NIGHTWEAR is back in fashion!

After years of slipping into bed in a tatty old tee shirt, sales of negligees – the popular sleep garment of the 60s and 70s – are sky-rocketing, with more than £17 million sold in the UK over the last year.



The survey, carried out by market research company Mintel, said: "Women are choosing to indulge themselves and are shopping for glamour.

"They have more money and are more likely to spoil themselves through buying more expensive negligees which tend to be made from more indulgent and sexy materials."

"The renaissance of glamorous nightwear is largely down to the rise of upmarket lingerie shops, such as Agent Provocateur and Coco de Mer, says lingerie expert, Julia Haythorn: "Their tastefully sexy designs and gorgeous fabrics have turned modern nightgowns and pyjamas into the latest fashion must-have.

"Today’s night dress is a far cry from the polyester and nylon nightgown horrors of the past, adds Haythorn: "Hit TV programmes like, Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives and a resurgence of 1920s, 30s and 40s glamour has lead to big sales in nightwear."

According to Mintel, total spending on nightwear has risen by 14 per cent over the past five years. The market for men and women's nightclothes is worth £440 million. Women's nightwear accounts for 80 per cent of this, at £352 million.

Mintel said: "It is not surprising that women's nightwear dominates the market. To women, nightwear is not just something to wear to bed to go to sleep in, it is all about mood - cosy nights in snugly PJ's, or feeling sexy with silk next to skin."

And it is not just the negligee enjoying a hike in sales, pyjamas are also booming, with almost 18 million pairs sold over the last 12 months.

Mintel’s report also found that we are becoming more environmentally aware, while 18 per cent of Britons admitted to wearing nothing to bed, an increasing number said they would cover up to turn down the heat to save the planet.