Abstract: Protective clothing (12) comprising a protective layer (14) for providing protection from blows, and spacer members (16) for spacing the protective layer (14) from that part of a person's body being protected by the protective layer (14); and the protective clothing (12) being such that: (i) the spacer members (16) are made of a resilient material for providing comfort during use of the protective clothing; (ii) the spacer members (16) are 10-25 mm in depth for promoting optimum air flow between the protective clothing and the part of the person's body to be protected; (iii) the spacer members (16) are of a shape which minimises their resistance to the air flow through the spacing; (iv) the protective layer (14) is made of a rigid or semi-rigid material; (v) the protective layer (14) is curved for conforming to that part of the persons body to be protected; and (vi) the protective layer (14) has an inner surface (18) which is formed to minimise resistance to the air flow through the spacing.