Pillow Talk with... Charlotte Bell

Pillow Talk with... Bridie's Cakes

October 23, 2026

  Welcome back to The Nightstand, our seasonal newsletter where we meet inspiring friends of the brand to talk about sleep, routines, creativity and the small comforts that shape everyday life. For our autumn edition, we’re pulling up a chair with Bridie of Bridie’s Cakes. A bespoke cake maker and painter with a love of gingham and frills, Bridie brings a thoughtful, creative eye to everything she makes—including the new-build home she’s currently transforming. She also made the beautiful cake that helped us celebrate our Elizabeth Street store’s first birthday. We caught up with Bridie to hear about her creative journey, where she finds inspiration and what autumn looks like in her kitchen—with a little bedtime talk along the way.   What is on your nightstand? Tissues, a silver trinket tray home to Laneige lip mask and L’Occitane hand cream, my jewellery box and inhaler, of course!   What is your ultimate bedtime routine? A shower, fresh nightie and French plait in my hair. I often do some kind of craft on the sofa whilst watching telly with my husband and then go to bed. Must read for at least 20 minutes to drift off!   You once sat at your office desk doodling cakes. What gave you the confidence to turn those sketches into Bridie’s Cakes? It simply felt like something I had to do. As though my brain might explode if I didn’t. Being creative is instinctive and impossible to ignore!   Your one pearl of wisdom for a good night’s sleep? My emotional support fan. Usually pointed away from me, it creates the perfect white noise to calm my head all night long.   Whose bedroom would you most like to snoop around? Nancy Meyers. Every film she’s created has been cosy and warm. In my mind her bedroom is effortlessly chic and toasty.   What’s the first thing you reach for when you wake up? I go to bed with a water bottle filled with icy water—that’s the first thing I need!   What does a typical day in the cake room look like—and what’s usually playing in the background? I usually arrive at work for 7.30am, immediately preheat the oven and take butter out the fridge. I try to get all baking done before midday and spend the rest of the day decorating cakes, usually with a series on in the background. Currently watching Industry.   Your cakes have such a distinctive style. How did you find it, and what makes a cake feel unmistakably yours? My cakes remind me of our home and my taste in clothes, too. I think the same things that inspire my home décor and style inspire cake making. A little corny perhaps, but truly buttercream piping falls out of my fingertips like it’s the most natural thing.   You also paint watercolours of your cakes. What do you love about capturing something that will eventually be eaten? There’s something whimsical about watercolour painting. You can make an image feel ‘undone’. I like being able to create my cakes in that light, too.   As autumn arrives, which colours, flavours and ingredients are you most excited to work with? Oh I love an autumn colour palette, especially mustard tones and moody shades of green. Alongside salted caramel, apples and blackberries, autumn is beloved in the cake room!   Bedtime reading: paper book or Kindle? And what are you currently reading? I just love the feel and smell of a paper book. Currently reading The Wedding People by Alison Espach.   Your favourite If Only If nightie? Clara in buttercup yellow—it just makes me happy.   When it comes to bed, nothing feels better than… Freshly washed sheets. Am big on smells and gosh, washing dried out on the line then layered up all lovely on your bed is heavenly.   If you were to capture your perfect autumn day in a cake, what would it look—and taste—like? I’m thinking a mocha brown base with shades of yellow, green and orange. Oh and autumnal jewels dotted on top—I mean blackberries, of course. Dusted in gold.   What is your favourite thing to bake at home when the weather turns cooler, just for the pleasure of it? Triple chocolate cookies served with an ice-cold glass of milk. Truly nothing better on a rainy day.   Your work is part of so many people’s celebrations. Is there a cake, or a moment, that has stayed with you? Probably creating our wedding cakes. I made something old, something new, something borrowed and a tiramisu. The something old was a recreation of my Gran’s wedding cake in 1945. Something new was a yellow design with intricate piping. Something borrowed was a cake adorned with the cake topper from my mum and dad’s wedding. The tiramisu was served in a glass bowl with a fluted edge.   After a busy day of baking and decorating, how do you switch off before bed? I take my dog Lucky for a walk, make something warming for dinner and flop on the sofa with my beloved If Only If hot water bottle.   What does your ultimate autumn evening at home look like? As autumn draws in, I tend to spend more time on cosy dinners. Pies and toad in the hole, always gravy. I usually light a tapered candle at the table too—it’s nice to indulge in the cosiness after a summer of heatwaves.   Which If Only If nightdress would you choose for a cosy night in? Prairie paired with ballet pink cashmere bed socks and a gingham hot water bottle.   What’s your go-to film for a rainy autumn Sunday? You’ve Got Mail or Something’s Gotta Give. I’m creating the shop in You’ve Got Mail in cake form as I type!   If your personality were a cake flavour, what would it be? Raspberry cloud. It is gently sweet and people tend to like it. I can only hope to be like that, anyway.   You’re hosting an autumn supper: what’s for pudding, and what’s on the playlist? Oh it has to be my bread and butter pudding made with croissants and chocolate instead of bread and fruit. Served with clotted cream, no less. Autumnal playlist features Mazzy Star, Frazey Ford, Bon Iver and Sam Cooke, to name a few!   Discover more from Bridie on Instagram: @bridiescakes.

