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Is this Camino clothing heresy?

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David

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Time of past OR future Camino
First one in 2005 from Moissac, France.
Hi all - will be going off to Camino beginning of April .. sorting gear (yes, already - as if I don't already have it!).

Now, I am not a fan of "hiking uniforms", gear with expensive designer labels and am thinking of changing my clothing from my usual cheap cargo shorts and shirts to a short sleeved boiler suit .... long legs, but we are supposed to cover them now anyway.

It can't be just me that doesn't like being strapped in to a pair of shorts with underpants beneath? Belt cinching tight to stop them dropping down, hot and sweaty, and so on - did try a kilt once and that was lovely under there but lacked pockets ... and! the legs are not flappy loose but loose enough to roll up to knee height - great for under a cape in the rain.

So, a lightweight hot weather boiler suit - can wear naked under except for underpants or layer under as needed .. lovely and loose and cool around the groin area so fab for males and females, full zip, pockets, what's not to like?
Oh - males .. they have a long zip that ends very low indeed so much easier for when we get the liquid nature call.
Light, easy to wash and dries quickly - I could take two, one off one on ...

but is it heresy? will I be fashion shamed? - will people expect me to fix their broken down car or sort their plumbing as I pass?
or am I starting a trend???

This sort of thing (I could unpick the Dickies label). Brown for me, obviously.
 
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J Willhaus said:
For women you'd have to completely undress to go to the bathroom unless you could figure out how use one of those stand up to pee things without getting urine all over you...

I would not chose this as Camino-wear.
Click to expand...

You may or may not have noticed, but I am male - and females often wear onesies, cat suits, leotards, etc.
 
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What is the fabric? Does it breathe? Will it dry overnight?

Wear whatever you like, but I would test the outfit out over multiple walks to make sure it is not too hot, or uncomfortable. I'd also handwash it and hang it in a damp, cool room to see how long it takes to dry without a breeze or sunlight.
 
I think folk may be taking this a little too seriously .. although referring to a practical garment it is a light hearted post - you can read the jokes in it

on a more serious practical level, based on my user experience over many years, decades - I have two boiler suits, a lightweight synthetic summer one and a heavier winter weight one. I wear them metal detecting in all weathers on farmland, when working on the car, painting, etc - they are probably the most comfortable article of clothing you can get - and yes, the summer ones dry quickly, and yes, they are cool.
 
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Personally, I wouldn't choose a jumpsuit* for my walk for the same reason I decided against an all-in-one combination washer + dryer for my laundry closet: if one part breaks — or in this case, stains or rips — the whole thing becomes unusable. And surely the weight difference between an extra suit and the corresponding separate pants + shirt combo is negligible, no?

*This is the first time I've ever heard the term "boiler suit", btw! It's rather evocative, even if it makes me feel sweaty just reading it
 
You probably need to ask why other people don't wear them.. I'm guessing they're impractical for a long walk.

Braces (US: suspenders) with shorts make more sense if a belt is the only issue

Underwear underneath is mainly for hygiene reasons as you can change/wash&dry underwear more frequently than an entire outfit.
 
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SeñorJacques said:
This is the first time I've ever heard the term "boiler suit", btw! It's rather evocative, even if it makes me feel sweaty just reading it
Click to expand...
Me, too!
We used to call them Mechanic's suits. For women, they were a fashion style in the 70's called Jumpsuits, but no work was involved. I think they've possibly made a recent comeback...oh dear!
 
Camino Chrissy said:
Me, too!
We used to call them Mechanic's suits. For women, they were a fashion style in the 70's called Jumpsuits, but no work was involved. I think they've possibly made a recent comeback...oh dear!
Click to expand...

England had the first industrial revolution coal-fired machines heating water boilers to make steam - boiler suits were invented about then as the workwear for those industries .. now we hear coverall and other terms but as I was born in 1848 (yep) and grew up in the heyday of steam I still call them boiler suits.

Re females wearing them - think about getting dressed in the morning - one piece of clothing! and the same one every day! Or buy seven in different colours.
and there are plenty of fashion ones for females now, whole shop ranges dedicated to them - I think they need a zipped flap down there for women but really is only shrugging off the shoulders section isn't it? Though - the design in this photo has the lowest zip I have ever seen - for anatomical practical reasons? Easy she-wee use? Not sure what the waist belt is for ...

