Nap Dresses for Men

Discussion of fashion elements and looks that are traditionally considered somewhat "femme" but are presented in a masculine context. This is NOT about transvestism or crossdressing.
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Daryl
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Nap Dresses for Men

Post by Daryl »

With the huge upsurge in telecommuting has also come the phenomenon of women buying dresses so they can look like they are in day garments while in a video meeting but actually be in something as comfy and nap-able as if they were wearing a nightgown. They have dubbed these "nap dresses". While most of the commercial pictures you will find with the search term "nap dress" may look like things from a Jane Austen novel cover, I am certain that real women are just doing whatever accomplishes the same ends: comfy like a nightgown but suitable for a video business meeting, especially from the waist up.

I am beyond doing video meetings myself but I do pad down to the mailbox in something I could call a nap dress. I've even gone to the grocery store in it when I've been too lazy to "really get dressed". It's a knit hoodie with a pouch pocket, long sleeves, and a hemline halfway between my knees and ankles. Sadly, heels don't look good with it so it's always sneakers or loafers when I'm wearing it.

Do you have a nap dress?

Do you use it for video meetings?

Do you ever wear a skirt for video meetings because no one will see below your shoulders anyway?

What works best for men's nap dresses?
Daryl...
STEVIE
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by STEVIE »

Hi Daryl
Let me answer some of your questions. Up till now I had never heard of a nap dress but took a quick look.
Do I own one? The short answer is no but I have a tee-shirt dress that would fit the description I guess. It certainly was not bought with that in mind though. The style has been likened here to a nightdress but I wear it out and about in hot weather.
I'd be perfectly happy to wear it in a video conference from home but I wouldn't see me going into the office in it.
More generally, I do wear a skirt when I am working and that includes regular video connections.
Getting "dressed" for work is part and parcel of my coping strategy for the stress of working from home.
I maintain that we have changed the norms drastically because of Covid so we can alter them again to help ourselves too.
Perhaps the nap dress trend reflects that principle too.
Steve.
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by Ralph »

Never heard of the term, but I don't think I would buy one now that I'm aware they exist.

I have been working from home since long before the quarantine, and found long ago that if I do not "dress for work" I cannot get my mind into an office/work mentality even if my wife and I are the only ones who see how I am dressed. So I wear "nice" looking skirts and dresses for office days, then I have slouchy dresses and faded, threadbare (but well-loved) skirts for weekends.
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Grok
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by Grok »

I googled "nap dresses" , and the images displayed featured quite a diversity of garments.
Bertino56
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by Bertino56 »

I had never heard of nap dresses so I had to check Instagram and
Google Images to see examples.
Nothing much different from "house dresses" in that they are
loose and comfortable and cover everything. They would be
street legal. I myself have worn things that would be barely
street legal to step out to pick up the newspaper or go to
the mailbox. I have seen plenty of other men doing the same
while in a bathrobe, pajama top, sleep shirt, etc. Occasionally
you see early morning customers, male or female, picking up
breakfast items or coffee drinks at a bagel shop or bakery, wearing
what might be called a nap dress. Some are flowery and frilly,
some are very plain. No big deal.
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skirtyscot
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by skirtyscot »

I'm feeling too uninquisitive to Google them, I'm afraid. But I most certainly do wear skirts for working from home. I've hardly worn trousers at all since I last was encouraged to stay away from the office in October. Video calls with colleagues are frequent, a few a day. With clients, less so. But nobody sees any further down than my shoulders, so skirts are not a problem. All my colleagues have seen me in a skirt anyway.

As for them being "relaxed", not usually. The room I work in seems to be last in line for any largesse from the central heating, so I've been making good use of some woollen blend pencil skirts that are a fairly long knee length, 24" -26" . (Such as the second one on this page: viewtopic.php?f=69&t=19498&start=225.) And some work shirts that are past it but good enough with a sweater over them. So I may be the smartest home worker in the whole company!
Keep on skirting,

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crfriend
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by crfriend »

I looked up "nap dresses" via Google, and some of the designs I find to be quite attractive and am contemplating buying one. The prime ones under consideration are, indeed, throwbacks to a bygone age -- and I rather like that.

