ST201903

B

utton yourself up in a boiler suit

and you’re ready for anything.

This is a garment that says

‘no-nonsense’ like no other.

Unlike its more glamorous relative, the

jumpsuit (fitted, made of lighter material),

a boiler suit is loose and a bit slouchy. It has

several roomy pockets – including two at

the rear and a long, thin pocket to slip a

hammer into – and wide-legged trousers

that can be easily rolled up. It is utilitarian

in a way that appeals to modern sensibilities

• to those who love a cross-back twill apron,
  a pair of stout boots and a good leather belt.
  Ideal for grown-up tomboys, a boiler suit
  can be worn with a pair of trainers and, if
  loose enough, several layers of clothing
  beneath. (It can also be dressed up with a
  cinched belt, jewellery and heels for an
  androgynous, after-hours look.) It’s a
  don’t-mess-with-me outfit. A khaki,
  multi-zipped, military boiler suit was worn
  by Ellen Ripley as she grappled with the
  slithery Alien; Suzi Quatro zipped herself
  into a leather version as she Canned the
  Can; and feminist icon Rosie the Riveter
  wore a denim one as she headed to work in
  factories and shipyards during the Second
  WorldWar.Aboilersuitkicksass.
  Asitsnamesuggests,theboilersuitwas

SIMPLE STYLE

THE BOILER SUIT

THE UPDATE

Words:CLARE GOGERTY

Indigo cotton twill jumpsuit | £195

They call it a jumpsuit but it’s roomy and has

got carpenter pockets so it’s a boiler

suit in our book. toa.st

Pennan coveralls | £125

Attractive colour and with an adjustable waist so

you can crearte a more feminine silhouette

than a welder’s, say. finisterre.com

Workwear boiler suit | £79

Black, with contrasting stitching and a buckle

belt for a dash of utilitarian style.

stories.com

THE

CLASSIC

TWO

GREAT

TWISTS

first worn by men who maintained

coal-fired boilers on locomotives and

other steam-powered vehicles. This

hot and dirty work often involved

scrambling into the boiler through the

firehole, a process hindered by loose

clothing which snagged on fenders,

gaped, and let in soot. A one-piece

garment that covered the entire body

and had no lapels or extraneous

detailing was the streamlined solution.

The practicality of the boiler suit

has meant that it has been adopted

by various members of society, from

US prisoners, to Winston Churchill

(who wore a velvet version of his

‘sirensuit’ on special occasions),

painters and decorators, astronauts,

Ghostbusters, and teenager murderer

Michael Myers in Halloween. But they

do not concern us here.

New versions of this old workwear

staple are more about getting dressed

in a jiffy and roaming comfortably

about with pockets full of useful

things, than climbing a ladder with a

pot of paint or clambering into a steam

locomotive engine. Although, due to

the boiler suit’s eminent practicality,

those continue to remain an option.

“You’re ready for anything.

This is a garment that says

‘no nonsense’ like no other” PHOTOGRAPHY: REX FEATURES

Practical and

a little bit sexy,

too, who

wouldn’t want

a boiler suit?