Should Wearing Pajamas In Public Be Banned?

Do you like to go about town wearing comfy pajama pants? Not in Shreveport, Louisiana, you won't ... if a local parish commissioner has his way!

Caddo Parish District 3 Commission Michael Williams said it was an incident at a local Walmart that offended him and some elderly customers that spurred him to push for an ordinance that would prohibit wearing pajama pants in public.

"I saw a group of young men wearing pajama pants and house shoes," he said. "At the part where there should have been underwear," his private parts were showing through the fabric. [...]

"Pajamas are designed to be worn in the bedroom at night," Williams said. "If you can't (wear pajamas) at the Boardwalk or courthouse, why are you going to do it in a restaurant or in public? Today it's pajamas," Williams said. "Tomorrow it's underwear. Where does it stop?"

Don't worry people, there's always Pajama Jeans!

So, what do you think, Neatoramanauts? Should wearing pajamas in public be banned? The Shreveport Times covered this important issue: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120113/NEWS01/201130311/Caddo-commissioner-pushes-pajama-prohibition (Photo: Mike Silva/The Shreveport Times) - via The Maddow Blow

Previously on Neatorama: In Pajamas? No Tesco For You! | Planet Shanghai


why worry about pajamas,worry about the sagging jeans showing underwear...i cringe when i see it. think about how they walk to try to keep the pants up. i then think to myself that i should of been a chiropractor. lord knows they will need one when they are older.
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I agree. As much as I am disgusted by the apparent trend of pajamas in public, there's no real reason to ban them.

Instead, the ban should outlaw display of reproductive organs and underpants.
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I agree with #6. I drive a delivery route, and I am MAJORLY tempted to lean out the truck window when I see some yutz with his pants down below his butt, swaggering like he's Gods gift . . . and scream at the top of my lungs,
"PULL THOSE @#$%&!'ING PANTS UP, YA SLOB!!!"

I don't like the pajamas either (same slobby appearance), but at least they tend to keep their butts covered.
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Sagging jeans and public pajamas *both* look stupid to me, and anybody who wants to impress me wouldn't wear them... but why should everybody try to impress me? I know that not everybody cares what I think about how they look, and I'm okay with that. How could anybody with a sense of humor actually try to appoint themselves the fashion police?
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If we use the force of law to prevent people who would do stupid or tasteless things from doing stupid or tasteless things, we make it harder to instantly recognize stupid or tasteless people.
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I agree with #3 in the fact that if someone is hanging their stupid right out there I know instantly who to avoid. (not that i want to chainsaw through them)
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I'm with Ignatius on this one. Appealing as it is to have easily identifiable idiots, far too many semi-idiots are happy to lower their standards because it's common. I've said this a lot lately in various forums, but common is not the same as correct.
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It makes the person look lazy and possibly sloppy but, if they are not transparent and the fly is closed, one should be able to wear what one wants. It's not for me but who am I or anyone else to say what others should wear, as long as they are dressed in something when in public?
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If I owned any pajamas, I would go to work in them. Easy to do when the office is attached to the kitchen.

But I won't take my kids anywhere wearing those ridiculous pants with cartoon characters on them and those huge plush slippers. One of them would rather stay home than get dressed.
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The woman in the photo is in no way offensive to anyone - only her arms and head are uncovered, revealing far less than many people would be if they were wearing 'acceptable' clothing.

What makes pyjamas unacceptable anyway, and how would you define what the banned items are? Is it the type of fabric used to make them? The pattern/print on them?

If your private parts are showing through, okay, then that's a step too far, but that would apply to ANY clothing, not just pyjamas.
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I'm 29. Call me old-fashioned but I follow along with my elders on this one. One should always go outside to do business dressed in their best. Pajamas are meant to be INSIDE the home, not OUTSIDE the home. The only time I want to see you in your pjs is if you're picking up your morning paper from where it got dropped off or one of us is spending the night.

And if you're spending the night, bring a housecoat. I still don't want to see you....unless you're male and happen to be in the bed with me. ~wink wink~
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Is this pajamas in public a black thing?

So white hipsters wearing no pants on NY subway is ironic. But black people wearing pj's at Walmart is horrifying. Where did this guy stand on the Zubaz pants issue of the 90's?

I'd add too that pajamas is not the worst thing I've seen someone wear at Walmart. Fat chicks in tube tops should not be a ticket, but a jailable offense
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I have to agree. In fact, I saw a woman at the beach wearing an outfit that showed her knees, it was disgraceful. On National Geographic, I saw entire tribes wearing no tops at all. Inuits, wearing animal skins! Socialites, wearing white after labor day! Teenagers, with mismatched socks! Oh, the horror.

Yes, everyone should check in with Michael Williams before they leave the house.
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It's amazing how many people cannot think around social constructs.

To some of you whose knickers are it a twist about people wearing pajamas in public, I suggest you walk straight up to one of these individuals and say in a loud, clear voice:

"Teacher said you're not doing it right."
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I really could care less if people wear their PJs out in public.
If their junk isn't falling out and I can't see anything showing through thin fabric, then whatever.
They can wear whatever they want.
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In life its not what we do, but how we do it. Designer PJs were applauded on LA's red carpet while students in less trendy duds get in trouble. http://bit.ly/ILYOpajamas
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As long as there are 24hour superstores people will wear pajamas in public. Besides I would rather see pajamas than crocs, socks with sandals,leggings showing off camel toe and a litany of other fashion no-nos.
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Yeah, indecent exposure is indecent no matter what you're wearing.

Pajama pants, like track pants, just tell the world how little respect you have for yourself.

I did see a guy and his wife in the big box hardware store last Saturday, looking at expensive kitchens. He was wearing track pants, and as they walked around, he started scratching his junk. I hung my head in shame for the male sex.
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@ Oscar Zoroaster

No, where I work you see it on a variety of races. It's more that we tend to see it on people mired on the bottom step of Maslow's hierarchy, and from all appearances happy about it.

Yes, at least they're covered, but it's still tacky looking.

@ Lighthill

Maybe if violators have to stand on a street corner and sing 'Pants on the Ground' while wearing clown hats? (And paintballing guys with sagged pants on their way-too-exposed backsides should not be just allowed but encouraged. That's just me, though.)
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I'm all for looking presentable in public, but the fact that even hypothetically you guys would be for passing LEGISLATION banning a certain type of undefinable clothing? So no pajama pants because that's what black people wear, but that cute little white girl in yoga pants is okay, right? I mean, that's what this whole thing sounds like to me, especially with all the sagging pants references. You guys sounds like a bunch of racist grandparents. Maybe I don't like the way you wear your clothes and we should write laws about that too.
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I actually don't think I will ever check the comments here again. I didn't realize this was how most Neatorama readers interacted with the world. I would have assumed the demographic would have skewed younger and probably towards more open minded people. GOD FORBID ANYONE LOOKS DIFFERENT THAN THE NORM. Don't ever move to Austin, guys. Your heads would explode.
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Nicole, don't stop reading the comments. What you should try is stop skimming the comments and picking out only the things that you can take offense at.
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Ted, get out of here. I comment regularly on most sites and I see much more generally offensive stuff that doesn't personally bother me. There's always been something very Reader's Digest about the tone these comments. I thought it was quaint before, now that I see every other comment has some coded "successful and attractive" type racism, it's less adorable. As far as skimming, I don't know how many times I have to read "and sagging pants" before I start to understand what people mean and what the unspoken implications are.
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