The NY Times recently wrote an article asking writers about what they wore writing. The vast majority said some version of pajamas/sweats/bathrobes. One of the writers asked said that if someone said anything other than pjs/sweats/robes they were lying- because really, you want to be super comfortable when you are writing.

So, I post the question to you:

What do you wear when you’re writing?

For me, it depends on what time I’m writing. If I’m writing on a non gym day, or before I go to the gym, I am most probably in a robe and pajamas (as I am now). Sometimes, I will write in my gym clothes, but really, they’re glorified sweats, and this would be a pre gym thing. This is usually blog writing time, as I tend to blog write first thing, and I always write posts before I do serious writing- my blog is my warm-up.

For actual work in progress writing, I am almost always in sweats or leggings. I’m almost always in an oversized t shirt. Depending on how cold I am, I either wear a zip up hoody, or a bathrobe over the t shirt/leggings thing…

I need to feel comfortable. I want soft fabrics and clothes that drape and don’t cling. I have also been known to literally spill the tea, so I want something that I don’t care if it gets stained. I want an all purpose writing uniform…

But I want to know:

What do you wear when you’re writing? Do you have a lucky shirt? Something soft and comfy? Something that makes you feel scholarly?

It’s your turn: What do you wear for writing?

90 thoughts on “Anything Can Happen Friday- Writing Clothes”

  1. Love this, LA! I’m a comfort girl, like you, and in the cold Midwest, I’m a black turtleneck girl…black leggings…sometimes fleece-lined. My closet is a dark cave, according to the hubster, because black is my favorite ‘no color color’. But now you’ve got me thinking about lucky apparel….hmmm. One thing I know for sure? I don’t write very well if I’m in stiff or uncomfy clothes. Happy Friday to you! 😘

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  2. Um… I don’t think about it. Obviously if it’s morning and pre-kids-left-for-school time, chances are I’m not dressed yet and whatever I slept in is what I’m wearing while writing/blogging.

    But comfort is a thing for me, too. Isn’t it for most people?

    There is one exception: if I’m writing romance or erotica, less is more. And that doesn’t happen when the family is home or I’m not in a room with a door. 😎

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  4. The first thing I do in the morning is walk the dogs, so if I do some writing after that, I’m in my dog-walking clothes. (Sweatshirt over my PJ top, leggings, or a pair of old comfy jeans). If I write in the afternoon or evening (I no longer have a schedule) it would be jeans and a cozy top, unless it’s summer, then it’s shorts and a tank top. No lucky outfit, I’m afraid.

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  5. I sleep in leggings but am a jeans person during the day, which is usually when I might be inspired to write a post. You know I have no set schedule though! Trust me- I will never be so inspired to write that anyone would find me wrapped in a semi-wet towel because I HAD TO write something just after a shower…

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  6. Right now, my comfortable, baggy sweats. I’m 70 years old so I can do that. I will probably be writing one of my wine posts later today and by that time I should be in my Wranglers. The same ones that my wife is screaming that I’ve been wearing for over two weeks now.

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  8. I disagree with the Times writer’s assumption that someone is lying if they do not mention a specific article of clothing. Everyone has a different definition of comfort.

    What I wear changes depending on the time of day. Early morning- pj’s etc..

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  10. As AP2 said, depends on when the feeling hits me. I am know to stop working if a strong urge crosses my mind. In which case jeans and a t-shirt. Most often I write in the evening, which means PJs, one or two blankets and a dog….

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  11. I don’t wear anything special, because as others have commented here Writing can happen at various times of the day. I am wearing my usual comfortable clothes for the day (not PJs) when I manage to sit down for several minutes to blog or journal.

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  12. From choice probably wrapped up in a nice warm fleecy wrap, usually leggings and a tee shirt or pjs. Even if I’m working from home and don’t have meetings I’ll possibly stay in pjs. However, sometimes inspiration strikes when I’m working on campus, or travelling so I can write irrespective of what I’m wearing. I think the key component is peace and coffee … if I’m in a noisy environment I’ll put on headphones and music, but from school days I developed the ability to work with all sorts of noise around me, so I can really work anywhere. Except libraries – they’re tooooooo quiet

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  16. I shower first thing in the morning before I do anything else, so I am dressed in regular clothes because I always have somewhere to go after I finish my writing. So in answer to your question, I don’t have a specific uniform that I wear to write. But as always, it’s something comfortable.

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  17. I have never thought about this before. I wear whatever I laid out for myself to wear the night before. So, it’s usually jeans and a turtleneck or tee-shirt (depending on weather), but if I have a meeting or speaking engagement, it is more businesslike attire. I don’t care at all about the clothes I am wearing when I sit down to write, but I do notice if my feet aren’t happyβ€”so I often change out of street shoes into slippers.

