La Senza Pyjamas Matching My Marks & Spencer Dressing Gown - Why I Bought Them, outfit 463

 

La Senza pyjamas. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

I bought from charity shop, St Luke's, in Hatch End. I usually wear night dresses rather than pyjamas. So, why did I buy them?

I saw them in the one pound box of unsold rejects which I always search through. 

Altering The Pyjama Trousers (Americans Say Pants)
\I was considering turning the trousers into a skirt. I did this many times when I was living for several months of the year in Singapore. You slit the seam up the inside legs of the trousers and carefully across the crotch.

I hesitated. Then I found the top. Why were they separated?

The Pyjama Top
The pyrama top was the same plaid or tartan. The top had only one pocket. Just enough for a paper hanky. (Americans say paper tissues.)

If you attached the cut pyjama bottoms to the hem of the top it could make a dress. It becomes a shirt waister. The top still buttons up but the skirt would be pulled on over your head. You need trousers without pockets. These pyjama bottoms don't have pockets.

However, the outfit is good enough as it is. In fact, the fabric is quite thick and warm, and the tartan or plaid, as Americans say, looks like a day outfit for lounging around the house, rather than pyjamas.

I held the top up in the mirror. The colour burgundy is just right for me. Sold!

The Matching Marks & Spencer Fleece Dressing Gown

When I reached home, I was thrilled that the pyjamas were a perfect match with my vintage Marks & Spencer dressing gown. The dressing gown is a burgundy red fleece. I bought it in an end of winter season sale. 

Why was the dressing gown in the January sale? Out of season. Not selling. The last one. Ecessively long, draggiing on the floor to trip you over. But I liked the colour and hoped I could do something with it.

At home I found it was excessively long. I could not wear it. I had to cut it. I cut off the lowest one foot wide piece. 

Would the dressing gown hem fray? Look untidy and ragged? On the dressing gown, I added a bias binding edge to conceal the ragged edge. 

Making A Scarf
The piece cut off made a warm scarf. I folded it in half, sewed together a few inches of the seam, and had a hood.

The dressing gown already had a hood, so I did not need to attach the new hood. It was a spare to wear outdoors, or for extra warmth.

Now I have three matching warm pieces, or four pieces, pyjamas, fleece dressing gown or house coat, and a hooded scarf.

La Senza
I looked up the La Senza company.  The company was founded in Canada in 1990 and was huge. It spread to the USA and UK. It changed hands more than once and has been associated with another well known lingerie brand, Victoria's Secret. The store locator added a location in UAE.


The name is not meaningful to me in translation. It apparently means the hole, the lack, the missing. But it sounds great, sensuous, rather than sensible. 

Useful Websites
La Senza

Marks & Spencer

St Luke's Shops, London, Sheffield

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