shell suitn.
/ˈʃɛl suːt/, /ˈʃɛl sjuːt/, U.S. /ˈʃɛl ˌsut/ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [noun] > for specific people > for boys
skeleton suit1836
button-up1839
shell suit1860
trouser suit1864
monkey suit1876
skeleton1879
1860 Leics. Mercury 22 Dec. 8/4 The following tenders were accepted [by the Board of Guardians]:—..Boy's suits, 9s. 6d., shell suits, 4s. 6d.
1893 H. Vizetelly Glances Back I. ii. 33 The Clapham pedagogue was a great stickler for corporal punishment in the case of small boys, and to the administration of this the shell suits then worn lent themselves admirably.
2. Chiefly British. A lightweight casual outfit, similar to a tracksuit, consisting of a loose-fitting jacket and trousers with a thin, soft inner lining and a water-resistant outer shell of synthetic material.Shell suits were particularly popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [noun] > other
shiftc1570
under-suita1586
doublet and hose1603
siropa1671
frock-clothes1769
costume1797
poncho dress1811
tongs1845
Eton suit1859
sailor's suit1869
Prince Albert1873
Norfolk suit1880
sailor suit1880
ready-made1882
Etons1888
buster suit1903
Mallaby-Deeley1920
tiddly suit1943
utility1945
shell suit1973
Mao suit1993
gansey2009
1973 Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail 31 Oct. (advt.) Comfortable nylon shell suit lined with nylon tricot, filled with Dacron 88 polyester.
1990 Littlewoods Catal. Spring 416/2 (caption) This fully lined shell suit combines comfort and practicality with the latest sports fashion.
1995 B. Bryson Notes from Small Island (1996) i. 34 Calais is an interesting place that exists solely for the purpose of giving English people in shell suits somewhere to go for the day.
2007 R. Millward Apples viii. 78 He had on an eighties-looking black and green shellsuit.
Derivatives
ˈshell-suited adj. chiefly British wearing a shell suit (sense 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > wearing a suit or set of clothes > types of
pyjamaed1883
blue-suited1884
bloomered1895
zoot-suited1942
bikinied1959
sailor-suited1960
trouser-suited1966
sack-suited1978
shell-suited1991
1991 Independent 10 Aug. 6/4 The four shell-suited boys from Bristol.
1994 Daily Tel. 15 Aug. 11/6 Watching the Yeomen Warders posing politely for photographs with an endless stream of shell-suited visitors.
2000 Cornish World Oct. 10/2 Estuary Essex, the dialect of the shell-suited wide boy.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1860