This article is about a type of garment. For other uses of the word "jumpsuit" see jumpsuit (disambiguation).

Jumpsuit is a term for a one-piece garment originally used for skydiving, hence the name. It has later come to be used as a common term for any one-piece garment with sleeves and legs and has from time to time had its place in fashion.

Uses of jumpsuits

The origin of the jumpsuit, or at least the origin of the word jumpsuit, was a suit made for skydiving. When you jump out of a plane, it is practical to have a one-piece suit, so that the air does not take too much hold in the clothes and part them. They are also used in aviation and space flight. Jumpsuits are practical for use in zero gravity/microgravity, because they don't float around like other garments but stay close to the body.

For reasons much like the ones in skydiving, jumpsuits were early on taken up in some sports. In skiing, jumpsuits can give good protection for cold weather, and in competitive skiing and speed skating, skintight jumpsuits are worn to create as little air resistance as possible. In motorsport – auto racing and motorcycle racing – jumpsuits are used for protective matters, manufactured using non-flammable materials.

Starting in the 1960's, jumpsuits were made a part of fashion. Even if it was never everyday wear for everyone, it stayed more or less in fashion until around 1980.

Jumpsuits have been used as stage clothes by various pop singers and members of bands, e.g. Elvis Presley, The Who, Alphaville, Goldfrapp, Britney Spears, Pink, and Slipknot.

Jumpsuits are used as an easy way of dressing children, especially in the winter time. In countries with cold winters, small children almost always wear snowsuits in the winter.

Jumpsuits are also often seen in science fiction, because they are seen as futuristic clothing.

Jumpsuits, especially those orange ones, are usually the official uniform in prisons of some countries, e.g. United States, as orange colours allow the prisoners be spotted easily and jumpsuits can be a kind of clothing that can restrict the movement of prisoners.

Advantages and disadvantages of jumpsuits

Advantages

• You never have to worry about how to combine your clothes, since the jumpsuit is the one piece of clothing you need.
• Since jumpsuits have an unbroken line from the neck to the foot of the body, it gives a slimming impression which is flattering for most people's bodies.
• It is possible to get in or out of a jumpsuit very quickly.
• Jumpsuits are usually comfortable.

Disadvantages

• As the jumpsuit has to fit the whole body, it has to be designed for the whole body. When choosing a shirt and pants, you can pick out the size that correctly fits your upper body, and another that fits your lower body, but with the jumpsuit you can't mix and match like that, and a poorly fitting jumpsuit is a problem because it can restrict your body movements. This makes it harder to pick out a good fitting jumpsuit off the rack.
• A jumpsuit can be a problem when going to the bathroom.
• Jumpsuits haven't really been in style since the early 1980's.

Related garments

A jumpsuit is very similar to a coverall (also called overall or boiler suit), but is usually more tight-fitting, even if it is not as tight-fitting as a catsuit, which is another related garment.

Another related garment, is the flight suit, so named because it is made for wear by military flight crews: pilots and co-pilots, among others.

Suits (clothing) | Protective gear

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