We all sleep in different ways.
Some prefer to lay on their sides and curl into themselves, favoring a cocoon of warmth over all else to sink into dreamland. Others are more invested in clean sheets and a fluffy pillow to sink some relaxation into their bones. When it comes to clothes? Only the softest, silkiest materials will do. White cotton nighties may seem old-fashioned, but they’ve been classics for centuries for a reason. They look lovely, feel even lovelier and make it easy to shed off the complications of the week. Chalk up the facts they’re easy to clean and maintain and you have a gift for life.
When you replace your clubbing outfit or work clothes in favor of simplicity, you do what so many have done before generations ago. What kind of white cotton nightgown should you get, though?
Before we delve into thread count and materials let’s talk a little about sleep. A healthy relationship with sleep is necessary to lead a high quality of life, but a sad fact remains today of the tenuous balance Americans have with their nightly REM cycle. Doctors recommend anywhere from seven to nine hours of sleep per night, with children, those with health issues and older adults often requiring more. Newborns, for example, will sleep anywhere from 10 to 18 hours a day. If you’ve found yourself struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep at night, a Victorian style nightgown might hold some extra appeal for you.
Insomnia is caused by many different factors. So many, in fact, it can be easy to attribute your sleeping issues with something else entirely. Changing up your habits, even a little, can do wonders for helping you relax once you lay your head down. Clean blankets and clean sheets are a much preferred element of a cozy bed for many, according to recent sleep surveys, and a firm mattress that supports your back will help immensely with cutting down on stiff shoulders in the morning. But what can a white cotton nightgown do that even clean laundry can’t achieve?
Monogramming has been around for a very, very long time. The use of a large amount of household linen originally became popular around 1200 AD, the same time sheets and tablecloths began to be marked with dark ink to better identify their owner. These habits would eventually extend to ladies nightgowns and related sleepwear, including embroidered hand towels and embroidered pillows. A recent interior design trends survey found American home styles have still favored traditional, with a whopping 45% leaning toward classic decorations and furnishings.
The higher the thread count, the better. This is because these fine, crisscrossing elements lend themselves to a luxuriously silky feel that just can’t be replicated by classic wool pajamas or your generic t-shirt and jeans. Percale is a term for any cotton woven with a 200 thread count or higher, considered much more durable than even cotton satin because of this thread count measure. It’s also much less likely to ‘pill’ than cotton satin because of its denser weave. For those that want their products to last a long time? This is a detail you can’t miss.
A white cotton nightgown is a beautiful way to reacquaint yourself with the art of sleep. Whether as a gift for a friend or a favor to yourself, there’s a lot to love in a classic Victorian nightgown.