Athletic Gear: Full Body Apparel

In the previous Athletic Gear articles, we've managed to see what tops and bottoms go with which sports or activities, and why they do. Some athletic endeavors, however, call for complete suits that do the job of supporting both upper and lower parts of the body at the same time. They're bought either as a pair, counted as single article of athletic clothing, or literally worn in one piece. Let's take a look at some athletic full body apparel.

Tracksuits consist of a jacket and a pair of pants. Sweatsuits are also two-piece athletic clothing that consist of a sweater/sweatshirt and sweatpants [link]. Both serve similar purposes, although tracksuits are often worn over the actual athletic attire whether during workout sessions, trainings, or competitions. Sweatsuits are often made in gray, but nowadays can be seen in any shade imaginable, especially since they have moved out of the for-athletic-wear-only category and can be worn on their own.

Swimsuits, also called bathing suits ("bathers") or swimming costumes ("cozzies") are usually skin-tight garments for water-related activities and sports such as swimming, surfing, wakeboarding, etc. Nowadays men's swimsuits consist only of clothing that covers the crotch area (see Athletic Gear: Bottoms). For women, one-piece or two-piece swimsuits are available and differ in the amount of skin area they cover. Terms in women's swimsuits include monokinis, tank suits (typical one piece suits), sling bikinis, and pretzel suits for one-piece suits, and bikinis, tankinis, thongs, t-backs, and g-strings for two-piece suits. (Note that the last three suits are also applicable to men's wear!)

But while swimsuits have evolved quickly to cover as little skin as possible, in sports such as diving, surfing, sailing, powerboating, waterskiing, caving, triathlon, and swimming, design for this type of athletic gear is a little different. Such suits are made to protect the wearer from extreme conditions such as pressure, cold temperatures, and abrasion from foreign objects. Full-body suits of this type include wetsuits, drysuits, semi-dry suits, hot water suits, dive skins, and a combination of one or more of them. Wetsuit variations include: shorties/spring suits, jackets, beavertails, long johns, and your usual full suits/steamers.

Leotards are similar in elasticity to wetsuits and swimsuits. It is a one-piece athletic garment that covers the upper body and the pelvic/crotch area, and not the leg area. It is similar to a bathing suit but is used in acrobatics, gymnastics, ballet, and other dancing/performing activities. In certain occasions they are worn with tights, sometimes even leggings. Leotards can have long sleeves, short sleeves, or no sleeves. Unitards take leotards a step further and provide the leg portion for the apparel.

Finally, athletic uniforms fall under this classification. Most of these are tops and bottoms carefully designed mechanically and aesthetically to work in harmony, while some are one-piece suits that cover the whole body. Depending on the sport, there are official specifications for the different characteristics of these uniforms (e.g., measurements, material, construction, and other statistics or ratings). These uniforms are often called "jerseys" as well.