A onesie () is a type of a loose-fitting casual

jumpsuit A jumpsuit is a one-piece garment with sleeves and legs and typically without integral coverings for feet, hands or head. The original jump suit is the functional one-piece garment used by parachuting, parachuters. The original skydivers' j ...

for adults made of

knit Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...

cotton (as used in

sweatshirt A sweatshirt is a long-sleeved pullover shirt fashioned out of thick, usually cotton cloth material. Sweatshirts are almost exclusively casual attire and hence not as dressy as some sweaters. Sweatshirts may or may not have a hood. A sweatshirt w ...

s), fleece, or chenille. They are mostly intended as

loungewear Casual wear (or casual attire or clothing) is a Western dress code that is relaxed, occasional, spontaneous and suited for everyday use. Casual wear became popular in the Western world following the counterculture of the 1960s. When emphasis ...

sleepwear Nightwear – also called sleepwear, or nightclothes – is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. The style of nightwear worn may vary with the seasons, with warmer styles being worn in colder conditions and vice versa. Some style ...

, but have gained significant popularity as stylish

streetwear Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk, skateboarding and Japanese street fashion. Eventually hau ...

, especially in the UK and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, becoming increasingly popular during the late 2000s and early 2010s as a

street fashion Street fashion is fashion that is considered to have emerged not from studios, but from the grassroots streetwear. Street fashion is generally associated with youth culture, and is most often seen in major urban centers. Magazines and Newspapers ...

. In 2016 the onesie also appeared in Switzerland. After Onesies lost importance, in the UK the Onesie makes a comeback in the 2022 energy crisis to save heating costs as a warm and comfortable garment.

Etymology

The term "onesies" (with an s at the end) is a

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

for

infant bodysuit An infant bodysuit or onesie (American English) is a garment designed to be worn by babies much like a T-shirt; they are distinguished from T-shirts by an extension below the waist, with snaps that allow it to be closed over the crotch. The purp ...

s that is owned by Gerber Childrenswear LLC, and the term is used generically for

s in the US. There is little in common between the infant onesies and an adult onesie: the former is usually sleeveless and legless and snaps or buttons at the

crotch In humans, the crotch is the bottom of the pelvis (the region of the body where the legs join the torso) and is often considered to include the groin and genitals. Etymology ''Crotch'' is derived from ''crutch''; it "was first used in 1539 to ...

. In 2008, when casual jumpsuits became increasingly popular, the press started discrediting them as "adult onesies," and the name seems to have

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust, and then sediment transport, tra ...

to a generic word, dropping the final "S" in the process.

Kigurumi

Onesie, Brighton Pride 2013 (9429177989)

A type of onesie known as ''kigurumi'' (着ぐるみ), or "

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

pajamas", emerged as

Japanese street fashion Japanese street fashion refers to a number of styles of contemporary modern clothing in Japan. Created from a mix of both local and foreign fashion brands, Japanese street fashions tend to have their own distinctive style, with some considered t ...

and spread outside

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in 2009 when they were exported by the Kigu company. ''Kigurumi'' can also refer to a

costumed character A costumed performer or suit performer wears a costume that usually, (but not always) covers the performer's face, typically to represent a non-human character such as a mascot or cartoon character. These range from theme park "walk-around" or "m ...

, and these types of clothing resemble various types of animals, similar to a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

costume. They became popular worldwide, in particular following a

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

twerking Twerking (; possibly from 'to work') is a type of dance that came out of the bounce music scene of New Orleans in the late 1980s. Individually performed chiefly but not exclusively by women, performers dance to popular music in a sexually provo ...

while wearing a

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

''kigurumi''.

References

{{Clothing One-piece suits 2010s fashion

Etymology

Kigurumi

See also

References