’s simple and easy. And when the clothes arrive, I love trying them on and putting together outfits: this skirt would be perfect with that; that cocktail dress with those earrings…
“Yes, I’m wearing leggings and hoodies at home day in and out, because at the moment, nobody sees me,” she adds. “But continuing to shop for nice clothes keeps me sane. And the day will come,” she adds, “when the pandemic is over, and I emerge, like a butterfly, in one new outfit after another!”
43-year-old British mum and Paphos resident Melanie also advocates the comfy approach – though she hasn’t shopped for clothes in months. “Why would I need anything new?” she wonders. “Nobody’s seeing me at the moment, so my schleppy outfits aren’t offending anyone except my husband – who also slobs round the house in slippers and robe. Basically, if it’s not soft and snuggly, it’s not getting worn. Because with three young kids at home, who has the time to get dressed up every morning?”
Instead, Melanie saves her clothes for the odd outing. “The other day,” she laughs, “I had to go to AlphaMega. My husband was on kid duty, so I actually broke out a pair of jeans and took the time to brush my hair and put in contact lenses – something I haven’t done in ages. It was quite a treat!” she grins. “Who would have ever thought that going to the local supermarket could be an excuse for a bit of a dress-up sesh?”
While Melanie acknowledges that she occasionally misses “getting dolled up and hitting the town”, she admits that lockdown and fashion are uneasy bedfellows. “Look,” she concludes. “If, like most of us, you’re stuck at home, then there’s simply no point in wearing anything but your comfiest clothes. From speaking to friends, that’s what I believe we’ve all been doing: living in loungewear. If you’ve got kids, you’re only going to get covered in paint or food or the fallout of the teacher-appointed project of the day. And if you haven’t, who, honestly, are you going to offend by schlepping round in rags? Or even,” she says, bursting into giggles over my personal sartorial choice, “a bunny onesie! You shouldn’t feel bad,” she asserts. “I’d wear one too if I had one!”