As far as daytime attire goes at the moment, for the most part I find myself living in nightgowns and bathrobes with blinders attached over all the camera lenses. Every so often I'll turn a camera on, but all the view shows is from the chest up -- and aside from customers it doesn't matter because I wore skirts to the office back when I was going in to the office.

The conferencing app the Company has chosen is Mickeysoft "teams", and that allows various backdrops to be used that obscure (for the most part) the inevitable visual noise behind the participant. I tend to use either a view of the KI-10 at the Living Computer Museum (back when it was alive) or a spectacular hi-res shot of Boston's South Station Terminal switching-plant taken in 1904.

Customer communication usually happens either via e-mail or direct voice connection sans video. I also suspect that aside from initial shock, my attire would likely not bother customers as I have developed a very robust working relationship with most of them over the years. However, generally speaking, it's best not to "rock the boat".
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Bertino56
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by Bertino56 »

A relevant article on nap dresses.
https://www.today.com/shop/best-mens-nightgowns-t197200
Unfortunately they refer only to "women's" nap dresses and "men's"
nightwear. But they clearly draw up a connection and an affinity
in how they are being used by stay-at-home people.
partlyscot
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by partlyscot »

I would call what I'm wearing right now, a "Nap Dress"

It's soft knit long sleeve merino wool dress. Fairly plain, with a little buckle detail on the hip to give it a some shape, and a slightly loose turtle neck. Very comfortable.
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by rivegauche »

Personally I find men's nightshirts too short. I wear a nightdress that is ankle length, with sleeves in winter and sleeveless in summer. I have been wearing what are now being called nap dresses or house dresses for years. It is very comfortable to put on tights and just slip a dress over the top - no zips or tailoring, just like a long, comfortable jumper(UK usage of jumper) and the longer the better and always with long sleeves in winter. I don't wear them for zoom sessions though.
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Daryl
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by Daryl »

I find men's nightshirts too short too. My wife has made a few longer ones for me over the years and they were great but not styles I would consider "daytime wear".

I have a kurta that would do the job nicely, but it's a dressy one which means it has a tallish and very stiff collar so wouldn't be that great for literal napping. These are usually paired with pajama or some other pant but I find a long soft underdress works too, and lungi would work, though neither of those are commonly worn with kurta. Kurta are slitted high up the sides, so wearing as a dress by itself is out of the question except for just around the house.

I have a women's dress that is similarly slit up the side, requiring some kind of underdress or slip for the sake of decency. It has a button front but the buttons stop further down than any men's garment's buttons would. Other than that, I think most people would just see me wearing a shirt on webcam. I would consider it suitable as a nap dress because it is loose and comfy. I do use it as daywear, and away from home.

I have also fallen asleep in a thawb (or dishdasha) and while these are long enough to not require an undergarment, one is often worn, sometimes even a pajama pant or a single pipe wraparound such as lungi. (I do not know if briefs as we know them in the west are common in places where thawb are worn.) I still consider the thawb, or something very similar, to be closest to the ideal men's dress, because they are cut specifically for men's bodies and have very serviceable pockets, unlike most women's dresses and skirts.
Daryl...
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Sinned
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by Sinned »

A nap dress would come under the category of "little black dress" irrespective of the colour or any pattern or sleeve style.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by crfriend »

Sinned wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 12:01 amA nap dress would come under the category of "little black dress" irrespective of the colour or any pattern or sleeve style.
I'm not so sure. The one I'm thinking of has a distinct 19th Century vibe to it.
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Sinned
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by Sinned »

Yeah, I'll grant you that, Carl. Reminds me of the dresses worn in old cowboy films and definitely a "lbd". The top half would stop me wearing it. The square neckline would probably show too much chest hair and the sleeves wouldn't suit me. Maybe I have to rethink my definition of nap dress. Incidentally it's 7-3 to Tampa Bay.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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Sinned
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Re: Nap Dresses for Men

Post by Sinned »

I was perusing a site selling dresses and noticed some of them with a translucent quality about them. In other words they were slightly see-through. Now this is a quality in clothing that women seem to be able to get away with especially in summer. But I take it that there are none on this site that would like to seek equality with the women on this account? I'm not just talking about total translucence because there are dresses with translucent panels also.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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