Fashion and disability

Chloe_Alumni
Chloe_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 10,506 Championing
edited October 2020 in Everyday life
As part of World Cerebral Palsy (CP) Day I wanted to share my thoughts around disability and fashion. 

For me, fashion has been a crucial method of expressing myself. I love the 1950's style and would love to wear a beautiful vintage dress every single day. Yet I can't ignore the fact that my disability has impacted this.

Expressing myself

I'm fully aware that my disability is quite visible. I have cerebral palsy which gives me a distinctive walking pattern, I also use a long cane. As a result, you will probably see my disability before you see me. When I was younger this used to really bother me. Yet through my love of vintage I was able to have some control over what people saw. To be known for colourful dresses suited me just fine.

When I was at university I fell in love with the colour mustard. In particularly, I had this mustard coat that I wore everywhere! It quickly became my trade mark. This might seem insignificant, yet I was so used to 'the disabled one'. So this was a very refreshing change. 

Coat hangers with clothes on

Accessible fashion

Another aspect of disability and fashion is the accessibility of it. Thankfully this is starting to become more mainstream and it is getting easier to find suitable clothing.

Here are some accessible fashion brands:
  • M&S adaptive clothing: A range of school uniform and clothing that has been designed with disability in mind.
  • I'm Fine Attire: Woman's illness adapted clothing. This includes jeans with a built-in heat pack!
  • Kintsugi Clothing: Fashion made wheelchair-friendly, easy fastenings and ostomy access.
  • The Able Label: Discreet adaptive designs, innovative fastenings and hidden extras make dressing easier.
  • Able2Wear: Wheelchair adaptive clothing.
  • ModiBodi: Accessible period pants.
I know this has only scraped the surface but I'd love to know what you think.

Do you use fashion to express yourself? Do you use accessible clothing? Are there any brands you would recommend? Let us know in the comments below!

Comments

  • Cher_Alumni
    Cher_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,714 Championing
    Thanks for sharing @Chloe_Scope

    I love the colour mustard and can just imagine you swishing through university in your coat  :)

    I'm very hit and miss with fashion.  Some days I like to wear my hoodie and comfies, whilst other times I like to wear bright colourful outfits that are a bit quirky.  

    I don't personally wear accessible fashion but from discussions with others would recommend:
    • Nicola Jane for mastectomy and post surgery bras.
    • Molke for women's underwear designed to suit different body types.
  • Cindy7007
    Cindy7007 Online Community Member Posts: 30 Connected
    Hello

    I love your message @Chloe_Scope,

    It's lovely to hear how you changed people's initial reaction/perception of you and what they saw first on looking at you.  You sound like a very positive person who has learned to take whatever life throws at you in your stride.  
    I find on meeting new people, after a short time, any disability or differences we may have, fades into the background and people see the real you. 

    I love fashion and new ideas to make my life easier and more independent,  I will be looking at the adaptable easy fastening clothing for days when my arthritic fingers are being a hindrance.

    Thank you very much for sharing.

    Cindy


  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,464 Championing
    We're really glad you found it so helpful @Cindy7007 :) 
  • Granted1208
    Granted1208 Online Community Member Posts: 1 Listener

    Hi there,

    I realise it has been a few years since this page was initially posted, but like eluded to, the amount of options for clothing was increasing. I saw Able2 Wear in the list, which has become one that a lot of people are familiar with, they seem to listen to their customers with feedback to improve the quality of what they are making which I don't feel is so common when you're looking at mainstream companies - I always feel like our voice isn't heard.

    Adaptawear is another one, however I think they focus more on non-wheelchair clothing and Able2wear is more Wheelchair users. I also saw Able2 Wear mentioning Hewinson as part of an email I was sent. Hewinson reminds me of Superdry, but ultimately it looks like Hewinson is trying to bring a level of style back to Wheelchair users which I thought was pretty good.

    While I am not a wheelchair user, I have many friends and family who have a variety of conditions and I find myself exploring what they can and can't wear, for instance my niece - who has Dwarfism, clothing for her can be quite difficult or ending up expensive because we either have to buy clothes and then adjust them, or purchase from further afield from a niche market. It does ware you down a little. But the little wins like the clothing brands mentioned above do give me hope that more will come in the future.

    It's just getting that balance of customer care paired with good quality products that suit the needs of people. Dropfront Trousers - my mind was blown when I saw a pair of those! I thought my friend had normal trousers on, but they came away from the waist and just looked brilliant.

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