Men's Loungewear Worth Keeping: Pajamas, Cashmere Sets, Robes and Slippers

Good men's loungewear comes down to three purchases: pajamas he sleeps in, a cashmere or cotton set he wears from breakfast to dinner, and a robe and slippers for the trip to the front door. Buy the pajamas in cotton or linen, which breathe, and keep silk and satin for the holidays. Buy the daytime set as a pair from one house, in a knit thick enough that it does not cling. Choose the robe by what it covers (wet skin or pajamas) and the slippers by their sole, because a leather sole stays indoors and a rubber one can fetch the newspaper.

The long weekends between Thanksgiving, on Thursday, November 26, and New Year's Day are when luxury loungewear for men earns its keep. Below: what to spend on and what to treat as a one-season pleasure, nine edits with 69 pieces from 28 houses, how the care labels actually read, and how to get every size right when the loungewear is a gift.

Men's loungewear, piece by piece: what to keep and what to enjoy for one winter

Every piece of loungewear does one job. Spend on the pieces that do theirs every day, and have fun with the ones that come out for a week in December.

The three mistakes we steer men away from: a hoodie and joggers from two houses that turn out to be two different navies, a large logo on both halves of a set, and a leather-soled slipper bought for a house with stone floors and a dog to walk.

Men's pajamas: stripes, piping and a collar that lies flat

The striped pajama is not a cliché; it is the original. The catalogue entry for an 1874 nightshirt in the Victoria and Albert Museum dates the change to the 1880s, when pajamas started to displace the nightshirt: a jacket and trousers, originally from India, made in wool or silk and often striped. The same note quotes the trade paper Tailor and Cutter in 1897: "The doom of the sleeping shirt is written."

A good pair still follows that plan. Look for a jacket with a notch or camp collar that lies flat when it is unbuttoned, piping along the edges for a firm, finished line, patch pockets for reading glasses, and trousers with an elastic waist and a drawstring, so the waistband neither slides nor bites. Zegna's striped cotton pajama shirt gets the jacket right: a bowling collar, which is the camp collar under another name, contrast piping, patch pockets and a folded hem, according to the Saks listing. The same listing says do not wash, professional dry cleaning only, which will surprise anyone who planned to put cotton pajamas in with the sheets.

Read the label before you assume anything. Of the fifteen pajama pieces in this section and the next, only Zegna's three linen sets allow a machine wash on their listings (at 30°C, or 86°F); six are labeled dry clean or professional cleaning, and the other six give no care instruction in the listing text. Versace's pajama bottoms are called Barocco silk twill in their name, while Mytheresa's composition line reads 100 percent viscose. The composition line is the one to believe.

Pajama trousers do not have to come with their own jacket. Tom Ford's purple silk-blend satin trousers have a velvet waistband, and Dolce & Gabbana's multi-stripe lounge pants are deliberately crinkled, so they never look slept in, even when they have been.

• The classic. Zegna's striped cotton pajama shirt over Tom Ford's plain purple satin trousers, with a navy terry robe on top.
• White on white. Zegna's white linen set, with its dark piping, and black velvet slippers.
• Christmas morning. Tom Ford's printed satin trousers with Gabriela Hearst's ivory cashmere long sleeve: one pattern, worn below the waist.

For a warm apartment, or Christmas somewhere hot

Steam heat and a down duvet make long sleeves miserable, and plenty of men spend the holidays where the nights stay warm. For both, the answer is a short-sleeved set or a pair of pajama shorts. Zegna's taupe-striped and navy linen sets have short sleeves and camp collars. Balmain's Foulard shirt and shorts are printed viscose; Alexander McQueen's shorts are a tonal skull jacquard that reads as plain black across the room. Tom Ford's black-and-white striped shorts are silk jacquard with front pleats, and Saint Laurent sizes its black poplin pajama shirt by collar, like a dress shirt. If the holidays end on a beach, our men's New Year's Eve outfits guide dresses him for midnight there.

If he sleeps cold: a fine wool or cashmere layer

A man who wakes cold at three in the morning tends to reach for a sweatshirt, which twists and binds. A fine long-sleeve layer in wool or cashmere does the job without the bulk. There is a little evidence for wool here: in a 2016 sleep-laboratory study in Nature and Science of Sleep, 17 healthy young adults fell asleep faster in wool sleepwear than in cotton when the room was 17°C (about 63°F), roughly 10 minutes against 18, while at 22°C (about 72°F) the fabric made no difference. The sample was small and the research was funded by Australian Wool Innovation, which employed two of the five authors, so read it as a hint rather than a verdict.

