How The Nightie Became The Bedroom-To-Bar Dress That’s A Life-Saver In The Summer

The temptation to stay in bed right now is understandable. But, alas, even an apocalyptic news cycle is no competition for the obligations of life. So cancel that snooze button (eventually) and face the world we must. Thankfully, there is a compromise on the agenda: bring the bedroom out with you. Well, almost. There’s a summer romance unfurling right now with the nightie – anywhere but the bedroom. Delicate and whisper-light, find them in breezy cottons and whipped silk mousseline, with broderie anglaise trims, ribbons, puckered sleeves and not an inch of restriction. White is the dominant colour, but any shade of sugared almond cuts the mustard. Whether you opt for a tent-like smock or a spaghetti-strap slip, choose some-thing equal parts girly and grannyish and you’re winning.

Iterations of the Jane Austen coded nightie popped up on the S/S ’25 catwalks with zeitgeist architect Miu Miu, Simone Rocha, Fendi and Chemena Kamali’s Chloé among those championing the trend. And celebrities are nighties-for-day evangelists. Alexa Chung is a queen of the look, teaming various white cotton smocks with knee-high boots, barn jackets, thick socks and Crocs.

Addison Rae wore one of Chloé’s ruffled numbers on stage at Coachella. A pin-up take comes courtesy of Sabrina Carpenter, who took a succession of transparent babydoll dresses on tour earlier this year. Kaia Gerber is dedicated to the look. So much so that last year she designed a cotton voile, scallop-edged version for everyone’s favourite cottagecore brand, Dôen (that one’s long gone but check out the brand’s ‘lounge & sleepwear’ tab, which is awash with Virgin Suicides-worthy riches). And Blackpink’s Rosé attended the Saint Laurent S/S ’25 show in a lacy negligee with sheer tights and a fur coat tumbling off one shoulder.

Perhaps the moment that has really made this the summer of the nightie, however, belongs to If Only If and its scene stealing turn in Lena Dunham’s Netflix hit Too Much. Playing into the show’s affectionate ribbing of the costume drama romance, lead Megan Stalter wafts around in a number of the Brit brand’s designs throughout. The headliner? The red and white gingham India dress with ruffled neck (plus a matching bespoke one for her dog) that she wears in the poster and the season finale.

If Only If’s owner and creative director Emily Campbell says that while she designs for bed, ‘seeing our customers wear their nighties out and about is a complete joy’. She puts the appeal down to ‘that delicious combination of wearing something light as a feather in natural materials. It doesn’t cling in the heat, but floats around the body (while feeling a tiny bit scandalous that you are still in your “bedclothes”!).

That whiff of scandal is a serious selling point. Ease, comfort and charm aside, part of the appeal is in the nightie’s subtle, sexy sub-version. There’s an innate provocation in taking something that exists in a private world and making it public. But how do you make it look like a deliberately assertive choice rather than a ‘should-we-be-worried-about-you’ mistake? Contrast is the key to making the nouveau nightdress work for out and about; think Merchant Ivory but make it the Northern Line. See the catwalks where they were remixed with sporty separates (Miu Miu), clompy shoes (Chloé) and Red Wing boots (Fendi) as if to keep the observer guessing… Did she mean to do that?

‘I wear ours paired with one of our nude slips, statement jewellery, a headscarf and a strong sandal or loafer,’ says Campbell. ‘I love that mix of the feminine and masculine and this stops people doing a double take at the school gates thinking I have genuinely rolled out of bed.

Net-A-Porter, searches for silk night dresses have increased 200% in the last few months. ‘Its simplicity makes it incredible easy to style,’ says Kay Barron, the site’s fashion director. ‘With festival season in full flow, it is an option to style this trend by layering an oversized denim or leather jacket and adding boots.’ Alongside the pretty options, Barron suggests checking out the linen Elysse shirt-dress from Parisian tailors Charvet (more Gwyneth Paltrow in The Talented Mr Ripley than in Emma).

There is a refreshing, sweeping democracy to the nightie. Its appeal is not limited to the lithe and leggy, nor do they all come with a silly price tag. The sleepwear at Zara Home is really excellent, and vintage is a brilliant source. Try Vinted/Vestiaire Collective/eBay – or just have a rummage through your own underwear drawer. Part of the joy of pulling off the day nightie is the lack of rules. The only real non-negotiable is to wear with chutzpah and confidence. Don’t sleep on it.

Shop: Nighties For The Daytime

Laura Antonia Jordan was Grazia’s Fashion News and Features Director.

Image credit: Getty/Shutterstock/Netflix