I am sorry, I’ve been keeping a secret from you for months… It is the most important kind of secret: a sleepwear secret. I like to think that when it comes to jammies, I am pretty much an expert, having refined my loungewear drawer over the years from baggy tee-shirts and leggings to a slightly more grown-up affair. No, that doesn’t mean I wear Joan Collins style attire in the bedroom, marabou mules aren’t exactly my thing. My obsession with sleepwear started young, as a teen, we used to live near a great store in Le Marais called “Bain Plus” which sold the most luxurious flannel or cotton pyjamas. My stepsister and I were given matching men’s style jammies one year, hers were blue, mine red. Since then I’ve been seeking similar styles, in vain.
Then a few years ago my friend Alex started her brand The Sleep Shirt and she converted me to nighties – the unfussy, awesome kind. I am now the proud owner of a couple of pieces from her ever-evolving collection. Of course, this got me on a serious jammy high and I started to research more loungewear brands. I deemed some too expensive, too chi-chi, too girly, too itchy – basically I was a right little Goldilocks… Then one day an email from a certain Molly landed in my inbox. The excited tone, the friendly voice and the story she was telling me piqued my interest straight away and so soon after we were sitting together at the Electric, sipping on some lattes and talking about life, #MEN and of course jammies.
She started Desmond & Dempsey on a whim with her boyfriend, after she kept stealing one of his favourite shirts to sleep in (this is something I often do too – although I buy my own men’s shirts rather than stealing my hubby’s). After a while – I guess her boyfriend wanted to get his shirt back – they thought about recreating said shirt with added details to make it fit even better on women. Just like that, Desmond & Dempsey was born. At first, they designed some classic styles in soft, light cotton (like the ones I am wearing below), then they moved on to more ambitious creations with the help of Molly’s brother-in-law, a graphic designer handy with print creation.
These are the perfect companions for a lazy Sunday morning in Silverlake – or anywhere in the world for that matter. All you need is a cup of coffee, the morning paper and your favourite record.