I wonder if I should get a matching handbag like that rather than my little cross-over shoulder documents bag?

 
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David said:
Re females wearing them - think about getting dressed in the morning - one piece of clothing! and the same one every day!
Click to expand...
Just two other reasons why women won't use them, I suppose...

I think they could be hot (as in warm) and not very practical. I hope I don't have to walk with you if you choose that outfit...
 
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That female suit looks pretty good if the person wearing it has a 20" waIst.
 
I am almost certain you would be the first pilgrim to complete a Camino, in a boiler suit (short sleeved and slightly resembling something out of Clock-work Orange), whilst commando style (although not sure who is going to volunteer to confirm such detail).

It is the stuff Camino legends are made of.
 
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David said:
So, a lightweight hot weather boiler suit - can wear naked under except for underpants or layer under as needed .. lovely and loose and cool around the groin area so fab for males and females, full zip, pockets, what's not to like?
Click to expand...
Not sure if I would dare to bend over to pick up a lost item if you were standing behind me...
 
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Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
So there are a number of Camino Clubs....the Electric Coil Club, the Sandals-n-Socks-Sisters, the Pacer Pole Proponents.....all of which have a reasonable membership, even if they have all been quiet of late. I wonder how many will join the Commando Club. You can be the President @David
 
:::chuckle::: I wore real flight suits ( not wing suits, which is the picture) for work back in the long ago, and I wear modern coveralls for farm work.

Since they're not gusseted and the zippers aren't long enough around, I would *never* go commando, nor would I take them on Camino.

But it was a fun thought exercise. Thanks, David
 
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Wore the exact same things years ago while out at sea onboard my submarine in the US Navy. Easy on easy off in emergencies
 
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I think it’s a great way of ensuring lots of alone time for reflection while walking. Maybe choose a neon colour for visibility. Very practical?
 
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Back in 1976 England enjoyed (media said suffered) a fantastic heat wave - seriously hot temps day and night for ages ... I found this photo, me in that summer .. so maybe looks like I am not thinking new but reliving my past!
In Bath, I was one of the core organisers of what then was the largest community festival in Europe - on three sites, over ten days, in excess of 26,000 people - we were busy.

I was 28 - do I not look cool? With my covered legs, and, yes, not quite orange but mainly bright yellow! Yellow clothes, blue bag - crikey! Camino colours!
(Thinks: ~Maybe buy a lightweight white cotton one and die it bright yellow!)

Way to go I say - forget all the expensive hiking uniform brands, go independent and free .... oh, hang on! If I do this do I open the door for the London Marathon sort of thing where pilgrims do the Camino dressed as chickens and telephone boxes?


 
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Oh I do hope so!!
 
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A kilt, yes.
But I do remember liking these in the heat - in my 20s I worked for an equine vet, and that was our uniform. Very cool, very comfortable. So why not? Everyone else can laugh but that's their loss. It's the guy who has the last laugh who wins.

Much as the cool crowd might not like to admit it, we all look pretty funny - and tech funny is no less funny than boilersuit funny.
 
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Wow, David! Shades of Damien Lewis happening here!
 
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ginniek said:
And speaking of military, Churchill provided leadership during World War II, from his bunker and wearing a boiler suit, which I think I read was white.
Click to expand...
I wonder how long his boiler suit stayed white for ginniek … think of all that cigar ash!
 
JennyH94 said:
Depends on the shade of orange Robo! There’s a particular shade of orange that will be very attractive to the Guardia Civil, if you know what I mean … especially if there’s been a prison breakout nearby!!!
Click to expand...

Hmm. My intention. I think the Orange suggestion went over his head
 
I own a boiler suit and love wearing it for painting and messy DIY jobs. It had just come out of the wash when this post appeared. Looking at it with fresh eyes as it hung on the clothesline, I could see how it might work on camino.
1. There's a long thin pocket down one leg which would be perfect for holding a long thin chorizo.
2. The sturdy fabric would give good protection to female pilgrims forging through dense bushes in search of a sufficiently screened spot to strip naked in order to answer a call of nature.
3. At night you could put some form of insulation, maybe balls of crumpled newspaper, into the ample space between suit and body to create a sleeping suit so you wouldn't need to carry a sleeping bag.
4. After a rainstorm there'd be no need to fill up your water bottle as you could just suck the suit for moisture.
5. Err............
 
