Footed pajamas for adults are the next Snuggie
Filed under: Make Money Fast, Shopping, Recession
What if you could return to your childhood for $40? Not the part where you cried after getting a shot at the doctor's office, but the cold winter night where you snuggled into your footy pajamas before going to bed.
Remember that feeling of security? It's back in the form of footed pajamas that may surpass the Snuggie -- the big blanket rage that has swept the nation in keeping people warm. Mark my words. Seven months from now everyone will have footed pajamas and those Snuggies will be in the trash.
Valerie Johnson's Big Feet Pajama Co. is one of the many companies focusing on adults footy pajamas. Her company expects $2.5 million in sales this year, mostly from strong orders for net winter's holiday season. The drive to push the Snuggie and the Slanket out the door is on.
There's also PajamaCity.com, Snugasabug.com, which has all kinds of fun patterns, and ThePajamaCompany.com, whose foot pads on the bottom look exactly like the non-skid ones I had as a kid.
We all remember the warmth and comfort of footed-pajamas from our childhoods. In a recession, less than $40 can buy that feeling again, a decent price for something that became hot after being included in celebrity gift baskets at the 2007 Oscars.
"Fleece and flannel mean comfort and security," Johnson told CNNMoney.com. "My pajamas are a small, practical indulgence when all the fun has been squeezed out of the family budget."
She started the company four years ago in the basement of her Las Vegas home. Revenues hit $2 million last year.
Big Feet Pajama doesn't make pajamas for children, but its pajamas do have a feature I've never seen in the kid version -- drop seats. Those would have come in handy on winter nights when my diaper-wearing daughter needed to go to the bathroom.
The cotton flannel pajamas are $39, as are the jersey knit, and micro-polar fleece are $45. The most expensive are the $120 cashmere. Even in a recession, footed cashmere pajamas don't sound too far out of line.
Aaron Crowe is an unemployed journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read about his job search at www.AaronCrowe.net
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-02-2009 @ 9:06PM
fortgary45 said...
These look just like long underwear instead of footed pjs!! ahahahahah
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4-03-2009 @ 6:27PM
Niseki said...
This is one of those things kids want to hide from their friends.
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4-07-2009 @ 9:02AM
FireyWarlock said...
Why would anyone buy this? I agree with niseki, If my parents had this, I WOULD try to hide this, It'd probably ruin my self-esteem, and restrict me from having sleepovers.
People who design these things don't even consider these things.
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4-08-2009 @ 12:13PM
Hotstuff said...
heck ya i have a one! Of course I don't wear it as intimate wear or my only home wear, but on those cold mornings here when i first get out of bed or when I'm overseas and sleep with my window open, it's awesome. I'll wear them in front of my friends if they happen to be around, I'm not so insecure that I'm afraid they'll ostracize me for my comfy occasional sleep wear. I'm smart enough to realize it doesn't matter and they're non-superficial enough to understand whyI'm not going out of my way by dressing to impress them at all times.
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4-09-2009 @ 3:15AM
aly said...
I ordered a pair for the Skymall catalog a couple of years ago and they are great for hanging out and watching TV on the sofa. I throw them on over shorts and a t-shirt and it is so much easier than covering up with a blanket or the "backwards robe" Snuggie. They are called JumpinJammies and are available for men and women. Sure I look like a demented Easter Bunny but I am comfortable and WARM!
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