A boilersuit (or boiler suit), also known as coveralls, is a loose fitting garment covering the whole body except for the head, hands and feet.
A more tight-fitting garment that is otherwise similar to a boilersuit is usually called a jumpsuit. The "siren suit" favoured by Winston Churchill (but also worn by many others in the UK when air raids were a threat) during the Second World War was closely similar to a boilersuit.
Coveralls are also sometimes used as in the U.S and other countries. Police tactical units often use boilersuits as a uniform, for instance the French police unit Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité, and the Austrian units EKO Cobra and WEGA. Similar coveralls made of Nomex in olive drab (and more recently, desert tan) are also used by the crews of armoured fighting vehicles in the US Army and Marine 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More form fitting coveralls with many zippered pockets, originally made of cotton treated for flame resistance, but made of Nomex since the late 1960s, have been used as since the beginning of World War II.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.
Japanese have been known to use boiler suits to convey an public relations of preparedness.
Coveralls called student 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 the slasher film subgenre, being worn by Michael Myers of the Halloween films.
Pete Townshend of The Who frequently wore a white boiler suit during performances and in publicity photographs from 1969-71.
The Church of Scientology has punished Sea Org members in the Rehabilitation Project Force by making them wear black boiler suits.
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