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  19. I usually am wearing shorts and a comfortable top or denim when I write in Florida. Although some days after helping my husband with our garden, I look a wreck and that is usually when we have unexpected company. I like to write when the house is quiet or I have the room to myself.

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  21. I am nearly always dressed for the day when I’m writing. After reading that most folks wear extremely comfortable clothes, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not a serious writer. I love to play with words and watch a blog post assemble itself. I never know when a neighbor might text to come over, so I want to be presentable and not caught flapping about in ugly things. One of these days I might decide to be a real writer.

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  22. I have my nightshirt in when I do my morning pages. The rest of the time I’m in sweats and usually a fleece top – even in summer, because my office is always cold. I love these fleece tops from Duluth Trading, so I bought it in three colors and always have a clean one.

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  23. I wear PJ’s if I’m working at night (but not in the morning – I get dressed right away when I get up, as I tend to sleep in and if I get carried away with my writing I don’t want to still be in PJ’s at noon.) The rest of the time I’m in sweats or yoga pants, because I live in those. I agree, comfort is king. I used to have an old fleecy sweatshirt with a stack of books on it which someone had given me which was my “writing shirt” – it had some kind of saying on it which I cannot remember – I wore it until it started to get holes at the side, but I considered it my lucky writing shirts. Eventually I threw it out, as it was just embarrassingly shabby.

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  24. I am a dance teacher so I have a variety of track pants and a top or sweatshirt depending on the weather. And that’s what I wear when I am writing or blogging. πŸ’ƒ

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  26. I just wear whatever I happen to have on. I don’t change my clothes for writing. (Unless it’s super cold outside, because I write in our back family room that is a bit colder than the rest of the house, so then I’ll put on an extra sweater or vest.)

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  28. You know I have 2 robes LA and in the colder months I’ll wear the heavier one usually until noonish, but my favorite is the linen one for warmer seasons. The linen one flows along behind me while walking through the house which feels quite majestic. πŸ˜‚

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  32. It’s hard enough to find time to write without adding thinking about what I’m wearing into the mix. If I’m at my desk and my hands are on my keyboard, it’s writing time – that’s it. Clothes, music, food, drink, all the extraneous stuff is irrelevant. When you’re time crunched, you can’t allow things like that to matter or you’d never write anything.

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  33. Depends what and where I’m writing. If I’m in the office working my professional writing job, obviously I’m not wearing PJs or sweats. Currently jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. They’re reasonably comfortable.

    At home, it’s anything goes. Even, once upon a time, during a heatwave, nothing at all. I was working on my novel sans a single stitch of clothing, ha. But that was a rare exception brought on by 107-degree heat.

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  34. 𝙸 πš•πš˜πšŸπšŽ πšπš‘πš’πšœ πššπšžπšŽπšœπšπš’πš˜πš—! π™Όπš˜πšœπš πš™πšŽπš˜πš™πš•πšŽ πš πš˜πšžπš•πš πšπš‘πš’πš—πš” πšπš‘πšŠπš 𝚊 πš πš›πš’πšπšŽπš› πš–πšžπšœπš πš‹πšŽ πšŒπš˜πš–πšπš˜πš›πšπšŠπš‹πš•πšŽ, 𝚜𝚎𝚝 πšπš‘πšŽ πšπš˜πš—πšŽ. π™·πš˜πš πšŽπšŸπšŽπš›, πš’πš 𝙸 πš πšŽπš›πšŽ 𝚝𝚘 πšœπš™πšŽπš—πš πšŠπš•πš• 𝚘𝚏 πšπš‘πš’πšœ πšπš’πš–πšŽ πšŒπš›πšŽπšŠπšπš’πš—πš 𝚊 πš–πš˜πš˜πš πšπš˜πš› πš–πš’ πš πš›πš’πšπš’πš—πš, πšπš‘πšŽ 𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚌𝚝 πšπš›πšŽπšŽ πšπš•πš˜πš πš’πš—πš πšπš‘πš˜πšžπšπš‘πš πš πš’πš•πš• πš‘πšŠπšŸπšŽ πšŽπšœπšŒπšŠπš™πšŽπš πš’πšπšœ πš˜πš›πš’πšπš’πš—πšŠπš• πšπš˜πš›πš–. 𝙸 πš–πšŽπšŠπš— πšπš‘πšŽ πšŽπš—πšŽπš›πšπš’ 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 πš˜πš— πšŒπš›πšŽπšŠπšπš’πš—πš 𝚊 πš–πš˜πš˜πš πš˜πš› “πšπšŽπšπšπš’πš—πš πš›πšŽπšŠπšπš’” 𝚝𝚘 πš πš›πš’πšπšŽ πšπšŠπš”πšŽπšœ πšπš‘πšŽ πšœπšπšŽπšŠπš– 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚒 πšπš›πš˜πš– πš’πš. πšƒπšŽπš•πš• πš–πšŽ 𝚒𝚘𝚞 πš‘πšŠπšŸπšŽπš—πš πš™πšžπš πš’πš˜πšžπš› πš™πš“’𝚜 πš˜πš—, πšπš’πš‘πšŽπš πšπš‘πšŽ πš•πš’πšπš‘πšπš’πš—πš, πšŠπš—πš πš•πš’πš πšπš‘πšŠπš πšŒπšŠπš—πšπš•πšŽ ~ πš˜πš—πš•πš’ 𝚝𝚘 πšπš’πš—πš πšπš‘πšŽ πš˜πš›πš’πšπš’πš—πšŠπš• πš’πšπšŽπšŠ πš˜πš› πšπš‘πšŽ 𝚠𝚊𝚒 𝚒𝚘𝚞 πš πšŽπš›πšŽ πšπš˜πš—πš—πšŠ 𝚜𝚊𝚒 πš’πš πš“πšžπšœπš πšπš’πšœπšŠπš™πš™πšŽπšŠπš›πšœ. 𝙰 πš‹πš•πšŠπš—πš” πšπš›πšŠπš πš— πš πš’πšπš‘ 𝚊 πš™πš’πš—πšŒπš‘ 𝚘𝚏 frustration.
    𖦹𓋀𓋀𖀓 𝑻𝒐 π’‚π’π’”π’˜π’†π’“ π’šπ’π’–π’“ π’’π’–π’†π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𖀓𓋀𓋀𖦹

