A catsuit is a one-piece form-fitting garment that covers the torso and the legs, and frequently the arms. They are usually made from stretchable material, such as lycra, chiffon, spandex, latex, or velour, but may use less elastic materials, such as leather or PVC. Catsuits frequently close by means of a zipper at the front or back. While most commonly worn by women, men sometimes wear catsuits as well. A catsuit is regarded as outerwear, but not normally street wear.
History and use
Catsuits were occasionally worn as a fashion item at various times from the 1960s to the 1990s. During the 1970s and 1980s, they were worn for aerobics and disco dancing. Around 1980, disco dance catsuits briefly became a street fashion item in the United Kingdom. Athletes in sports such as speed skating, bobsled, winter triathlon, ski-racing, cycling, bodyflight and gymnastics wear garments similar to catsuits, called unitards, which are specifically geared to the needs of the sport involved. Also similar in appearance are wetsuits and drysuits used by scuba divers, and the speedsuits used by competitive swimmers before the more extreme forms of the suit were banned. Also, in tennisSerena Williams would sometimes wear catsuits, two examples are the 2002 US Open and the 2018 French Open. The name "catsuit" is attributed only since about 1955 or 1960. The origin of the name is unknown; it may refer to a slinky, catlike aspect given the wearer by some versions.
In comics and their spin-off movies, catsuits are often worn by superheroes of both sexes. One well-known icon is Catwoman, the villainess/anti-heroine of the Batman series, and a heroine in the Batman series, Batgirl, also wore catsuits. The Black Panther of Marvel Comics counts as a male example.
The lead female characters of the Underworldfilm series and The Matrix wore catsuits.
Female villains and heroines in spy films may wear catsuits, such as the Baroness and Scarlett in '.
An iconic use of catsuits in popular media was on the British television showThe Avengers, where Cathy Gale and Emma Peel wore tight leather catsuits; leather was chosen because it lit well in studio lighting and did not split during action scenes.
Shirley Bassey wore a sleeveless chiffon catsuit for a gatefold album photograph, and in concert.
