MEN'S PAJAMAS and DRESSING GOWNS

[MarkT]

Thanks Mark. It is exactly the cut I was looking for. Would be nice to turn one up in wool or silk, but this will do for now. I see State-O-Maine has been in the robe business for a long time.

Thanks,
Michael

Hey, Michael!

So good hearing from you. Happy you ar pleased with that dressing gown. It looks to be in very good condition. I've had a passion for these as well as for smoking jackets since I was a kid and admired my dad wearing them. Love to stay in contact with you. Here is my email: mligett@gmail.com

 

[Shangas]

Perhaps I'm alone in thinking this - but it's always been my impression that in recent decades, dressing gowns haven't been as popular as they used to be? Or am I wrong? I've always thought they were great ideas, but I only know one of my friends who actually wears one. I have two of my own - one blue, one dark red. And I love them both on cold, cold, coooold nights! So warm and snuggly...I'm wearing one now as I type this!

 

[MarkT]

Shangas, you are absolutely correct. Dressing gowns are no longer as popular as they once were. Movies set in the 1920's, 30's, 40's, and even the early 50's often show men sporting dressing gowns or smoking jacket for evening wear at home. Things have changed, at least here in the States. It's tough to find a handsome dressing gown even in the most upscale of men's clothing stores. I suspect in England there is a better chance of finding some of the racks of men's clothing shops. Here in the states, one usually has to search for vintage robes/gowns/jackets or find a tailor who is able to custom make one. Sincerely, Mark (email: mligett@gmail.com)

 

[Nobert]

I picked up this State-O-Maine dressing gown yesterday.
IMG_3788 crop by Michael A2012, on Flickr
IMG_3802 by Michael A2012, on Flickr

Nice. How have I never heard of this maker before now?

 

[Michael A]

Nice. How have I never heard of this maker before now?

Seems like it was in your neck of the woods. Looking over the internet shows a lot of nice robes from them in the 50s. And I assume earlier, if they still exist.

Michael

 

[MarkT]

Seems like it was in your neck of the woods. Looking over the internet shows a lot of nice robes from them in the 50s. And I assume earlier, if they still exist.

Michael

Dear Michael,

"State-O-Maine" no longer exists. They made all kinds of robes including flannel ones but a whole lot of dressing gowns in silk and satin as well as some smoking jackets. I just found a new British source for amazing robes and dressing gowns, but quite pricy. Here is my email address if you have any interest in corresponding directly: mligett@gmail.com

Wishing you a great day.
Mark

 

[Shangas]

Shangas, you are absolutely correct. Dressing gowns are no longer as popular as they once were. Movies set in the 1920's, 30's, 40's, and even the early 50's often show men sporting dressing gowns or smoking jacket for evening wear at home. Things have changed, at least here in the States. It's tough to find a handsome dressing gown even in the most upscale of men's clothing stores. I suspect in England there is a better chance of finding some of the racks of men's clothing shops. Here in the states, one usually has to search for vintage robes/gowns/jackets or find a tailor who is able to custom make one. Sincerely, Mark (email: mligett@gmail.com)

I suspected that I wasn't the only one. I think it's a great shame that dressing gowns aren't as de-rigeur these days as they used to be. But you're right - in films from (or set) in the Victorian era, right up to the 60s, dressing-gowns for men, women - even children - were common - and popular nightwear, or even just house-wear. I wish that would come back. I love my dressing gowns...

 

[Shangas]

Not a very good photograph - but a pure wool tartan dressing-gown I picked up at a thrift-shop for $30.00. The tartan is blue and green, but I don't recognise it. Wonder if anyone can pin it down?

 

[Shangas]

 

[Shangas]

I decided that I didn't like the tartan sleeve-endings. So instead, I tugged the lining fabric inside out, unpicked it, stitched it, folded it back and turned it into solid-colour cuffs to match the collar and pocket hems...

Before:

After:

 

[Shangas]

And I ended up buying another dressing-gown. I'm toying with the idea of one day making one of my own now...

 

[Edward]

Nicely done.

The photo is a little blurry, but it seems to me the tartan is "Government Tartan" or "Blackwatch". https://www.heritageofscotland.com/blog/tartan-tuesday-black-watch/

A tartan that can still pick at sore spots in the Highlands today!

 

[Michael A]

I picked up these two ceremonial IOOF robes last week.
IMG_7379 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
IMG_7378 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
IMG_7377 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
This black and creme one seems to be what they called a silk plush in the catalog. Sort of velour like. It has a silk braiding laid on.
IMG_7447 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
IMG_7445 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
IMG_7442 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
IMG_7425 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
IMG_7424 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
I believe this red one is in what they called silk finished velvet and has a combination of silk braiding and chainstitch embroidery applied. Both are lined with cotton ticking. Both have snap fronts and rope belts that are sewn down on the back part. I think they were both made before 1913 as the company moved in that year and the labels indicate their original location where they did business from 1888 until 1913. I think they will find use in my cold rooms this winter.

Michael

 

[pyjamadoux]

La sensation d'un peignoir en soie (ou en rayonne, selon le cas) est ma drogue de prédilection pour me détendre. Eh bien, ça et un verre de Bourbon.

 

[pyjamadoux]

La sensation d'un peignoir en soie (ou en rayonne, selon le cas) est ma drogue de prédilection pour me détendre. Eh bien, ça et un verre de Bourbon.

 

[pyjamadoux]

C'est une très belle robe de chambre très confortable et très élégante.

 

[Edward]

Perhaps I'm alone in thinking this - but it's always been my impression that in recent decades, dressing gowns haven't been as popular as they used to be? Or am I wrong? I've always thought they were great ideas, but I only know one of my friends who actually wears one. I have two of my own - one blue, one dark red. And I love them both on cold, cold, coooold nights! So warm and snuggly...I'm wearing one now as I type this!

Shangas, you are absolutely correct. Dressing gowns are no longer as popular as they once were. Movies set in the 1920's, 30's, 40's, and even the early 50's often show men sporting dressing gowns or smoking jacket for evening wear at home. Things have changed, at least here in the States. It's tough to find a handsome dressing gown even in the most upscale of men's clothing stores. I suspect in England there is a better chance of finding some of the racks of men's clothing shops. Here in the states, one usually has to search for vintage robes/gowns/jackets or find a tailor who is able to custom make one. Sincerely, Mark (email: mligett@gmail.com)

In full acknowledgement that I'm replying to posts now several years old., but as this thread has popped up again...

I lean to the view that the decline of the dressing gown is as simple as the rise in commonality of central heating and better home insulation in general. On this side of the Atlantic, dressing gowns still sell popularly, though mostly they are fairly simple, velour affairs - much more akin to what in the US would be known as a bathrobe than the traditional vintage dressing gown of which we think here. The latter are available - but at significant cost, and not desired by the masses. The same sort of toxic masculinity as eschews so many elements of traditional menswear now also often crops up in opposition to a lot of this stuff as somehow effeminate. Alas, most affordable dressing gowns, for men at least, now available here are very much more functional than they are aesthetically pleasing.

 

[Salmosalar]

Plenty of fantastic dressing gowns here - pricey, but top quality and should last a lifetime…..https://www.newandlingwood.com/mens-dressing-gowns