Men's Navy Jinbei Pyjamas 'Tetsukon'

Navy crinkle gauze, top and trousers, the classic jinbei with nothing added

If you have seen a jinbei before, it was probably this one: navy, plain, a wrap top tied at the side with one pocket, and loose trousers in the same cloth. It is the standard Japanese men's summer pyjama set, the one sold in every department store from June, and this version keeps it exactly as it is. The cloth is a crinkled cotton gauze, two thin layers woven together and puckered in the finish, so it stands off the skin and breathes.

Navy is the right colour for it, because navy is the colour of Japanese workwear and a jinbei is, at heart, a workwear cut: square, loose, tied rather than buttoned, made to be moved in. It reads correct from the street and comfortable from the sofa.

The name, Tetsukon, is iron navy, the deep blue-black of well-dyed indigo, the darkest navy in the traditional colour names and the one this cloth is.

The gauze is cotton, crinkled in the finish rather than by ironing, so it never needs pressing and goes back to its texture after every wash. It is light, it breathes, and it dries on a line in an hour. Two layers keep it from being sheer.

Wear the top crossed left over right and knot the tie at the hip; the trousers sit at the waist on a soft band. At home it is the set you reach for without thinking. Out, with sandals, it is a summer outfit that no Japanese person would look at twice, which is the highest compliment a jinbei can be paid.

Up close the crinkle shows its pucker and the navy shows its depth. From across a street it is a navy two-piece with a long, easy line and one pocket.

It goes with white, grey, denim and bare feet. If the range had to be reduced to one set, this would be it. Buy it first, wear it out, and buy it again.

The trousers are the working half of the set, cut loose with a soft band at the waist and room through the leg, and in navy they go with the top, with a white T-shirt, or with nothing else on a hot afternoon. Wash the pair together, cold, and hang them; they dry before you have finished the coffee.

Sizes run from M to XXL. It is cut to Asian sizing and runs small, so take one size up from your usual. Between two sizes, take the larger.