Buying Sleepwear for Someone Else Without Getting the Size Wrong

A deliberately loose cut forgives a sizing error. Fitted garments have to be right; an oversized fleece set works across a range, which is what makes this one of the very few clothing categories that is genuinely safe to buy for another adult.

Fleece and sherpa are a warmth-first choice, and that is a specific decision rather than a neutral one. This suits a cold house, a real winter and someone who is permanently cold. In a heated flat or a warm climate it is unwearable, and no amount of quality fixes that.

Sleepwear is the category people never replace for themselves. Most of us wear pyjamas years past the point we would have retired anything worn in public, precisely because nobody sees them — which is exactly why receiving new ones lands so well.

• A wife who is always cold and mentions it
• A cold house, or a climate with a genuine winter
• Someone whose current sleepwear is retired daywear
• Christmas, where a matching set suits the occasion

• Loose cut forgives a size guess
• Replaces something people never replace themselves
• The warmth is obvious the moment it is opened

The things worth checking before you order — this is where gifts like this most often go wrong.

• Read the seller's own measurement chart in centimetres rather than trusting the letter size. Sizing on listings like this is cut to a different standard, and the letters are not comparable between brands — when in doubt, size up.
• Check which colourway is actually in your basket. These listings sell many colours from a single page, and the one in the main photograph is frequently not the default selection.
• Plush fleece sheds in the first few washes and pills over time. Wash cold, and expect it to look worn sooner than cotton would.
• Too warm is a genuine failure mode. If her bedroom is heated, this becomes a sofa garment for an hour in the evening and nothing more.