    Whatever I am wearing in the heat of the thoughts moment is what I wear to write. I’ve written on my hands at a gas station wearing jeans πŸ‘–πŸ©΄ just to not let the thought escape me because in my poetry I live to play on words & sayings and if the thought don’t physically come out then I drive myself crazy trying to think of what it was that I thought πŸ’­ at that moment. Sorry for the long reply, hopefully it adds to the conversation.

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  35. This is a great question that I actually had to think about for a while. I usually squeeze in writing where I can, so depending on the day and time, it would be either PJs or normal everyday clothes like jeans and a tank-top, flannel shirt, or T-shirt. I don’t have a lot of time with working three jobs, so it makes sense to squeeze it in where I can

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  37. What a great question! Honestly I have never thought about it before. Now that I have, the honest answer is that it depends on the day and time. If it is a weekend I am definitely in my lounge wear, which are just fancy jammie pants and a tee shirt. If it is a weekday, then I am in my office between patients or taking advantage of one not showing up, either way I’m in slacks and a dress shirt, maybe even a tie. Not my favorite writing uniform but honestly when the muse speaks to me I don’t know that it matters what I’m wear so long as my feet are warm….

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  39. Huh. I never really stopped to consider it before. I, like most writers, love being comfy so I’m typically in pjs or sweats. But if I’m outside and inspiration strikes on-the-go, I’m in jeans, a cute blouse (or comfy t-shirt) and sneakers.

    Sometimes though, depending on a particular scene, character, or feeling I want to portray, I’ll dress accordingly. For example, if I have a scene with a teenager having a heated conversation with her mom, I’m in jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers with my hair pulled back. If I have a character who just got home, and is contemplating if she REALLY wants a 2nd date with the guy from her job, I’m in a dress and wearing lipstick. It really just depends! πŸ˜€

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  40. Great Question!

    This was something I have been thinking about lately as I am transitioning into copy and content writing as a business.

    While much of the time I write and work on my business wearing my pj’s and robe, I have been trying to convince myself that I need to treat writing more like a business and get dressed, even if in a harley t-shirt and leggings, before I β€œgo to work” in the morning.

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  41. Interesting question LA. As a Blogger when I am in the middle of writing blog posts, I wear simple shorts, t-shirts and a Henley if I am at home. It I happen to be in town writing at a Library I just wear my comfy suit. This blog piqued my interest because you are writing about clothes and I happen to have a passion for clothing, my entire blog post is about men’s fashionπŸ™ŒπŸ™ŒπŸ”₯

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  42. Me? While writing? Really practical. My clothes depends on time of day and who’s here or going to be stopping by.
    Super cozy, baggy shirt and sweats or capris. A cuddle blanket as I do most of my writing in bed. Usually during the night I write the best. My mind simply works overtime!!
    Happy Writing!!

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  43. First of all, what a great question! But honestly, I write him whatever I’m in when the spirit moves me to write. Comfortable as a huge bonus, but most of the time, I just have to get things down on the page before they leave me.

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  44. Jeans and a tshirt or sweater all year long – when I stay in pjs that’s the day the dog will run away and I’ll be running down the road in fluffy pink pjs and slippers!

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