The layers below cover both kinds of sleeper. For the cold one, Thom Browne's jersey henley is 96 percent wool, Tom Ford's henley is 70 percent wool with silk and cashmere, and Gabriela Hearst's Owen tee is pure cashmere jersey. For the warm one, Brunello Cucinelli's long-sleeve crewneck is a silk-and-cotton jersey with a heathered finish, and Canali's long sleeve is plain cotton jersey with a finely ribbed crew neck. Each one also works under a cardigan the next morning, which is why a tee is a better gift than a nightshirt.

Cashmere joggers for men: jersey, rib or a blend

Cashmere joggers are the piece that makes loungewear look like a decision instead of a surrender, and the knit decides how they wear.

• Cashmere jersey is smooth and drapes like a trouser. Tom Ford sews pintucks down the front of its pure-cashmere sweatpants, so they hold a line and pass at a family lunch.
• Rib knit is warmer, springier and the most forgiving of a long afternoon on the sofa. Brunello Cucinelli's navy pair is 100 percent cashmere with ribbed cuffs.
• A blend of cotton, silk and cashmere wears more like a good sweatpant and costs a fraction of the pure version. Brunello Cucinelli puts its gray jersey pair in its travelwear line, and Loro Piana's Whitney sweatpants use a similar mix.

Two pairs sit at the trouser end. Brioni's Asolo pants are wool and cashmere with welt pockets, the drawstring trouser to wear when someone else is cooking; Fendi's black cashmere joggers carry the FF Zucca jacquard on the inside only, so the logo is a private joke. Choose the leg by his height: a ribbed cuff gathers spare length at the ankle, while a straight leg shows every extra inch as a puddle over the slipper. More pairs are in our men's sweatpants edit.

Hoodies and zip cardigans to finish the set

The top is where a loungewear set starts to look like gym clothes or like something he chose, and the difference is in three details. A two-way zip, as on Tom Ford's cashmere hoodie and Fendi's black cashmere one, lets him open the bottom when he sits. A hood needs enough weight to lie flat on the shoulders instead of standing up. And the rib at the cuff and hem should spring back when stretched, or the sleeves will hang over his knuckles by February.

Buy the top and the joggers from the same house when you can: the colour and the texture of the knit are far more likely to match. Brunello Cucinelli's hooded cardigan is cut like a sweatshirt and listed in nine sizes on Saks, the widest run in this edit. Moncler's hooded cardigan is 90 percent virgin wool and 10 percent cashmere, and its padded hood, in a technical fabric, detaches, so the same cardigan can go under a coat without a second hood bunching at the collar. For a slimmer line under a jacket, Tom Ford's wool, cashmere and silk sweatshirt has a half placket that can stay open. For judging the knit itself, our guide to the best cashmere sweaters for men covers fiber, ply and gauge.

• Cobalt, top to toe. Tom Ford's cobalt cashmere hoodie with the house's pintucked cashmere sweatpants, sold separately in a near-identical blue, and black velvet slippers.
• Navy and grey. Brunello Cucinelli's navy rib-knit joggers with the house's grey hooded cardigan and Canali's ivory cashmere socks.
• Black, lined in Zucca. Fendi's cashmere hoodie and joggers with Jimmy Choo's woven black leather slippers.

The full range is in our men's sweatshirts and hoodies.

Designer loungewear for men in cotton and velour, for every day

Cashmere is for the evenings. For the mornings that start with coffee and a dog, cotton sweats earn their place: they shrug off a spill, they cost less to replace, and a gray sweatpant looks better slightly faded. Dries Van Noten's Hamer sweatpants are cotton jersey with a straight, slightly long leg; TOTEME's zip hoodie is a dense cotton fleece; and Versace's fleece sweatpants have a Greek-key band at the waist. Do not assume cotton means the washing machine, though: Mytheresa lists Loewe's cotton fleece hoodie as delicate dry clean. Thom Browne's gray sweatpants and full-zip hoodie are cotton, marked with the house's four stripes on one leg and one sleeve.

Velour is the dressier answer: a knit with a cut pile that catches the light like velvet and stretches like a sweatshirt. Casablanca's two velour pieces here are separate purchases from two retailers, not a set: a bottle-green track jacket from Saks with brown and gold stripes down the front, and straight-leg green track pants from Casablanca's own site with brown stripes down the sides. Even the labels differ: Saks lists the jacket as 70 percent cotton and machine washable, casablancaparis.com the pants as 79 percent cotton and specialist dry clean only. One velour piece at a time looks deliberate, so we style them apart.

• Gray on gray. Dries Van Noten's plain sweatpants with Loewe's gray hoodie and Tod's taupe shearling mules, so only one piece carries a logo.
• Velour for guests. Casablanca's green velour jacket over a plain ivory long-sleeve tee and Dries Van Noten's gray sweatpants.
• Velour below the waist. Casablanca's green velour track pants with Gabriela Hearst's ivory cashmere long sleeve and Tod's taupe mules.

