We May Already Be Living This Päntsdrunk Trend
The U.S. is sinking fast, so maybe we should be on the lookout for a new country to emulate. May we suggest: Finland? After all, the Scandinavian country is on record as the happiest in the world (runners-up: Norway and Denmark). We're not sure how much this thing we just learned about called päntsdrunk factors into that rating, but it certainly couldn't hurt.
The Scandinavian trend is about to be highlighted in a new book by Finnish writer Miska Rantanen: Päntsdrunk: The Finnish Art of Drinking At Home. Alone. In Your Underwear. BBC III reports on the trend, and the U.K. seems totally on board.
In the book, Miska explains how Finns started drinking in their underwear as a way of coping with the country's long, dark winters (see above) – when no one could be bothered to wear multiple layers to trek out and meet their friends. So they decided to stay at home—in one layer – and drink in the warmth instead.
In Finland sitting around in your underwear and drinking is "self-care." In America it's called "It's Tuesday and I think you have a problem, Karen."#pantsdrunk
— Dr. METhorpe (@unabridge) June 5, 2018
Is it wrong to say that I may have already been living this lifestyle, especially through Chicago's recent elongated winter, and just wasn't aware of what it was called? The last big Scandinavian trend, "hygge," also seemed extremely palatable, catering to warmth and coziness, perhaps with a fluffy blanket, warm socks, and some hot chocolate. But päntsdrunk does even that hygge cuddliness one better by adding alcohol. No one is saying you should do this every day or anything, but on a Monday night after a trying workday with a slew of Real Housewives saved on the TiVo? Pass the pajamas and chardonnay, please.