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Orange Boiler suits remind me overwhelming of two things!!

1 - The good one - the wonderfully entertaining Dutch fans of their national team at World Cups and European Championships.

2 - The bad one - people who have been apprehended carrying drugs into Denpasar, Bali are always presented to the media in orange boiler suits.

Orange is (or maybe was!!) your colour!
 
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But David - we all know your VERY dry sense of humor. So, most of the readers may have missed the humor embedded in your post. I caught it on the second read. But, that is only because we are long-time acquaintances.

I can just see newbies showing up on Camino in these onsies. Their excuse being - "I read it on the Forum." Isn't youth and inexperience wonderful - wasted on the young?

Thank you for infusing my morning with light and humor.
 
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ginniek said:
I'm only familiar with the US Marine Corps, and pilots and air crew all wear one-piece jump suits, but in a fashionable sort of khaki/olive green color--kind of like the Navy pilots in Top Gun.
Click to expand...
My oldest son, in the US Air Force flew the KC-135 refueling jets, wearing those olive green jumpsuits. He is a Lt. Colonel and has recently chosen to retire at age 47 after 25 years of service.
 
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You could also wear a matching hard hat to finish the outfit off, it's just a pity you're not called Dickie, but I would be worried that you'll be given lots of jobs to do around the albergues or that you're one of the Village people you don't have a large moustache? I have attached current gentlemen's trends in fashionable boilersuits if fashion is a concern.
 

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Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
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Camino Chrissy said:
My oldest son, in the US Air Force flew the KC-135 refueling jets, wearing those olive green jumpsuits. He is a Lt. Colonel and has recently chosen to retire at age 47 after 25 years of service.
Click to expand...
How could you POSSIBLY have a 47 year old son? I mean, I KNOW you!

No way you resemble that status in life!

That said, your son was courageous to fly those flying gas stations. Most people do not know just how dangerous it is. Thank you for his service.
 
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Camino Chrissy said:
That is one sharp looking kilt! I'd wear it as a woman, but it looks a tad heavy for a Camino.
Do you have its weight available in "stones"?
Click to expand...

No weight given (you are assuming two stones??? ) but it is 100% cotton. Interestingly a part of the description is "and have plenty of space to store valuable items" - but doesn't mention whether they mean under the kilt or in the side pockets
 
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pjacobi said:
Cotton kills! Google to find out why.


-Paul
Click to expand...

Ah, that is mainly nonsense, firstly it is about inadequately equipped hikers (usually novices), often the dead ones so there is no way of counting the countless successful bad weather hikers who had no problem wearing cotton and went safely home, and also is about serious wild country hiking, not strolling down a civilised pathway with thousands of other people through pretty villages and countryside.
 
Such good common sense!
 
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Hi,

Just one thing : you will have to wash - and dry! - the whole of it. With a more conventional attire, your daily washing is only your t-shirt and underwear.
 
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NavyBlue said:
Hi,

Just one thing : you will have to wash - and dry! - the whole of it. With a more conventional attire, your daily washing is only your t-shirt and underwear.
Click to expand...

Well, my last kilt I never washed it, just sponge cleaned it - how often does one wash a rain coat? and although the pleats are sewn in so they stay in shape and in place they can be 'pressed' by careful closing them in and putting a weight on top (such as a mattress) and they can be cool temp ironed - but what is wrong with ironing?

Dry clean rather than wash though. - but what is all this to do with short sleeved boiler suits??
 
"what is all this to do with short sleeved boiler suits??" : my comment was... about boiler suits, not kilts.
 
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David said:
You may or may not have noticed, but I am male - and females often wear onesies, cat suits, leotards, etc.
Click to expand...
My vote would be “nay” to a boiler suit. If you have to use the facilities for, unh…a more complicated relief of nature, boiler suits always seem to wind up getting on the floor of the lavatory, making one’s…task…far more complicated than one would like.