Men's robes: terry for the bathroom, a dressing gown for the morning

A robe has answered the door for a very long time. A fashion plate in the Victoria and Albert Museum, made around 1680 and attributed to Jean Le Pautre, shows a man in a banyan, the long, loose gown that, according to the museum's catalogue, a gentleman wore in the morning, often when receiving guests informally. Today's version has split into two garments with two jobs.

The bathrobe is a towel with sleeves. Terry loops absorb, so it lives on a hook by the shower, and that makes the care label part of the purchase: a bathrobe goes in the laundry far more often than a sweater. Neiman Marcus lists Versace's multicolored striped terry robe as machine wash and its Medusa jacquard robe as dry clean, and Saks lists both Dolce & Gabbana robes here as dry clean: a lot of trips to the cleaner for something worn wet. Check the neckline as well. A shawl collar, as on the Brunello Cucinelli and Dolce & Gabbana jacquard robes, keeps the back of the neck warm; Versace's Medusa robe is collarless and lighter at the neck; Dolce & Gabbana's white robe has a hood for wet hair.

The dressing gown is the banyan's direct descendant: worn dry, over pajamas, so it can be silk. Tom Ford's sky-blue silk jacquard robe has a black shawl lapel, corded piping and a belt with tassel ends, and Bergdorf Goodman's listing says it was first shown in Haider Ackermann's debut runway collection for the house, Winter 2025. It is the one piece in this guide that only works if he enjoys being looked at. Between the two sits Brunello Cucinelli's cotton chenille robe, whose velvety pile has a softer hand than looped terry.

• After the bath. Brunello Cucinelli's navy terry robe with Versace's green terry bath slippers.
• For the door. Zegna's striped pajamas under the navy robe, with velvet slippers.

Slippers: start with the sole

The sole decides where a slipper can go, so choose it before the colour.

• A leather sole is a house shoe in the true sense: elegant on carpet and polished wood, slick on wet stone, ruined by a puddle. Versace's black velvet slippers, with a gold-tone Medusa at the vamp, John Lobb's black suede slippers and Bottega Veneta's woven suede Palazzo all have leather soles, according to their listings. Jimmy Choo's woven black leather Eliot, which the house calls a modern take on the smoking slipper, has a flat sole with a non-slip finish and a heel that folds down.
• A rubber sole can take out the recycling. Tod's Gommino mules are suede lined in shearling on a rubber sole, with a buckle across the top, and Burberry's Urchin has a rubber gum sole under a dyed shearling lining.
• A bootie is for the coldest floors. Balenciaga's Alaska is suede over a faux shearling lining, and it covers the ankle.

Maison Margiela's Tabi in suede, with its split toe, is the choice for a man who already owns the Tabi boot and will find the joke funny. Our stylists put the brown and tan pairs under gray, cream or ivory loungewear. More pairs are in our men's slippers edit.

Cashmere socks and a throw for the sofa

Socks and a throw finish the loungewear present, and the socks are the cheapest way into a house he likes. Brunello Cucinelli's calf-length socks are pure cashmere in a rib, Canali's are ribbed cashmere in an ivory that suits every slipper above, and Brioni's herringbone wool socks are the machine-washable pair. Versace's terry bath slippers match its robes. For the sofa, Loewe's checked blanket is wool and cashmere with a leather logo at the corner, Missoni's Perseo throw is a chevron knit in wool and cashmere, and Brunello Cucinelli's two-tone throw is cashmere and silk with a fringe. For a man who already owns the robe and slippers, our stocking stuffers for men picks up from here.

How to look after cashmere loungewear

Loungewear gets a harder life than a sweater: it is sat in for hours, slept in by accident and pulled over damp hair. Four habits keep it looking right.

1. Wash less often than you think, and gently. The Scottish cashmere maker Johnstons of Elgin recommends hand washing knitwear after every three to four wears, in lukewarm water with a cashmere shampoo, drying it flat and never tumble drying. Where a listing says dry clean, as Neiman Marcus does for Brioni's wool-and-cashmere drawstring pants and Burberry's knit trousers, follow it.
2. Expect pills at the seat and inner thighs. That is where joggers rub, and a sofa is a slow abrasive. Lift them with a cashmere comb, as Johnstons recommends, and only once the bobbles are visible.
3. Give the knees a day off. Knit sweatpants bag at the knee and seat with wear. A day folded in a drawer lets the knit recover; a second pair halves the strain.
4. Fold, and store with cedar. Johnstons advises folding rather than hanging and using cedar to keep moths away. Put every piece away clean, never straight off the sofa.

Buying men's loungewear as a gift: how to get the size right

Loungewear forgives a lot, but the listings in this guide use half a dozen different scales. Here they are; the general rules for knitwear are in the sizing section of our holiday gift guide for him.

