Outdoor happy hour sounds great until you remember that you live in Canada and Mother Nature often does all she can to prevent us from enjoying a drink in the sunshine. I’ve taken to throwing heat-safe beanbags (made by my grandma, brag alert) in the microwave and stuffing them my hoodies’ kangaroo pockets to get a little bit of extra warmth. Alcohol helps, of course, but it doesn’t totally quell the shivers. I’m still yearning for summer.

Of course, summer is still a few months away (and in Vancouver, there’s a few more months until it’s actually warm enough to wear shorts). But Ikea has an answer to keeping outdoor happy hour cozy: a massive “Quillow” (quilt slash pillow) that transforms into a wearable sleeping bag. Why they didn’t call it a Quillcketlowbag (quilt slash jacket slash pillow slash sleeping bag) is beyond me.

Anyway, the Faltmal quillow ($40) looks like this, in pillow form:

And once it completes it’s transformer-like metamorphosis, it looks like this:

Admittedly, one could not call it stylish. Or even moderately cute, in the before-times. But now, comfort and function are key, and there’s no arguing that this quillow looks as warm as it is sleeved.

Fashion-wise, it’s certainly not the best sleeping-bag-turned-outfit look I’ve seen. Regardless, Faltmal is absolutely on my pandemic homewear€”and bodywear€”list. Cheers to cozy, safe celebration.

Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, illustrator and comic artist. Her work has been featured in Vancouver magazine, Western Living, BCBusiness, Avenue, Serviette, Geist, BCLiving, Nuvo, Montecristo, The Georgia Straight and more. Her beats are food, travel, arts and culture, style, interior design and anything dog-related. She publishes a daily autobiographical comic on Instagram at @hialyssacomics.