The 10 Best Adult Onesies
Special Honors
Lunya Restore Romper Those living in warm climates don't have to miss out on all the fun. The Lunya Restore Romper is a sleeveless choice made from a lightweight blend of Supima cotton and polyester that is both breathable and cool. The range of available colors is on the small side, but it makes up for this minor drawback with a nifty kangaroo pocket and comfortable flat seams. lunya.co
Bags of Love Custom Your imagination is the limit with the Bags of Love Custom. You can create a completely personalized onesie by selecting photos and graphics, whether that's a business logo, pictures of friends and family, or your own artwork. As you might guess, this option is a little pricey, but it has lots of high-quality finishing touches, including a two-way zipper. bagsoflove.com
Onepiece Marius Onesie 2.0 The Onepiece Marius Onesie 2.0 is the perfect choice for lounging around a ski chalet, as it boasts a traditional Norwegian knit pattern as well as a warm, soft fleece lining. A unisex model, it has ribbed cuffs, an embroidered logo, and zippered hand pockets. onepiece.com
Editor's Notes
April 15, 2020:
Whether you want a onesie for indoor or in public wear, we've kept a range of options to suit all tastes. At this time, though, we've opted to remove the Body Candy Cozy over concerns about long-term durability, and the Nothing but Love Adult Dinosaur has become tough to find, so we've removed it, as well. But not to worry, there are plenty of fun choices for those who want to indulge in a little whimsical dress-up. These include the Nousion Licorne, a unicorn onesie complete with horn and tail, as well as the Sazac Pug Dog and the Silver Lilly One Piece Cow, which will transform you into a dog or a cow, respectively. These are on the baggier side, so they're comfortable for lounging but can make activities like running a bit tricky. Fans of science fiction might like the Underboss Doctor Who, which comes in several styles both eye-catching and more subdued.
For those who want a onesie on the more plain side, we kept the Skylinewears Jumpsuit and added the Forever Lazy Unisex. These come in many colors and are just the ticket for keeping warm on a blustery night. The latter has feet, so your tootsies will stay toasty, too. A thicker unisex option is the Forever Lazy Heavyweight, which gives the feeling of wearing a comfy sweatsuit, but without the annoying waistband. Or, if you want an option that will suit the whole family, there's the LazyOne Flapjacks. These pajamas are just as functional as they are attractive, and would make a great outfit for a family holiday photo card.
Comfort for the Win: The Adult Onesie
Pajamas are, by their very nature, designed for comfort, not for style.
It is with good reason that we wrap infants and toddlers in the single-piece garment often referred to as a onesie. In fact it is for several good reasons that this type of apparel is commonly used for young children: a onesie is comfortable for the child, convenient for the person dressing (and undressing and changing the diaper of) the youngster, and requires minimal sartorial planning on the part of the parent or caregiver.
These same properties translate perfectly to the adult looking to dress himself or herself in clothing that is likewise comfortable, convenient, and that removes much of the burden of selection from the process of getting dressed. The adult onesie may not be slated for any imminent appearances on the fashion show runways of Milan, Paris, or London, but when it comes to swaddling oneself with ease, this is indeed the ideal item of clothing.
There are many different adult onesies from which one can choose, but when speaking of this type of apparel in broad strokes, they can be broken down into a few distinct categories. The first of these accounts for a large percent of the greater category: the onesie as sleepwear. Pajamas are, by their very nature, designed for comfort, not for style. Worn in the privacy of the home, if not only in the bedroom itself, sleepwear is warm, soft, and relaxed in fit. The adult onesie is perfect for the grownup who wants extra warmth when bedding down, especially as options are available in such fabrics as fleece, flannel, and microfiber. These types of fabric all help hold in body heat, working in tandem with sheets, blankets, and quilts.
And while adult sleepwear onesies are certainly not designed for wearing in public, they offer more than enough coverage to ensure your demure privacy as you walk down the hall of a home or dormitory en route to the rest room or from a common area to a bedroom.
