During the Covid-19 global quarantine, sales of apparel is dire, save for—Pajamas. Headlines such as “Quarantine pajama party? Apparel sales, Driven by Loungewear, Rise 34% in April” (1), “No one is Buying Pants, but Pajamas are Soaring” (2); and “Comfort is en Vogue during Coronavirus: PJ Sales Surge 143%, Pants Sales Fall 13%” (3). The growing popularity of pajamas during this pandemic is not without its issues, too, such as dressing too casually for court and meetings. Drawing on Freud’s concept of “unheimlich,” which explores private versus public as an experience with familiar encountered in an unexpected context. The familiar becomes unsettling when conducting a work review or meeting in sweatpants; supreme court case hearing including a toilet flushing; and wondering if your professor is wearing pants with his tweed jacket. In this presentation, I explore the clash of private versus public focusing on the use of comfortable knitwear during the pandemic.

References:

1. Digital Commerce 360 Quarantine pajama party? Apparel sales, driven by loungewear, rise 34% in April Katie Evans May 15, 2020

2. CNN business No one is buying pants, but pajama sales are soaring By Chauncey Alcorn, CNN Business Updated 10:20 AM ET, Tue May 12, 2020

3. CNBC Comfort is en vogue during coronavirus: PJ sales surge 143%, pants sales fall 13% Published May 12 2020 9:00

Rebecca E. Schuiling>>