Is Wearing Pyjamas to the Supermarket OK in Gisborne?
- Jun 16
- 2 min read
Every town has a look.
Auckland has activewear that somehow costs more than formalwear.
Wellington has black jackets and an expression that suggests everyone is late for something important.
Gisborne has pyjamas and Red Band gumboots.
Sometimes simultaneously.
The purest expression of this phenomenon can usually be observed around 9pm at the supermarket.
There, under the bright fluorescent lights, you may encounter a local calmly completing their weekly grocery shop while wearing brightly-coloured PJs.
Not a quick dash for milk.
Not an emergency bread run.
A full trolley.
Vegetables.
Cleaning products.
Breakfast cereal.
The week's shopping.
No explanation offered.
No explanation required.
For many visitors, spotting a local in pyjamas at the supermarket has become one of Gisborne's most entertaining unofficial attractions.
Like tourists heading out on safari in the hope of seeing lions on the Serengeti, some newcomers quietly find themselves scanning the aisles of Pak'nSave or Woolworths, waiting for their first authentic "Gisborne pyjama sighting".
The phenomenon is rarely forced and never announced. One moment you're comparing avocados, the next a family casually strolls past in flannel pyjamas as though they have just stepped out of a lifestyle catalogue titled Peak Gisborne.
Regular observers have even developed an unofficial scoring system known as Pyjama Bingo. Standard pyjamas earn a respectable score, dressing gowns are considered a bonus sighting, but the coveted combination of pyjamas paired with classic Red Band gumboots attracts double points and immediate bragging rights.
Locals barely notice.
In fact, the only thing that might attract attention is if somebody turns up overdressed.
The beauty of Gisborne is that people are generally too busy living their lives to worry about what anyone else is wearing.
If you're comfortable, you're appropriately dressed.
It's an attitude that extends well beyond supermarket fashion.
It's part of the wider Gisborne philosophy that life should probably be enjoyed rather than performed.
And if that means selecting avocados in pyjamas and Red Bands at 9pm on a Thursday night?
Well, that's not a social statement.
That's just peak Gisborne.
The surf's good tomorrow.
The milk needed buying.
And nobody could be bothered changing clothes.
