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Aboilersuit (orboiler suit), also known ascoveralls, is a loose-fitting garment covering the whole body except for the head, hands and feet.
The termboilersuit is most common in the UK, where the 2023 edition of theOxford English Dictionary lists the word as having been first used on 31 July 1883 in theLiverpool Mercury newspaper. The garments are typically known ascoveralls in North America, whileoverall(s) is used elsewhere.[citation needed] In North America, "overall" is more usually understood as abib-and-brace overall, which is a type of trousers with a bib and attached suspenders.
A more tight-fitting garment that is otherwise similar to a boilersuit is usually called ajumpsuit. The "siren suit" favoured byWinston Churchill (but also worn by many others in the UK when air raids were a threat) during theSecond World War was closely similar to a boilersuit.
A boilersuit is a one-piece garment with full-length sleeves and legs like ajumpsuit, but usually less tight-fitting. Its main feature is that it has no gap between jacket and trousers or betweenlapels, and no loose jacket tails. It often has a long thin pocket down the outside of the right thigh to hold long tools. It usually has a front fastening extending the whole length of the front of the body up to the throat, with nolapels. It may be fastened withbuttons, azip,velcro, orsnap fasteners. Boilersuits with an attachedhood are available. The word "boilersuit" may also refer to disposable garments such asDuPont'sTyvek suits.
Coveralls are most often worn as protective clothing over "street" clothes at work. They can be used for painting and decorating, mechanical work, farming, factory work, and other activities where clothes may become soiled. Many companies provide workers with corporate branded boilersuits for identification and marketing.
Coveralls are also sometimes used asprison uniforms in the U.S and other countries.
Police tactical units often use boilersuits as auniform, for instance the French police unitCompagnies Républicaines de Sécurité, and the Austrian unitsEKO Cobra andWEGA. Similar coveralls made ofNomex inolive drab (and more recently, deserttan) are also used by the crews ofarmoured fighting vehicles in theUS Army andMarine Corps, where the men and also their suits are sometimes called "CVCs", an abbreviation of "Combat Vehicle Crewman".
More form fitting coveralls with many zippered pockets, originally made of cotton treated for flame resistance, but made ofNomex since the late 1960s, have been used asflight suits since the beginning of World War II. There are two main categories for coveralls: cloth and disposable.
Both cloth and disposable coveralls are manufactured with their own unique protective properties including: high-visibility, insulation to protect against cold weather, waterproof, flame resistant to protect against fire, arc resistant to protect against flash fires, and even microporous fabrics when exposed to hazardous chemicals.
Japanesepoliticians have been known to use boiler suits to convey animage of preparedness.[1]
Coveralls calledstudent boilersuits are used by university students in some Nordic countries as a sort of party-uniform, with insignia on the back and colour varying with programme and university.
The suit is associated with theslasher subgenre, being worn byMichael Myers of theHalloween films.
Pete Townshend ofThe Who frequently wore a white boiler suit during performances and in publicity photographs from 1969-71.[2]
TheChurch of Scientology has punishedSea Org members in theRehabilitation Project Force by making them wear black boiler suits.[3]
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