Elegance in undergarments
There is nothing new about the elegance of undergarments, we’ve been wearing them for centuries. It’s how we’re wearing that loungewear as day wear has been a symbol of sensuality and self-assurance since the early twentieth century when Coco Chanel first stepped out of the house in extraordinarily well-tailored silk men’s pyjamas and her signature pearls and silver screen sirens lounged at nightclubs and dinner parties in satin, fitted slips.
By the 1960s, bedroom-wear was the symbol of seduction. Just think of Sofia Loren, Monica Vitti and Brigitte Bardot. Slowly the straps and ties of tradition were removed, taking lingerie out of bedrooms and onto the scene. In the 1990s, silk slips became integral to every riot girl, party girl and celebutante’s wardrobe from Courtney Love and Drew Barrymore to Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow and even Princess Diana. Fast forward to the twenty-first century and we’re enjoying a loungewear renaissance.
Monica Vitti by Helmut Newton 
Kate Moss
Night as Day
Nightwear as daywear, loungewear as evening wear, it’s all a cult of personality, and a subversion of the society-imposed style limitations and social etiquette. Whatever you’re wearing, impeccable tailoring and sophistication transcend limitations and evolves perspective. There is nothing more seductive than a beautifully fitted nightgown at a late afternoon party, nor more enchanting than the perfect tailleur of men’s silk pyjamas on a busy city street.
ISSIMO x For Restless Sleepers
The art of wearing silk slips and pyjamas is a calculated expression of utter personal comfort and no one gets that better than For Restless Sleepers FRS, the tony Milan-based silk pyjama line with a maximalist attitude. FRS founder Francesca Ruffini is considered l’esempio perfetto of Milanese chic- elegant and stylishly subversive with a touch of boho/radical. A few years back, Ruffini and FRS launched a line of luxury pyjamas destined for the board room, back room and bedroom, encapsulating a well-loved Milanese look where wearing well-cut men’s pyjamas as suit was for themselves and where they want to go.
Teaming up with ISSIMO, FRS created three Pellicano Hotels-inspired pyjamas and robes, that can easily be dressed for a day shopping in Firenze and a last-minute dinner party or dressed down for an afternoon poolside. Beautiful silk fabrics from the finest production and printing ateliers of Como, with a perfect tailleur, each pyjama sartorially encapsulates a hotel- the fine details of a 16th century tapestry from the halls of La Posta Vecchia, view of the Bay of Naples for Il Mezzatorre, and pelicans and sumptuous stripes for the Pellicano, of course.
Ti fa stare meglio con te stessa
Seduction, emancipation, rebellion and freedom have a weighted investment in fashion, but before you walk out of the door, it’s all about how you feel about you. Underscored by the impeccable triumvirate of Franca Sozzani, historic Vogue Italia editor-in-chief, Miuccia Prada of her eponymous brand, and Manuela Pavesi, best friend and Vogue Italia fashion editor, Italian women were quick to combine elegance and style with comfort, in all its interpretations- from the eclectic boho chic Milanese mammas to the sensual Sicilian beauties iconised by Dolce & Gabbana.
Sensuality, in Italian culture, is more than putting on a silk slip dress. It’s about enjoyment, expression, and even the pursuit of the physical. A beautiful silk nightgown as evening wear or a daytime dress playfully pushes the definitions of fashion and blurs the lines of tradition, even if it is conceived with the brilliant idea of tradition.
In the early 1990s, ISSIMO’s Marie-Louise walked into Loretta Caponi’s Florentine atelier and fell in love with her hand-embroidered silk nightgowns. Practically a via Tornabuoni landmark, Caponi’s atelier is magic boutique of beautiful boudoir finery and transcendental trousseau.
“I fell in love with Caponi’s nightgowns and wanted to recreate them as daywear for entertaining, flattering and glamor,” Marie-Louise explains. Caponi’s soft silk nightgowns in rich hues and bodice fits left the seed of an idea with Marie-Louise that has now flourished into what is now an ISSIMO collaboration: three jewel-toned gowns that can be worn at summer wedding in the country, a garden party at La Posta Vecchia or just an evening cocktails with friends.
When French journalist Robert de Beauplan wrote that bedroom wear gave “women an unprecedented look, more free, cheekier, and its relaxed attitude always remains tasteful”, he could have been enjoying aperitivi poolside at Il Pellicano, Porto Ercole.