Cotton Maternity Nightwear: The Best Nightdresses for Pregnancy, Postpartum and Nursing

October 13, 2026

  Pregnancy changes your body in ways your old pyjamas were never designed for. The right cotton maternity nightwear offers the breathability your body craves, the room your bump needs, and the access feeding requires. This guide covers what to look for at each stage, and why one thoughtful investment can carry you from the first trimester through to those early morning feeds and the slow, beautiful mornings beyond.   There comes a moment, usually somewhere in the second trimester, when your usual nightwear just stops working. The waistband sits in exactly the wrong place. The fabric feels warm in a way it never used to. Nothing feels quite right against skin that has somehow become more sensitive overnight. And you start to wonder if you need maternity nightwear. If that sounds familiar, you're not imagining it. Pregnancy changes the way your body regulates temperature, the way fabric feels against your skin, and the way you move through the night. Your nightwear needs to change with it. A well-made cotton nightdress solves all of this at once. There's no waistband to dig in, no fabric trapping heat, nothing that pulls or restricts. Just soft, breathable cotton with room to move, and, when the time comes, easy access for feeding. At If Only If, we've been making nightdresses from the world's finest organic cotton for over a decade. We know that a nightdress bought during pregnancy doesn't just serve one season. The right one will also see you through the hospital, through the fourth trimester, and into the slow mornings that follow. This guide will help you find it.  

Menopause Nightwear: Does What You Wear to Bed Actually Help?

October 13, 2026

  Hot flushes disrupt sleep for the majority of women going through menopause, and what you wear to bed plays a real role in how your body responds. Natural fibres, particularly lightweight woven cotton, allow heat and moisture to move away from the skin. This article explains what's happening to your body at night, which fabrics make a real difference in menopause nightwear, and what else is worth knowing for a better night's sleep.   It usually starts the same way. You wake at 3am, wide awake, feeling warm and clammy. There's a damp sheet where there wasn't one before. The heat rises fast, then just as quickly follows the chill. You lie there in the aftermath, waiting for sleep to return. If any of that is familiar, you're in very good company. Around 75 to 80% of women experience hot flushes during menopause. It's one of the most common and most disruptive symptoms of this stage of life. And yet almost no one in the nightwear world has thought to address it with any real warmth, or genuine knowledge of fabric. That's what this article is here for. We'll explain what causes hot flushes at night, why menopause nightwear matters more than you might expect, and what to look for if you're ready to make a change.  

