Mr. Silk Pyjamas

The UK market for men’s satin or silk pyjamas, I daresay, is shit. You get a limited scope on offer, whether it be mass produced crap from Amazon (which I still sometimes buy, simply out of curiosity for the hope that I strike gold on some high quality cheap pairs) or luxury high-end designer brands with flashy designs and an even flashier price tag. And one of the oldest and most reputable companies in this high end market is Derek Rose. 

I have actually wanted a pair of pyjamas from Derek Rose ever since I was a kid. I always thought of getting a pair as some end game for my quest for finding the perfect set of pyjamas, even though I now realised my thirst of more is excessive as I have boxes filled with sets of pyjamas that I will never again wear. So naturally I chose a pair which I will never ever get bored of, and I pray to god that I don’t.

Review

Look

I guess I should start with the look. The satin finish was very nice, and although I do not believe my home’s lighting does my pictures much justice, the opulence of the design is apparent. The lustre is not overbearing, but is rather unpretentious but still sharp even in the brightest lighting. If I was caught by house guests wearing these I will not be embarrassed.

The mother of pearl buttons are present as they are for every set in the Brindisi collection and they accessorise the shirt rather well, each giving their own lustrous qualities to the shirt and providing an ironic sense of formality to it. I know its kind of trending for some guys to wear pyjama shirts with an informal two piece suit nowadays but hell if I knew anything about fashion outside of the bedroom! I didn’t actually know this set came with a top button when I bought it, so I was pleasantly surprised. Aesthetically, top buttons of pyjamas are a bit too cumbersome for me but it does not hinder the set at all, but rather gives more options for those who enjoy a more traditional feel to their nightwear. 

Usually it is the norm for pyjamas in the Brindisi collection to feature a self seeking magnetic fly but the Brindisi 40 is one of the older products in the collection and so it has a simple button-up fly. No biggie. I did also notice some design changes since for the more current Brindisi men’s collection where they no longer opted for 3 pockets but maintained the classic breast pocket (as seen in the Brindisi 88), of which I honestly prefer the latter.

There isn’t really much else to say for the look that I have not said to be honest. Personally the bold stripes and satin finish were what drew me to this set and I really don’t think newer striped pyjamas in the collection really gives off the same regal air that the Brindisi 40 possesses. I feel like it really combined all the things people loved about Derek Rose’s classic striped pyjamas with the contemporary style through the fit, as well as the luxury of silk that made this pair the one I wanted as my first from this esteemed company. I am definitely fanboy-ing a bit too hard here!

Feel

I’ve actually been fortunate to have the privilege of owning several pairs of silk pyjamas but this is the first time I have owned and worn mulberry silk. The quality between this pair and the pair I recieved from LilySilk was night and day. But of course, it has to be expected as they have drastically different price tags. The Brindisi 40′s silk is far less coarse against my skin than the silk from the 22 momme pair I got from LilySilk. I might have to revisit this post but I have actually ordered another pair of Mulberry silk pyjamas from a relatively new company and maybe I can give a more fair judgement of the difference in quality of Derek Rose’s pyjamas to their competitors that way. Also I cannot really judge the whole catalogue of LilySilk’s pyjamas through just this one experience so maybe I might invest in another pair in the future!

Despite not being very thick at all they are surprisingly warm. My biggest gripe with them is that, like all silk, they tend to crease quite easily and it really pains me to actually sleep in these as I will ruin their pristine look, but they are just so god damn comfy that I cannot help myself. I may have to learn how to iron silk properly just to save myself the trouble of dry-cleaning.

So I was able to take a trip to London last month for a personal event and I didn’t exactly plan it out so well but I managed to check out the Derek Rose store in Notting Hill.

I was actually kind of surprised by how small the store was. I didn’t manage to take many pictures inside but the store assistants were really helpful, they even offered me coffee. I forgot to take a catalogue but I guess I could always go back another time. 

The display was pretty quaint for the size of the store with menswear and womenswear on separate sides of the shop and a small changing room in the centre.

