The right beekeeping clothes are essential, especially for beginners. As you become more experienced you will tend to wear less and less specialist beekeeping clothes, and some more experienced beekeepers wear only they usual clothing (but I would advise always wearing a hat and veil at the minimum).
You will notice that bee suits tend to be white. This is a good colour to wear as the bees do not see it as a threat. The reason for that is that a bees natural predator normally comes in darker colours (bears for example) so bees react more aggressively to those types of colours and shapes.
The lesson here is to make sure you are wearing light coloured beekeeping clothes (even if you are not wearing a specialist suit.
Beekeeping Clothes - The Suit:
Whilst I no longer wear specialist beekeeping clothes, I would recommend that you do try and get yourself a suit or at least the best hat and veil that you can afford. If you are a beginner it is best to feel as safe as possible so you enjoy the experience all the more. It is not advisable to buy a veil only, try and get a full suit or atleast a jacket or smock with built in veil.
A word of warning: try and avoid the older style veils as they have netting all around the back and can cause problems when the netting folds inwards letting the odd bee sting the back of your neck. Try and get one that has a fabric back and looks a bit like a fencing helmet, it is sometimes called the astronaut suit.
Beekeeping Clothes - The Gloves:
Normally a suit will come packaged with gauntlet type gloves. These will certainly protect your hands from stings but are very cumbersome, making it difficult to manipulate the hive efficiently, thus causing more stress and aggrevation to the bees. A better solution is to use marigolds or even blue medical gloves if you can lay your hands on them.
Beekeeping Clothes - The Veils:
Once you become a more experienced bee beekeeper, you may find that a veil and gloves are all you need. That being the case, make sure you get a high quality veil.