What to Wear to Bed: The Complete Guide to Women's Nightwear

October 13, 2026

    Choosing the right piece of women's nightwear is an investment that pays off every single night. To help you find your perfect match, we've written this guide. It covers everything worth knowing before you choose: from which fabrics genuinely help you sleep, to finding the right length, sleeve, and style for every season.   Most women spend more time thinking about what to wear during the day than what they wear to bed. Which we understand. But women's nightwear sits against your skin for eight hours at a time. It's the last thing you put on before you sleep and the first thing you feel when you wake up. The right choice makes a genuine difference: to how well you sleep, how comfortable you feel, and whether getting into bed feels like a small pleasure or just another thing on your to-do list. This guide covers everything you need to know to choose comfortable nightwear you'll actually love wearing: from fabric to fit, and how to choose for every season. We've been making nightwear from the finest natural fabrics for over a decade, and this is everything we wish every woman knew before choosing hers.     What makes women's nightwear worth thinking about?   Your body does something remarkable while you sleep. In the two hours before you drift off, your core temperature naturally begins to drop, a signal to your brain that it's time to rest. Maintaining that drop through the night is essential for deep, restorative sleep. What you wear to bed either helps or hinders that process.   Sleep researchers have found that what you wear to bed directly affects how well you sleep . Through its influence on skin temperature, comfort, and moisture. There’s even evidence that fabric choice measurably changes how quickly you fall asleep, how long you stay asleep, and how rested you feel in the morning.   It's a small thing. But it's one that makes a difference every single night.     The fabric question: what is the best material for nightwear?   Natural fibres are always the answer. Cotton breathes and softens over time. Silk regulates temperature in a way nothing else quite does. Linen is the coolest choice of all. Each one works with your body overnight rather than against it — and that's the whole point.   It comes down to moisture. Cotton absorbs it naturally — up to 8% of its own weight. Synthetic fabrics like polyester absorb almost none, which means heat and moisture stay trapped against your skin through the night. Natural fibres do the opposite: they absorb, release, and breathe, helping your body maintain the stable temperature it needs to sleep well. If you run particularly warm or are navigating night sweats, that difference becomes even more significant — something we go into much more detail on in our guide to cotton menopause nightwear and hot flushes. Cotton is the fabric most women reach for, and it's easy to see why. Soft, breathable, and genuinely better after every wash. In fact, caring for it well is a big part of what makes it last. We go into everything you need to know about that, from washing to drying, in our guide to caring for cotton.    We work with five weights of GOTS certified organic cotton, each with its own character:   Cotton voile is the lightest, with the highest thread count. Breathable, barely-there against the skin, and slightly sheer. It’s as light as nightwear gets. Cotton cambric is a step up in weight from voile. Slightly thicker and a little less sheer, but with the same beautiful lightness. More coverage, without losing any of the breathability. Cotton poplin is smooth, structured, and finished with an enzyme soft wash that gives it a softer, more lived-in feel from the very first wear. Cool, clean, and opaque.   Cotton twill is woven diagonally for extra durability and warmth, with a smooth finish and a satisfying weight to it.   Brushed cotton twill is our warmest cotton, perfect for chilly winter nights. Double-brushed on both sides for an exceptionally soft, plush texture. Cosy without overheating, and fully opaque.   If a white cotton nightdress is what you're drawn to, our guide to white cotton nighties goes deeper on the styles worth knowing.   Cotton is our most-reached-for fabric, but it's not the only natural fibre that makes for beautiful nightwear that is comfortable as well as pretty. Silk and linen are both worth knowing about, too.   Our silk is pure mulberry, naturally thermoregulating and keeping you cool when it's warm and warm when it's not. It glides across the skin in a way that's difficult to describe until you've tried it. Fluid, weightless, and a genuine pleasure to sleep in.    And linen is the most breathable of all. It softens beautifully with every wear and wash, and stays cool even on the warmest nights. Made from 100% Oeko-Tex certified fabric, it's a lovely choice for anyone who wants something a little more relaxed and considered.   For a closer look at how each fabric is sourced and made, our materials guide tells the full story.   Nightdress or pyjamas: which is better?   A loose, natural-fabric nightdress tends to be the most comfortable choice for sleep. It creates less restriction, fewer layers, and better airflow than a two-piece set, all of which help your body regulate its temperature naturally through the night. The simpler the better, really.   It's not just intuition either. Research measuring sleep quality found that what you wear to bed measurably affects how quickly you fall asleep and how well you stay there. And a loose, one-piece nightdress in a natural fabric removes several things that can quietly work against you overnight: the waistband that digs in when you turn, the second layer of fabric around your legs, the seams at the hips.   And if you worry a nightdress won't keep you warm enough, it will. A cotton nightdress in a heavier weight, like our brushed cotton twill, is just as warm as a pyjama set, with the added benefit of that unrestricted, one-piece feel. What matters is that it breathes, fits loosely, and feels good against your skin.     How to choose women's nightwear by season   Choosing comfortable nightwear by season is simpler than it sounds. Nightdresses aren't just for summer, With the right fabric and fit, they work beautifully all year round. It's simply a matter of knowing what to reach for when.    

