There’s a capricious irony to bedroom wear – after all, a strong school of thought will suggest that we should all be naked as babes when things get all horizontal and deeply nocturnal. But there’s a vast array of fabulous sartorial splendor that awaits in the world of Le Nuit A La Mode. The journey of cool can be traced broadly from a child’s He-Man jim-jams to a bespoke silk and barrathea mix Prussian sleep suit with original horn buttons and a secret pocket for reading glasses and a hipfask of port and brandy mixed with Tixylix and Ibruprofen for nights when one is plagued by thoughts of the days toil.

When it comes to slumber-wear, I’ve always been a bit of a ‘corporal’ myself. In other words, almost ‘commando’. But with a pair of shooting socks. In fact, there’s not really anything that tops a socks-only approach to nighttime maneuvers in the skirmish for style. However, this Christmas I received something really rather special – a soft denim-blue chambery robe, piped in calico cotton, from Hackett’s. I have to say, I’ve never been a fan of the brand. It’s usually the last word you see before getting your nose broken by the rugby-chav whose pint you’ve spilled all over the floor of an arriviste Richmond gastropub. But they really know their stuff when it comes to snooze-gear. It also supports a number of louche looks, which make for wild entertainment in the bedroom. From ‘furtive playwright’ to ‘jedi master’, the robe turns any humble and demure individual into a flamboyant rogue, treading the boards in the theatre of fashion masterfully and with great grace and elegance. The moral of the (bedtime) story? Kit yourself out for the duvet catwalk – you’ll never look back. ZZZzzzzzzzz