Women's Pajama Sets (Sleepwear & Robes)

Two garments come in the set: a top and a bottom cut from the same cloth. Buying them matched matters less than the fact that they behave separately. You can wash the bottoms twice as often as the top. You can swap in a heavier bottom in January while keeping the same top.

Two builds dominate. Woven sets in cotton poplin have a button placket, the strip of fabric that carries the buttons down the front, and often piping stitched into the seams to keep them from stretching out of line. Woven cloth hangs off the body rather than clinging, so it sleeps cooler. Knit jersey sets pull over the head instead and stretch as you turn. But the looped structure traps warm air, which is why jersey feels warmer than a poplin of the same weight.

Its neighbors on this shelf all leave the legs out. A sleep shirt is one long buttoned garment with nothing to go under it, so your legs are bare below mid thigh. Chemises and nightgowns do the same and ride up as you move, since nothing anchors them at the waist. Loungewear sets look almost identical on a hanger but use heavier knit meant to be seen outside the house. Robes belong over a pajama set rather than in place of one.

Cold rooms, shared houses and any night you might end up in a hallway argue for a set. Recovery from shoulder surgery argues for one too, because a button front comes off without lifting your arms. Sleep hot and alone and a set is more fabric than you need; one loose gown will beat it. Flannel in a warm bedroom will wake you at 3 a.m., so drop to poplin and lose the long sleeves.

Judge the waistband first. Flat elastic sewn into a casing stays put, a drawstring alone loosens overnight, and elastic with an outer drawstring gives you both. Pull the bottoms on and sit down before deciding on the rise. Give cotton one wash before judging the size, because untreated cotton loses roughly 3 to 5 percent of its length in the first hot wash. Dry on low; high heat is what turns a well cut pajama into a short one.