Beekeeper overall 100% cotton, no veil

01 · THE SIZE

One up, and mind the length if you are tall

It is the question we get most, and it has two parts. First: the coverall is worn over your clothes and cotton shrinks with hot washes, so you take one size up from your usual and, if you are between two, the larger. Second is the length: from 1.80 m upwards the rise and the sleeves come up short even in the large sizes, and that is not solved by going up in width. Washing cold is what keeps the garment its size.

02 · WHY COTTON

It absorbs, it breathes and it lasts

Cotton takes up the moisture from your body instead of repelling it: it does not cling to the skin and it lets the sweat evaporate, which is what makes a long day bearable. It also resists abrasion and repeated hot washes — something a ventilated fabric, cooler but more delicate, does not always take. It is the work coverall of a lifetime, and still the one with the best strength-to-price ratio.

03 · IT COMES WITHOUT A VEIL

And that is what you are buying

There is no veil on purpose: this is the body of the suit, for someone who already has a veil in good condition — round or fencing — and needs to replace the garment. It works out a good deal cheaper than a whole suit and saves you piling up spare veils in the store. If you have none, count on buying one separately before the first visit.

04 · LOOKING AFTER IT

Wash it more than you think

The zip and the elastic at cuffs and ankles are what stop a bee from getting in; check them before each season. And wash the coverall often: the venom from stings stays in the fabric, and its smell puts the colony on edge at the next visit — so a clean garment is also a garment that gets stung less.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

No veil included. 100% cotton fabric at 280 g, with three front pockets and one at the back, machine washable.