• Pajama shirts by collar. Saks sells Saint Laurent's poplin pajama shirt in collar sizes, and the run listed when we checked was 14½ to 15½, so it suits a slim build. Look inside one of his dress shirts for the number.
• Pajama sets by chest. Mytheresa lists Zegna's linen sets in US sizes from 34 or 36 up to 44, the same numbers as his jacket size.
• Trousers by waist. Dolce & Gabbana's blue-striped white lounge pants are labeled in Italian sizes with the waist alongside, 48 (32) up to 54 (38) at Neiman Marcus, and Tom Ford's silk shorts by waist from 30 to 38.
• House numbers. Thom Browne sizes from 0 to 5; Bergdorf Goodman's listing for the four-stripe hoodie reads 1 as Small and 5 as XX-Large. Tom Ford's cashmere sweatpants and hoodie run in Italian sizes from 46 or 48 to 60.
• Robes by build. A wrap robe forgives most guesses, so read the model's measurements: Saks shows Dolce & Gabbana's jacquard robe on a 6-foot-2 model with a 40-inch chest wearing a Medium. If he is tall, check the hem falls below the knee.
• Slippers by the scale on the insole. John Lobb's slippers are listed in US sizes, Jimmy Choo's and Maison Margiela's in European sizes, and Tod's lists several of its mule sizes in pairs (8.5/9, 10/10.5), which forgives a half-size guess. A leather-soled velvet slipper is built like a loafer, so buy his loafer size.
• Even socks. Brunello Cucinelli's cashmere socks run from XS to XXL; Brioni's are numbered 11 and 12. Check the chart against his shoe size.

With Hanukkah beginning at sundown on Friday, December 4, and ending at nightfall on Saturday, December 12, according to Hebcal, loungewear spreads well across eight nights: socks, then slippers, then the robe. Our gifts for men under $500 fill the other nights. Not sure what suits him? Ask our AI stylist to build a set, a robe and slippers in the colours he already wears.

How we chose

We looked for loungewear that answers a real situation in a man's day: a cold bedroom, an overheated apartment, a wet floor, a knock at the door. Every piece is new, full price and from a house on Vêtir's luxury list, and the compositions, care instructions and sizes quoted here are from each retailer's listing as we read them in October 2026. We looked at every photograph, because the colour fields mislead: Tom Ford's wool, silk and cashmere henley is listed as grey heather and photographs as olive, TOTEME's zip hoodie is listed as black and is navy, and Brunello Cucinelli's fringed throw reads as oatmeal in the photograph whatever its colour field says. We left out a zip hoodie listed as wool and cashmere whose composition line said 100 percent cotton, novelty prints, and clothing left in a single size where an alternative existed; the one exception is Tom Ford's silk dressing gown, which has no equivalent here.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best men's loungewear brand?

For cashmere joggers and hoodies, Brunello Cucinelli, Loro Piana and Tom Ford; for pajamas, Zegna, Tom Ford and Dolce & Gabbana; for cotton sweats, Thom Browne and Dries Van Noten; for robes, Brunello Cucinelli and Versace; for slippers, John Lobb, Tod's and Bottega Veneta.

What fabric is best for men's pajamas?

Cotton or linen for most nights, because both breathe and some can be washed at home; Zegna's linen sets are labeled machine wash at 30°C. Silk and satin are for the holidays and a heated room. If he sleeps cold, add a fine wool or cashmere long-sleeve layer rather than a heavier pajama.

Are cashmere joggers worth it?

Yes, if he will wear them several times a week and follow the care label, which for pure cashmere usually means hand washing or dry cleaning. Pure cashmere jersey is the smartest; a cotton, silk and cashmere blend costs much less and wears closer to a good sweatpant. Expect light pilling at the seat, and comb it off.

What should a man look for in a robe?

Terry if it is for after a bath or shower, with a shawl collar and a hem below the knee; silk or cotton if it goes over pajamas. Check the care label, since some terry robes are dry clean only, and read the model's measurements to choose between sizes.

What size loungewear should I buy him as a gift?

Copy the scale from something he owns: his collar size for a pajama shirt, his jacket size for a set sold by chest, his waist for pajama trousers, and the number on the insole of his loafers for slippers. Between two sizes, go up in a hoodie or a cuffed jogger, where the rib takes up the slack, and in a robe if he is tall, so the hem clears the knee.

Can men wear slippers outside?

Only with a rubber sole. Tod's shearling-lined Gommino mules and Burberry's Urchin have rubber soles that can handle a walk to the mailbox; velvet and leather-soled slippers should stay indoors.

Keep reading

• Luxury pajamas for women: silk sets, robes and slippers
• Men's Christmas outfits, from Christmas Eve to the day after
• Luxury gifts for him
• The holiday gift guide for him
• Shop men's pajamas