why Finnish student wear "overalls" in parties?

One of my first shocks when I arrived Turku is that most of students here were wearing like "workclothing" me and my friends from were really surprised. If you are in party or an student event in Turku, Helsinki or another city in Finland you always are going to see this "overalls". Also is really traditional to wear "vappu" which is a graduation cap for Finnish students.

The students and the vappu: how it all started

The origin of the garment is not Finnish, but Swedish, and dates from the 70s of the last century. I have read Swedish students wanted to party immediately after their laboratory classes, and therefore did not stop or take off their lab coveralls to go to the bar.

Since then, thanks to word of mouth, it became tradition and these overall became the official uniform of the party during the next decade, where he arrived in Finland (to the Espoo Technological University) in 1979 from the hand of a game of Swedish exchange students. The Finns, at the beginning of the 80s, began to adapt it, until today almost every university student will have one. In Finnish the word for "student overall" is opiskelijahaalari or haalarit.

The boilersuits or overalls are obtained in the student associations of each faculty during the first year, and are used for university events ... and for parties. According to Wikipedia since the 90s it remains a popular custom, although it has declined a bit since overall are sometimes seen as a sign of a lifestyle bordering on alcoholism the national problem of Finland and in the bad behavior of drunks (as we mentioned in the post about the excesses of Vappu), to the point that some bars and clubs prohibit the entrance to anyone wearing the overalls. The overall and their colors although the tradition was born in the laboratory, suits are no longer used to study or work, but to party.

The fabric of these overalls is hard, to withstand years of abuse by its owner, who will normally be under the influence of alcohol. Said fabric is, therefore, of very good quality and to a certain extent impermeable.

Customization of the overall is part of the scene. The basic jumpsuit is quite flat, so it is normal to add - factory or by the student himself - extras such as zippers, pockets, the logo of the faculty or announcements of companies that sponsor the faculties (what is useful, everything in technology, as an effort for students to find work in Finland), see here an example.

The customization reaches its climax with the patches (haalarimerkki in Finnish). Nobody knows who started the tradition of putting patches, but practically every Finnish takes them in the overall. The patches are not random, those of the grandmother, but they tend to be loaded with meaning: where the bearer has been, what he likes, who are his friends ... even knowing to which political party he votes if you will. As for the colors, each faculty has its own within the same university (which can make two different faculties have the same color ... but they are in different universities and cities of the country).

That's why the ESN - Erasmus Student Network - from Finland has taken out overalls for Erasmus students. This way they can recognize each other when they party easily from a distance (it is also true that only by going to their side and listening to the language they speak are easily recognized, but for the Finnish party spirit, it is also good that they have their own overalls).

Finally, The colour that I like most is the lighter blue and if you are thinking to buy one of this the cost is about 40 euros with the ESN so buy them and you will be perfectly integrated!