Working in Pj's

You shouldn’t be wearing PJs when you write. 

I know. You have decided based off that sentence that I am wrong and probably one of those people who asks for Caesar salads without the dressing. (What can I say? I really like plain lettuce.)

After all, isn’t writing in pajamas the ultimate freelancing dream? I too, when given the prompt “What do you want to be when you grow up and why?” as a fourth-grader with braces and an obsession with horse dresses scribbled in my illegible handwriting that I would like to be a writer, because I could stay home in my pajamas all day.

But writing in the same clothes you woke up with isn’t nearly as dreamy as you’d think. Let’s start with that word- “Dreamy.” Because that’s what you do in your pajamas. You dream, sleep, and snore. You associate these garments of clothing with the epitome of laziness. 

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When you go to school or to an office job, you get changed into a different set of clothing than the one that you went to bed in. This is partially because you don’t want to be smelly. (That’s smart. Keep doing that.) But there’s deeper reasoning than that. You start wearing clothing that says something about you to the outside world. They’re clothes that you associate with work and focus.

By wearing clothes that you sleep and relax in, you’re telling yourself that any work you do while wearing them isn’t serious.

Instead, you’ll procrastinate. You’ll do the dishes. You’ll open up Buzzfeed and take a quiz on what type of horse hoof you are according to your Zodiac sign.

In order to be a productive writer, you need to get dressed in the morning. That doesn’t mean you are condemned to a life of navy pant-suits and closed toe shoes.  You can put on clothes that say “I’m a writer!”

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If you got up from reading this blog, walked over to your closet, scanned the hangers, and came back worried that there are no clothes that scream “WRITER!” in there, Don’t worry. I’ve got you.

You see, I too was once a pajama writer. Even worse, I was once a pajama liver. Most of the time, I wore sweatshirts, sweatpants, and graphic t-shirts that advertised bands I no longer liked. I saw fashion as a waste of time.

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And then I discovered literary fashion. A style that makes you look like a book lover. When I started dressing to express who I really was, I became much more confident. I felt like a writer. And because of that, I wrote more. Getting dressed became my first creative act of the day. 

But wait. Creating a wardrobe from scratch? It sounds overwhelming. Expensive. You don’t know where to start. You don’t have the time to start. You’ve got novels and poems and plays to write, after all!

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That’s why I’m launching my project Writing With Style. I’ll be blogging about different bookish elements of clothing, what makes them literary, how to wear them, and how to find them- cheaply. I’ve already done the work. All you have left to do is what writer’s do (second) best: Read!

You can follow this project by following my blog, and checking under the tags “Writing With Style” and “Fashion.” You could also follow me on Instagram and Pinterest to get updates. 

36 Comments

  5. haha I get what you’re saying, but I will stick to my pjs for writing- although I do like clothes for plenty of other activities, it’s a real treat to knuckle down in my pjs after a long day at work and just get on with writing/blogging/reading etc 😉 But I am looking forward to this feature!

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    1. I completely understand about the hard day at work! 🙂 My big writing days are usually days which I have off from school, which means I never get dressed…which means I stay in my pjs all day….and proceed to get nothing done because I am a procrastinator haha! Thank you for checking out my blog!

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  7. 😂😂😂 This is an interesting idea. I write everywhere, so I can’t really say If I am a Pj writer or not. But this definitely seems worth keeping an eye on. Thanks for the follow and I look forward to your project.

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  9. Love this! (This is a cool and unique idea. I think you’ll have great success with this project. Maybe in the future, you can guest post on my blog or we can collabg together😉)

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  10. This is really interesting! I admit I myself am usually a pajama writer- at least when I am writing at night. To be honest I don’t usually think all that much about what I am wearing when I’m writing. I’ve never thought about that this way- that what you wear could influence your writing. Neat thoughts! Also, I like your literary fashion 🙂
    -Vivian

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  11. Aghahahah! Your hairstyle an glasses are so DARN CUTE, GIRL! I wish I could off that writer look as well as you do. 😉

    (Also you’re so funny! This post was fun! Keep up the good work!)

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  14. Hmmm … I tend to wake up and put on Jeans and a plain t-shirt. Occasionally, workout pants have been known to win out. I tend to take short spurt walks during my day. I’m not sure I’d dress up, but I like the concept. I’m returning to my love for writing. I grew up competing in writing contests. I am already a freelancer. I thought I’d take the writing bug to task. However, I’m still scraping off some rust here. I like your idea of becoming who you say you are. I recently listened to a radio show, the speaker (can’t remember his name) essentially said people who fake it until they make it succeed more often. So dressing for success makes sense. Thanks for a good read and some things to consider.

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  15. Pingback: How to Write With Style — Writing With Style | Arrowhead Freelance and Publishing

  16. This is so true! though I’m still guilty of wearing pajamas… As I am currently. Ha! But it’s Saturday and I’m giving myself a free pass.
    I spend most of my days blogging and writing, but I do try and make an effort to shower and get dressed for the day before starting my work. Even if what I wear is leggings and a sweater. I’ll get better at it though!
    Thanks for this post, Vivian! I’ll have to try harder to keep up my style 🙂

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  18. This is so cool! I love fashion and books and this is just perfect! *squeals* finally someone understands! LOVE you blog by the way! I love the fact that its fashion and books somthing most people don’t do! -Tessa L.

    Liked by 1 person

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