The light-blue pair of Lingfield pyjamas caught my eye pretty instantly, I managed to try it on for fit (the pair was size small luckily) and it actually did fit me pretty well. The fabric was thicker than most pairs of pyjamas I own but it was definitely luxurious cotton with an elegant striped satin sheen. Wasn’t very smooth to touch though to my dismay.

I didn’t really get to check out the Regimental-1 RAMC pyjamas from them (since they don’t seem to have it on their online store anymore) and I don’t they they had it in stock either since people usually place orders with them for certain products and they collect and pay in the store. I suppose I could try it for next time but I actually don’t think I would buy it though, so I would rather not waste their time.

The price is pretty steep so I probably won’t get a pair of Derek Rose pyjamas any time soon but I was kind of surprised on the range of products they sell that were not nightwear.

I also wanted to check out the Bonsoir of London store but it turns out that there wasn’t exactly a store for them in London... but hey at least Chipotle was in the area so I got to try that.

Also can’t miss having Boba while I’m in London!

BUT YEAH! It was pretty cool trip, I had boba, did stuff I planned, watched buskers perform and played a butt-load of Pokemon Go.

I was lucky enough to get these during the winter sale, although it is still quite pricey. So I know Bonsoir is a British company specializing in traditional nightwear for both genders, but if you are interested in further details you can read about them here.

Anyway to the review!

I’m pretty cheap so I opted out of the gift box, I really didn’t expect much from the packaging as I have bought another Bonsoir product in the past.

But hey it came with a nice little gift card.

Unfortunately I was not able to get my hands on a gold/maize pair like Jack Woltz from the Godfather because the colors were pretty limited for size small.

So we got to make do with “sky blue”.

When I first saw these I thought I had chosen the wrong colour. They seem white to me.

But under some light..

It looked a but more like the fabric colour I chose.

Here’s the classic tag.

So it’s small but it’s still really ill fitting on my small frame. Sorry, I am definitely not the best model for this.

Appearance

Well Bonsoir knows their stuff when it comes to classy loungewear, I don’t think I would be embarrassed caught wearing these by an acquaintance on an unexpected visit. The black piping looks pretty nice and I definitely didn’t expect it when I bought it online. There are a lot of pockets but none of them look out of place. The stitching is impeccable too. The satin stripes are not as lustrous as I expected though. The best part about these pyjamas is definitely how they do not seem to pill. 

 Comfort

Well they are not the warmest and I do not tend to wear anything under my pyjamas. The fabric is light and breathable.The satin is not as smooth as expected so I would not recommend if you wanted the smooth silky feel. I myself enjoy these pyjamas even though I have not really worn them very long.

Price

From what I know, Noble Mount is an American based company which specialise in premium quality nightwear and accessories. I stumbled upon their product purely by chance but if you would like to know more please do visit their site information section.

Please, do excuse my bad photography... I’m much worse than eBay sellers at this.

I decided to go with this pattern mainly because I loved striped pyjamas, they have a very classical, nostalgic feel to them which absolutely I adore.

They had limited sizes to choose from as they only come in M, L and XL and unfortunately I was born short (subjectively my opinion , 173 cm is not tall at all for a man) and medium does seem slightly oversized for me but hey that’s what I get for being lazy with my own measurements.

Man do I need to work out…

OK! So time for my review.

Appearance

The pyjamas are beautifully cut, the satin lustre seems just right and the colour schemes they offer are great. My biased opinion is that they look good and I definitely got what I expected. The stripes did look more black than dark blue though.

Comfort

Well I was actually surprised by how comfortable these pyjamas were when I got them. The fabric is excellent; they are quite warm but also breathable. Despite my layers of duvet I don’t really sweat at all wearing these. The cotton lining feels soft and comfortable.

Price

Well $60 is quite steep… luckily I got these on a sale. The complicated part was I lived in the UK and had to use a carrier to re-deliver these to me. YES THAT WAS HOW BADLY I WANTED THESE. I don’t regret the purchase but it’s honestly the best pair of pyjamas I own at the moment.

Cringe pose.

But yeah this ends my review. It wasn’t much of one honestly but I’ll get there one day. I definitely plan to do more.

Feel free to give me feedback through messages and just give it to me how it is, don’t sugar coat it!

So until next time.