Vintage Style Beach Pajamas from Time Machine Vintage (and a History Lesson on Pavonia Newport)

The beach pajamas of the 1920s and 30s are an item I've had on my vintage wardrobe wish list for years.  I love the pictures of ladies from that era in their  comfortable and beautiful lounge wear.

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Thanks to Time Machine Vintage on Etsy I was able to get my own vintage reproduction beach pajamas, and I absolutely love them.

 

I wore them for the first time on the 4th of July for a walk in Pavonia Newport with my dog Norbert, it was just too hot for any of my other flat faced dogs to come.  It was a special day as Norbert is celebrating his 11th birthday!

The pajamas are still a little long after my first hemming, so I will hem them again, but they are still adorable and just the right length with shortish heels.  I'm already thinking about what sort of beach pajamas I want to get next summer, maybe something in mint green with cream polka dots!

Pavonia Newport is a pretty modern area

 surrounded by fancy condos with waterfront views of the Manhattan skyline.   

This neighborhood has an interesting history with a lot of ups and downs. It began life as a Dutch port in the 1600s 

and remained an important port for centuries. A plaque in the area commemorates Jersey City as a destination for commuters in the 1920s when the city was celebrated in the long forgotten song Everbody's On Their Way to Jersey.

 Here are the lyrics:

  First Verse
There's a certain little State No one thought was up to date Jokes about it made a lot of fun But folks are getting hunches Going there in bunches A mighty mob has started on the run Tho' small in size that state is wise nobody hesitates It's population soon will be the whole United States. 

Second Verse
People living there are fine Each one has a friend named "Stein" Anderson had better watch his step The cops are in a fury Each kitchen is a brewery They brew those hops that fill you full of pep From California Massachusetts, people far and near A train they take to join the wake, and gather 'round the 'bier' 

 Chorus
Everybody's on their way to Jersey Everybody's going there to stay And it's not the air That they're going over there There is something doing something brewing OH! BOY! buckets of joy Three and a half percent in dear old Jersey Is not the dividends the bankers pay Just hop on a train and tell the man that you want to go where they rush the can For everybody's on their way to Jersey. 

On the Halcyon Days Music site you can hear the tune, but not the lyrics.

  

In the 1960s and 70s the area fell into disrepair and suffered from a high crime rate.

 
In the 1980s a 10 billion dollar revitalization project was begun and abandoned train yards and warehouses where cleared to make way for luxury apartment buildings, restaurants and a shopping mall.   

Jersey City Night Life by Andrew Kay Today the Jersey City waterfront project is held up as a shining example of successful urban revitalization.   Living in the area will now set you back several thousand dollars a month in rent, or at least a cool million if you want a waterfront view condo.   Progress I suppose.