Why do Vietnamese people wear pyjamas on the street?

Overview

Vietnam is a great country worth visiting for one time in life, not only because of delicious food, majestic landscape, friendly people but also interesting experiences that you have never seen in your country. One of the most frequently asked questions is : Why do Vietnamese people wear pyjamas on the street? If you discover this thing, you must be an attentive and observant person. Indeed, so many people wear pyjamas on the street in Vietnam. And to find the answer for the above question, as well as learn some more interesting facts about pyjamas, read the article below by Vietnam Escape Tours.

What are pyjamas?

Pyjamas are a kind of clothes that are soft, loose and often worn at home when people go to bed. A pair of Pyjamas includes a trouser and a type of shirt. As you can see, pyjamas are designed to be put on at home, so when wearing these, the more comfortable the better. The type of cloth to make these is very soft, light and cool to touch, such as silk, statin or linen. Another trait of pyjamas that needs mentioning is that because these are made to wear when sleeping, they are not necessarily plain or formal in terms of color. Any color that you know can be seen on pyjamas, even the brightest or rarest colors such as neon green or hot pink. Talking about decorations on pyjamas, they are free and liberal. You can encounter cute and childish patterns such as Hello kitty, Teddy Bear or fruits with eyes and mouths like humans. 

Vietnamese people walk around the streets in their pyjamas

That Vietnamese people walk around the streets in their pyjamas is not a strange thing nowadays. You can easily encounter women in pyjamas everywhere, from going to the market, taking children to school to selling stuff on the sidewalks. Most of the time, you will see more women wearing pyjamas going outside than men and see this “culture” more in the Southern part than other parts of Vietnam. Because more and more people are putting on this kind of clothes when going out, its original purpose has changed. People wear them on any informal and comfortable occasions, even out on streets, instead of going to sleep at home only as before. 

Why do Vietnamese people walk around the streets in their pyjamas?

Pyjamas are comfortable and cool in the summer

As mentioned before, cloth to make pyjamas is normally silk, statin, linen, which is soft, light and comfortable to wear, people downright prefer wearing this even going out on unimportant occasions. Moreover, these kinds of clothes are often loose and cool to touch, which suit the hot weather of summers down to the ground. No wonder, people fancy wearing pyjamas as much as possible. Especially in provinces in Southern parts of Vietnam, the weather is quite hot all year round. People, who tend to work outside a lot, wear pyjamas to deal with the heat and feel comfortable to do other things. 

Wearing pyjamas is not offensive in Vietnam

Like many other Asian nations, Vietnam is not a country that has truly liberal attitudes towards wearing such as Western countries. In other words, if you wear clothes which lack much cloth, in a weird shape or are naked then you will be given some curious and judgmental looks, or you can become a hot topic to be discussed on social media. However, to many people, wearing pyjamas is not considered weird and offensive. Because they consist of a trouser and a shirt which are long enough to not be considered unsuitable. So pyjamas can be worn normally when you go outside.

Controversies around walking on the streets in pyjamas

Although the number of people wearing pyjamas walking around the streets is very huge and can become a community, many controversies were triggered. In 2020, a famous Vietnamese MC was criticized by netizens as she had bad words for people wearing pyjamas on the streets. She said that she was so afraid of people who wear pyjamas in a going-to-market style and with a squishy fabric. After that, the social community was so angry that the MC had to write an apology. This incident represents how a large number of people supported and defended wearing pyjamas on streets. This can also show that people find this habit normal and acceptable, not worth suffering from any criticism from famous people. So foreign visitors to Vietnam can see how comfortable people wearing pyjamas on the streets are because they have no worry of being considered weird here in Vietnam.

People in other countries also walk around the streets in their pyjamas

Indeed, the habit of wearing pyjamas on the streets can’t  only be seen in Vietnam. On the Tripadvisor website, there are some questions posed by foreign people to Vietnam about walking around the streets in pajamas when they have seen this scene for the first time. Below are some answers which show this also can be seen in Western communities. Encountering teenagers in thick pyjamas to deal with the cold winter in some states such as Indianapolis or Los Angeles is not a strange thing.

Conclusion

Now you understand the reason why do Vietnamese people wear pyjamas on the street?, don’t you? The most important thing when people wear an item of clothing is comfort and confidence, that we should not evaluate and comment too much. Soafter reading this article, you will find it normal to see people wearing pyjamas in your upcoming Vietnam Tours. Many thanks for reading!