I appreciate the desire to get away from belts though, belts are basically tourniquets around our waist. A possible solution, go to Amazon and look up “comfort suspenders” or some such. Dickies has them, as do Perry. It isn’t a regular clip on suspenders
(which never stay attached) but ones with plastic clips that hold up the belt that you are wearing. They are very good for pulling your pants up, so to speak, and you can use them with diffevent belts. Firmer belts are best… Thus your belt can be loose, and your pants are held up. There is a variation that has the webbing under your armpits, rather like a holster and are nicely compatible with a backpack.

Failing that… go for the cat suit. You’ll make all kinds of friends on the path with that.
 
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Not for me... I prefer shorts, whatever the weather
 
David, your overalls look a little warm. I think something with a bit more space would work better. As a female, undressing to wee is also a consideration, so I think overalls in a lightweight cotton are the way to go - with a singlet underneath. 'Overland Overalls '
 
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It looks like they come with a logo patch on the breast. It would have to be the scallop then eh.
 
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Actually, a boiler suit is overalls with a bib front and braces from the belt line at the back. The photos above are short-sleeve overalls, or coveralls. Although this is somewhat pedantic.
 
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Hi,

By the way : backpacks are to be carried with a belt, if not on the very light side.
 
SoulDesire said:
Actually, a boiler suit is overalls with a bib front and braces from the belt line at the back. The photos above are short-sleeve overalls, or coveralls. Although this is somewhat pedantic. View attachment 162291
Click to expand...
Interesting! I’ve always known this style (with bib and shoulder straps) as dungarees, while the full ‘suit’ of a shirt and trousers joined in the middle is a boiler suit. I wonder how many other terms there are?
 
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LindaH said:
Interesting! I’ve always known this style (with bib and shoulder straps) as dungarees, while the full ‘suit’ of a shirt and trousers joined in the middle is a boiler suit. I wonder how many other terms there are?
Click to expand...
That is pretty much how it works in the UK too. Dungarees are often denim material. They were fashionable for a period back in the day especially when a band called ‘Dexys Midnight Runners’ had a smash hit called ‘C’mon Eileen’ back in the early 80s and wore them!

Anyone for those wanting or even needing more…

Dungarees are back - in pictures

Sales soar as trend-setters make the 'overall' an essential part of this summer's wardrobe
www.theguardian.com
 
Makes sense - UK and Australian English aligning! Who was it that described UK and US as ‘divided by a common language’?? Is the term dungarees used in US?
 
J Willhaus said:
We call the bib style overalls and the full suit style coveralls. Never heard of a boiler suit until this thread.
Click to expand...
Yea in UK overalls in more common and used more. Boiler suit is used less and maybe is a bit more trendy. As usual in the UK, the word ‘boiler’ has a million meaning from ‘bunny boiler’ of Glenn Close fame, to ‘old boiler’ a 70s horrible phrase to describe an unattractive older woman.
 
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Dungarees were the term for WWII Navy work pants per my father-in-law a now deceased WWII veteran. Old fashioned term for jeans--very old fashioned and before my time.
 
A bit off topic, but still about different names for clothing, depending on what country we are from.
In the US (midwest) a sweater is a knitted top for men and women, usually worn for warmth. In the UK sweaters are called jumpers, which is strange to me because in the US a jumper is overalls, but instead of pants, the bottom part is a dress.
 
Well jumper is the most common word, but we do say sweaters and even pullovers.
 
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Enough of this tom foolery ... time to get serious I think ... so ... I still dislike expensive brand name hiking uniforms and maybe it is all too raggedy out there, giving pilgrims a bad name so I may wear this outfit instead .... if I can find a matching sun hat ...

 

Oh @David, I don’t think those shoes would work well.
 
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LindaH said:
Is the term dungarees used in US?
Click to expand...

J Willhaus said:
Dungarees were the term for WWII Navy work pants per my father-in-law a now deceased WWII veteran. Old fashioned term for jeans--very old fashioned and before my time.
Click to expand...

Growing up in New England (the US version) that's the word I used for blue jeans. I think that's the word used that was commonly used there but my father was in the Navy SeaBees (Construction Battalion) and would have worn them and brought the name home with him. I haven't heard the word used in decades but I'm now in the Boston area and there is a different vocabulary here anyway. I may think or use the word but rarely.
 
You could dip/dye the top half a separate color of your choice, this would blend in more and avoid the " can you fix this" comments. Perhaps have a tailor/dressmaker install vents at appropriate locations.
 
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