A ski suit is a suit made to be worn over the rest of the clothes when skiing. A ski suit made for more casual winter wear outdoors may also be called a snowsuit.
A ski suit can either be one-piece, in the form of a jumpsuit, or two-piece, in the form of a ski jacket and matching trousers, called salopettes (or ski pants).
A ski suit is made from wind- and water-resistant or water-proof fabric, and has a non-removable liner made of nylon, silk, cotton or taffeta. Its main function is to keep a person warm while participating in winter sports, especially Nordic (cross-country) or Alpine (down-hill) skiing. It is generally a unisex garment.
A ski suit is usually made to keep the body warm (sometimes partly due to a suitable silvery colour that as a result increases its thermal conductivity), but the user often wears warm underwear too. It can also be used for alpine racing to improve aerodynamics. Ski suits made for speed skiing and alpine skiing might be very thin and skintight, adding as little air resistance as possible to the body.
A ski jacket covers the arms and torso. It can be a separate item or part of a ski suit together with matching salopettes.
From the introduction of ski jackets in the middle to late 1950s through the early 1980s, the dominant style was for a ski jacket to resemble a safari jacket in having a similar belt and shirt-like collar.
A similar garment, especially one with a hood, may be called a parka, anorak, down jacket or winter shell.
Ski suits and snow suits are a natural part of some sporting events. There are also some events, which emphasize the use of the snowsuit as such. At the annual winter outdoor music festival Igloofest in Montreal in Canada, there is a contest for wearers of one-piece suits.
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