Matching Christmas PJs are crime against fashion… it’s smug & I’d die of embarrassment if my family posed for camera

MATCHING Christmas PJs for all the family have been a craze for the past decade – and love it or hate it, it looks set to stay.

That’s the word from research for high-street store John Lewis.

 Come December, our Instagram is clogged up with celebs and their kids in co-ordinated sleepwear. But is it cute or just tacky?

Here, fashion expert, personal stylist and mum-of-two Lindsay, 38, of Biggleswade, Beds, tells us why they are a cringeworthy Christmas crime against fashion . . . 

CHRISTMAS family traditions are right up my street. We’ll be eating as many mince pies as possible, watching reruns of Home Alone and maybe unwrapping an early gift each.

But one thing my family and I won’t be doing this Christmas is co-ordinating our looks with matching festive pyjamas.

Pass me the sick bucket — or empty Quality Street tin — because the thought of posing like this on Instagram puts me right off my eggnog.

Perpetuated by celebrities and influencers, usually with millions of followers, the trend feels so smug and staged.

As a stylist I come across lots of hideous fashion trends. Crocs make me heave, and don’t get me started on those giant red shoes that went viral recently. But my disdain for matching Christmas pyjamas, cosy as they may seem, is unrivalled.

I remember when this became a trend around a decade ago. It was so tacky that I assumed it would be short-lived. Sadly, I couldn’t have been more wrong. To my horror, this cringe-fest has gained momentum, with more and more retailers jumping on the bandwagon. You can’t move on the high street for rails of tacky sleep sets. There are even tiny ones for dogs and babies.

Social media is at the root of this nonsense — and retailers must be rubbing their hands with glee.

The endless family photos on Instagram, of everyone sitting in front of the tree, feel totally inauthentic to me — the ultimate ick.

I saw one post last year where someone had captioned it, “Took ages to get all the children looking at the camera”. I just thought, “I bet it did”. The poor kids surely just wanted to enjoy Christmas Eve without taking part in a forced photoshoot.

Let them live a moment of their life without it being photographed. It all seems a bit competitive and a case of who can get the cutest family line-up, to bag as many likes and comments as possible.

Christmas is about coming together and spending time with your loved ones, not just an opportunity for the creation of social-media content.

The craze also encourages grown men and women to dress in PJ styles typically worn by children, which I find strange.

Call me a style snob but I am so grateful my kids, Chris, 13, and Jake, 17, have never asked me to buy them matching pyjamas.

Environmental impact

I’d die of embarrassment if we were all lined up in the same onesies, posing for the camera and taking picture after picture until we got the “perfect” shot.

And don’t get me started about the environmental impact this kind of fashion can have.

While the trend is not my cup of tea style-wise, I would have less of a problem with it if people got a lot of wear out of their pyjamas.

But because they look so festive, it’s more than likely they’ll only be worn a couple of times then get stuffed away in a cupboard gathering dust — not to be seen until the next year. And kids grow so fast, so it’s unlikely something that fits them now will fit them in 12 months’ time.

Why can’t people choose styles that aren’t so disposable? It’s all such a waste.

If you really want to follow the trend, why not look in your local charity shop, or buy a pair that’s been produced to raise money for charity?

As a personal stylist, I advise my clients to shop consciously and always consider the cost of an item per wear before buying. The more times an item is worn, the better value it becomes and the less of a strain you put on the environment.

How many pairs of Christmas pudding-print PJs end up in landfill every year? I dread to think.

The bottom line is, when influencers post those snaps of themselves on Instagram, there’s pressure on others to do the same and create that all-important, picture- perfect Christmas moment.

We need to go back to basics and normalise watching Elf on Christmas Eve with our family while chilling on the sofa in — shock, horror — pyjamas which don’t remotely match.

It won’t make the film any less enjoyable, I promise you. Once you’ve freed yourself from this cringeworthy Christmas tradition, you’ll never look back.