In the next category of adult onesies, we have clothing that is designed to at least approximate the look of "actual" clothing. This can be a one-piece garment with the look of a two-piece track suit, for example, or a onesie made to look like a sweat shirt and trouser combination. While wearing one of these garments on its own will still likely draw looks askance if worn to a shop, restaurant, or seminar class, the true nature of a onesie can often be obfuscated when its wearer dons a jacket, sweater, or other garment that breaks up the uniform top and bottom appearance of the onesie.
Finally, there are adult onesies that are very much designed to stand out: these are playful garments that are essentially just costumes, usually in animal themes or inspired by the outfits worn in a popular movie or TV series (Star Wars is a particularly popular inspiration for adult one piece jumpers, for example). Outside of a costume party or certain gatherings of people with fringe interests, these onesies are of course best relegated to the same level of private wear as those designed to be sleepwear.
A Brief History of Adult Sleepwear
The term "sleepwear" can be used to refer generally to any garments worn during actual sleeping or simply when one is relaxing in an intimate environment, usually limited to one's own home or to a space used when on vacation or as a houseguest. Sleepwear may mean nothing more than a t-shirt and undergarments for some, while it might mean silken trousers and a matching button-down shirt for others. Some people may prefer lingerie with overt sexual overtones while others wear a long and loose-fitting nightshirt.
In some parts of the world and in certain times of human history, sleepwear has been crafted to suit the needs of the environment.
In some parts of the world and in certain times of human history, sleepwear has been crafted to suit the needs of the environment. This includes the fur-lined sleep sack of the Inuit and the loose-fitting pyjamas native to the Indian subcontinent.
In other eras and areas, sleepwear was adapted to fit the class and social standing of its wearer. For a time, pajamas -- as they were called once British colonists had coopted the traditional word and changed its spelling -- with a separate shirt and trouser were worn all over the world, spread thanks to the global influence of the British empire during the 18th and 19th centuries. They were often finely-wrought, using silk cloth and fine stitching and often accompanied by an ornate dressing gown or night shirt.
Other sleepwear was purely practical, such as the long johns that would be worn by loggers and prospectors to stave off the chill of the mountains in America's west.
As often happens in the strange world of fashion, in the early years of the 21st century, the adult onesie somehow went from private loungewear to ironic streetwear to clothing actually accepted for wearing in public. Celebrities including Brad Pitt and Rihanna have been spotted in the streets sporting one-piece garments, and fashion labels including Kenneth Cole and ASOS now offer the garment, apparently without irony.
Other Accessories for Ultimate Comfort
If you are the proud owner of an adult onesie (or two or three) or you are shopping for a gift for an owner of one of these unique garments, then chances are good that comfort is of much more importance than style, at least for in terms of loungewear to be worn around the home.
And when it comes to your head, again trust a product infused with soothing herbs.
For the ultimate lazy day lounging experience, consider starting at your feet and working your way up. As strange as it might sound, one popular recent product is the microwave slipper. This is indoor footwear packed with a thick layer of material that will hold the heat created by a microwave oven for many long minutes, imparting a plethora of warmth into your cold toes, ankles, and arches. Many such slippers also feature a filling accented by aromatic herbs such as lavender which can have a calming, soothing effect on the wearer.
If you want to relax and warm your feet even further, treat yourself to a home foot spa session that will bring comfort to your feet and relaxation to your whole body.
As for your hands, consider a paraffin bath. These simple but luxuriant products immerse your hands in safe, non-toxic melted paraffin wax, easing any tension in the joints and softening skin. They are both therapeutic and relaxing.
And when it comes to your head, again trust a product infused with soothing herbs. Many eye masks are made to be heated in the microwave or cooled in the fridge or freezer as your condition (or desire for comfort) warrants and can help ease headaches and tension with their temperature and their blend of herbs, spices, and other aromatherapy-style ingredients.