The Ultimate Guide to White Cotton Nighties

October 13, 2026

    A white cotton nightie is one of the most timeless pieces a woman can own. Cotton breathes, softens with every wash, and keeps your body at the right temperature for sleep. White is crisp, clean, and endlessly flattering. This guide covers what to look for in cotton nightwear, the difference between cotton voile and cotton cambric, how to find the right length, and which of our styles are worth knowing about.   There’s something about a fresh cotton nightie that nothing else quite matches. The weight of it, the softness against your skin, the way it flows around you when you move, the sense that the day is finally done the moment you put it on. It’s a feeling women have known for generations, and it hasn’t gone anywhere.  If Only If was born from exactly that feeling. Our founder, Issy Falkner, started the brand in 2011 because she couldn’t quite find the white cotton nightdress she actually wanted to wear. Something beautiful. Something made properly. Something that felt worth keeping. In 2020, her daughter Emily Campbell took over the reins, bringing the same conviction and a fresh eye. Family has been at the heart of our brand's story since the start, designing pieces that feel inherited rather than bought for each generation.  And our white nightdress collection remains the centre of everything we do.  This guide is for everyone who has ever wondered whether a white cotton nightie is worth investing in, what the differences between fabrics actually mean in practice, and which style might be the best white nightdress for you.     Why does everyone keep coming back to white cotton nighties?   White cotton nightdresses endure because they do everything well. White is crisp, clean and quietly elegant, flattering every skin tone without ever dating. Cotton breathes, absorbs moisture and softens with every wash. Together they make something that simply works, season after season, generation after generation.     And the choice of white was never accidental. As far back as the 16th century, white was the standard colour for nightwear across all classes because it could be boiled and bleached clean. Practicality and beauty, as it turns out, have always gone hand in hand.   There's something almost nostalgic about a white cotton nightdress: a connection to the women who wore them before us, our mothers and grandmothers reaching for the same simple comfort. And yet the shape keeps feeling entirely current. The white cotton nightie has found its way back onto runways and into fashion conversation in recent years, not as a trend, but as a reminder of something that was always there.   None of that would surprise anyone who has owned a good white nightie for years. The rest of the world is simply catching up on what we already know.     Is cotton really the best fabric for sleep?   For most women, yes. Cotton's natural fibres allow air to circulate and absorb moisture as you sleep, helping your body stay in the ideal temperature range without trapping heat. Research backs this up too. A 2024 review found that the fabric you sleep in has a measurable effect on sleep quality, simply by influencing how warm or cool your skin stays through the night.   Cotton has also been shown to be particularly effective for sleep in warmer conditions, which makes it an especially good choice through the spring and summer months. And unlike synthetic fabrics, it doesn't pill against your skin, carry static, or leave you with that sticky, restless feeling after a few hours. It's a fabric that simply gets out of the way and lets you sleep, no matter what you wear to bed.   Cotton is especially valued by women who run warm at night or experience temperature changes during sleep. If that resonates, our guide to cotton menopause nightwear goes into much more detail on what to wear to bed when you experience hot flushes.      How sheer is a white cotton nightdress really?   This is the question most women want answered before they buy, and the honest answer is: it depends on the type of cotton used. Whether you'd call it sheer or simply see-through, the difference comes down to the fabric.  Cotton nightdresses range from very sheer to fully opaque. The weight of the fabric, its weave, and its thread count all affect how much it reveals. To make it easier to choose, each nightdress in our collection is rated from 'slightly sheer' to 'thick and cosy,' so you know exactly what you're getting before it arrives.  As a general rule: the lighter the fabric, the more delicate and drapey it will feel. But a light fabric doesn't have to be sheer. Our poplin cotton has a gentle weight but is fully opaque. And at the same time sheer doesn't have to mean revealing. Double-layering at the bust, generous pleating across the chest, and acres of gathered fabric all do the work beautifully, without losing that floaty, ethereal quality.    If you prefer something with even more coverage, you might want to consider cotton cambric for a mid-way, or poplin and brushed twill offer real opacity, while still breathing well. None are heavy. They simply have more substance. Choose the fabric and design well if sheerness is a concern.     What is cotton voile, and why does it make a beautiful nightdress?   Cotton voile is a very finely woven, lightweight cotton with a high thread count. The word comes from the French for 'veil,' and the name suits it perfectly. Cotton voile originated in 19th-century France and was first used for warm-weather clothing because of its exceptional breathability. Its open plain weave allows air to circulate freely, which is exactly why it translates so beautifully into nightwear.  