It was an earth-shattering moment.
Before you start yelling at me, however, please hear me out. I first noticed the Philippine national obsession with sleepwear back in 2018 when, shortly after arriving here from America, my wife and I hired a young live-in Filipina to help us with our housework.
One day I noticed her working in her pajamas. “Well, don’t you look comfortable?” I quipped, expecting her to laughingly offer an amusing explanation. Instead, she just kept on working. Hmm, I thought, maybe she’s too embarrassed to explain. As her day wore on without the benefit of daytime clothing, however, I began to change my mind.
That change got confirmed the next afternoon when, unexpectedly dropping in on relatives downtown, we discovered several still lounging in their pajamas as well. My God, I thought, is this a Filipino cultural phenomenon, or just a generational thing? And God forbid it’s generational, has the world somehow evolved beyond my ability to comprehend it?
I can now say with confidence that wearing pajamas at all hours both in public and in private is indeed cultural. And, while it may have recently spread to some other far-reaching regions of the world, the practice is more prevalent here in the Philippines than anywhere else I’ve been.
What truly brought that home was reading about a judge at the 2022 Miss Philippines beauty pageant who showed up in his boxers. “I chose to wear something made by a Pinoy,” insisted Cecilio Asuncion, whose ensemble included a traditional barong complemented by leather boots with knee-high socks. “I love my country.”
And that’s when it hit me like a wet sponge: far from being backwards or lazy, Filipinos are at the cutting edge of avant-garde lifestyle and fashion. In fact, according to culture and fashion writer Iza Cruz, they are “bringing something unique to the table.”
Who could disagree?
Filipino designers, Cruz writes, “are putting the Philippines on the global fashion map…It’s like watching a beautiful butterfly emerge from its chrysalis—each stage more colorful and exciting than the last.”
Ah, but lately I fear the rest of the world may be catching up. A recent story in the Washington Post chronicles the sharply critical public reaction following a suggestion by US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy that airline passengers “dress with respect” when traversing airport corridors. The overwhelming response: calls to resist that directive by, yup, donning rebellious pajamas.
One influencer, the newspaper reported, posted a video claiming she would “exclusively wear pajamas to the airport” from now on. And another, characterizing his bodywear choice as “political resistance,” posted a picture of himself running to catch a flight in Porland, Miane, adorned in bright red plaid pajama pants.
“Triggering Donald Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy,” the caption read.
None of which bothers me in the least because, well, I’m already there. Exactly when that crash landing occurred is not precisely clear. Could it have been the time that, struggling to meet a deadline, I decided to forego breakfast, shower, and street clothes? Or when, noticing my entire Filipino family spending the day in nightwear, I made the fateful decision to join them rather than beat them? Or maybe it was the time our dinner guests arrived early to find me greeting them in my flannels.
However it started, I now realize that casual living has become my routine. Which makes me think nostalgically of that long-ago household employee who insisted on working in underdressed comfort. I was about to say she was before her time, but the truth is she was before mine. For it seems I have finally fully embraced living in the fashionable Philippines.
Now if I could just muster the courage to attend a beauty pageant in my undies…
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David Haldane is an award-winning American journalist and author with homes in Southern California and Norther Mindanao. His latest book is “Dark Skies: Tales of Turbulence in Paradise.” This column appears weekly in The Manila Times.
