A loose, comfortable garment worn for sleeping, typically a long shirt or gown.
Compound of 'night' (Old English 'niht') and 'dress' (from Old French 'dresse'). The term emerged in the 19th century as a specific term for sleepwear, distinguishing it from daywear.
Nightdress was primarily marketed as a women's garment in Victorian times, but men wore similar sleeping shirts—the gendering of sleepwear is actually a relatively modern fashion convention that emerged through advertising.
Gendered as exclusively female wear in modern Western fashion marketing (20th-21st centuries), though nightwear has historically been unisex. Marketing and retail segregation reinforced false gendering.
Use 'nightdress' or 'nightwear' neutrally; recognize that sleepwear is functional, not inherently gendered.
["nightwear","sleep shirt","pajamas"]
Textile workers (predominantly women) who produced nightwear have long been undercompensated; labor equity in garment manufacturing remains a women's rights issue.
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