The fabric is airy, slightly translucent, and incredibly soft.  It drapes rather than sits, moves with you rather than around you. There really is nothing quite like it.    We describe our voile as a butter soft delight of a cotton: finely woven with a light, open weave that gives it an almost weightless quality. It's the lightest fabric in our collection, and it shows.    It's worth understanding how voile differs from cotton cambric, one of the other cottons we work with. Cambric is a denser, midweight weave. It offers more structure and opacity, and a slightly crisper feel against the skin. Both are 100% organic cotton. Both breathe beautifully. The difference is one of mood: voile is floaty and romantic, cambric is considered and quietly elegant. Some women find they want both, each for different scenarios.   Curious about the other fabrics we work with? Our materials guide tells you everything you need to know.     Long or short: how to choose the right length   The honest answer is that there's no wrong choice. But there are differences worth knowing about.   A shorter nightie, sitting above the knee, feels light and breezy. There's something lovely about that on a warm summer evening. A longer nightie, falling to mid-calf or the floor, has a completely different quality. It feels more considered, more romantic, and there's nothing quite like the sweep of a long cotton nightdress on a cool night when you're padding around the house.   It's worth knowing that length and warmth aren't the same thing. How warm a nightdress feels comes down to the fabric, not the hem. A long voile nightdress can feel lighter than a short one in a heavier cotton. So if warmth is what you're after, that's a fabric question rather than a length one.   Different lengths suit different moments in life too. Some of our styles are particularly well suited to pregnancy and new motherhood, with cuts that offer ease of movement and practicality without sacrificing that feeling of being beautifully dressed for bed. We go into much more detail on this in our guide to cotton nightwear for pregnancy, postpartum and nursing.   It's a fabric that simply gets out of the way and lets you sleep, no matter what you wear to bed.   What makes a white cotton nightie worth the investment?   A well-made white cotton nightie is worth investing in because it lasts. The difference between quality cotton and a cheaper alternative shows up quickly: in whether the white stays white, whether the hem hangs straight after washing, whether the fabric softens or thins over time. Quality cotton gets better. Cheaper cotton doesn't.    The difference shows up in several places: in the weight and weave of the fabric, in how seams are finished, in whether it still looks and feels beautiful after repeated washing. Lower quality cotton is often grown with pesticides and processed with harsh chemicals that weaken the fibre before it even reaches you. Organic cotton, by contrast, is grown without synthetic pesticides and processed without treatments that damage the fibre's structure. Every cotton nightdress in our collection uses GOTS certified organic cotton, meaning the organic status has been independently verified at every stage of production.   We work with the same trusted makers in New Delhi that we have partnered with for over a decade, producing small batches rather than large runs. That matters because small-batch production allows for a level of care and attention that larger scale manufacturing simply can't replicate. Each nightdress is checked. Each detail is intentional.   Caring for your cotton properly is what keeps your luxury cotton nightdress looking and feeling its best for years. We cover all of this in our guide to caring for cotton nightwear.     Our favourite white nighties    Our nighties are timeless by design. Each style is cut with a relaxed, graceful fit that flatters every figure and works for every generation. These are pieces made to be loved for years, not seasons.   

Does Cotton Shrink in the Wash? How to Wash, Dry and Care for Cotton

October 13, 2026

    Cotton can shrink in the wash, but it doesn't have to. The main culprit is heat: too much of it, whether in the machine or the dryer, causes cotton fibres to contract. Wash on a cool, gentle cycle, skip the tumble dryer, and your cotton pieces will not only keep their shape but get softer with every wash. This guide covers everything you need to know to care for cotton properly and make it last for years to come.   You pull your favourite cotton nightdress from the wash and something feels off. A little shorter than you remember. A little stiffer, a little tighter. Not ruined, but not quite itself either. It's a feeling most of us have had at least once, and it's usually followed by the same question: does cotton shrink in the wash? The short answer is yes, unfortunately it can. But the longer answer is more reassuring: with a little knowledge, shrinkage is almost entirely preventable. And cotton, once you understand what it needs, is one of the most rewarding fabrics you can own. It breathes beautifully, softens with every wash, and lasts for years when it's looked after well. At If Only If, we've worked with cotton for over a decade. Our care guide has always been short and practical, which is exactly how it should be. But we wanted to go a little deeper here: to explain the why behind the what, so that looking after your cotton pieces feels natural rather than a list of rules to remember.