Question about clothing

[GinnetteM]

I don't know if this the right place to put this question, but I thought I was more likely to have people read and answer it here than another board.

I'm a fashion design major and for my marketing class, we have to come up with a product and the basic marketing for it. I looked around for clothing for children with long-term illnesses, specifically kids who have to be hospitalized regularly. I couldn't find much.
My question for all of you is: Do you know of any really good, comfortable clothing for children that would make not only hospital stays but life in general more comfortable and easier that is also something they would willingly wear?

Kids want to be comfortable but they should like their clothes, too; right?

If you don't know of any but have a kid that would need adaptive clothing like this, what sort of things would you look for? Side closures, back closures, places for the sleeves to open up for IVs while keeping arms warm?

Please, let me know.

Thank you!

 

[lanejudy]

Well, not really anything related specifically to hospital use, but I can tell you I am always on the look-out for the following for an elementary school-age girl with developmental delays:

elastic waist pants -- not just leggings or tights, but jeans and regular pants; once out of the toddler sizes these are very hard to find

socks with a pattern/picture differentiating the top so she doesn't always put her socks on upside down or sideways; preferably in something more than just ankle-high which aren't warm enough for northeast winters

one-piece lightweight summertime pajamas -- like blanket-sleeper style but for use in summer; again, outside of infant sizes, simply not available

 

[SoonerSarah]

For hospital wear gowns with buttons or snaps that allow the garment to be taken off without interrupting IV's in addition to anything that might be on the head (monitors, drains and EEG electrodes) would be needed. Shirts and bottoms, both pants and shorts are also great. For my daughter's hospital stays we take button up pajamas and nightgowns that will easily slip on from the feet up.

For everyday clothing we need no buttons or snaps (in order for her to be able to dress herself). We also have to have shirts that are looser fitting in the hand, shoulder, chest and neck areas. My daughter has a TBI and a Stroke and anything that is tight in those areas is difficult to pull over her sensitive head and get her tight arm through. Socks are not something she can even begin to put on and only a few types of shoes as well (she essentially has no use of one of her hands)

Materials should be soft. Jeans often cause problems for a lot of children for various reasons, and inner snaps (such as adjustable waistbands) are often sensory causing problems. Tags also are frequently a problem.

 

[SoonerSarah]

Also, outer wear that is wheelchair accessible. I have a friend who is a Grandma and she made a coat for her granddaughter that is short in the back with closures in the back so that the coat can be slipped on over the front to keep her warm but not have excessive bulky material at her back.

And, I'm apart of a Pediatric stroke group and one of the biggest complaints is regarding footwear. My daughter wears bilateral AFO's (on both legs), but many children who have survived a stroke only wear one brace. They are left with buying two pairs of shoes, one to fit the foot without a brace and one several sizes bigger to accommodate the brace. The other issue (and I realize this is footwear and not clothing, but it might help you anyway) is that it is difficult if not impossible to find rain or snow boots that will fit a brace. There simply is not enough room and flexibility to get an orthotic inside a boot.

If you happen to be on Facebook there is a great group called Mommies of Miracles. If you were to post a question there I think you would get a lot of responses.

 

[Jaya]

Take a pair of jeans to a seamstress. Have her remove the zipper and the waistband and sew up the fly. Replace the waistband with a high waistband made out of a material like thick swimsuit material (visualize maternity jeans but with the waistband panel not as high). Jeans can then be slipped on and off without bothering with zippers and snaps/buttons. With a shirt worn out, there is no way to know that these are not normal jeans. I know girls want to look as stylish as their friends and not appear to be wearing "adaptive" clothing. This fits the bill.

 

[elainer]

My son spent 3 months in a body cast-- 6 weeks in September to mid October and 6 weeks from Thanksgiving to New Years. The cast went from his chest to his toes on his right foot and to his knee on his left foot. There was a 1 inch wooden dowel plastered from his left knee to his right ankle. We live in MI and finding pants for him to wear was a challenge to say the least.

I never found any clothing/ patterns/ ideas for pants for him and eventually created some that velcroed on both outsides and from the left knee to toes. they weren't pretty, but did work. I would have gladly paid for decent clothes.

 

[SueM in MN]

I can't add a lot right now, but will over the next couple days.

Another thing to think about is closing for small adults who are disabled. There are quite a few items that you can find for elderly people who are larger. Those are not very stylish for someone in late teens, early 20s, 30s and many of them are made for very large people compared to my daughter. She is only about 5 feet tall and around 80-85 pounds.
Her waist size would be about a child size 12, but the length of that is not long enough. The larger size of children's - 14 to 16 - is willing to begin the waist so I have to make adaptations. Plus children's clothing is not made for more mature figures with hips and other parts.
And you also have to deal with the colors which tend to be things like bright hot pink or bright aqua.
And the juniors things are the right size but a lot of them are very low rise pants.
My daughter wears a lot of yoga or athletic wear because those do tend to be a little bit more stylish than just rich pants and a lot of the wastes are elastic or very soft material.

I have done some adaptations where I open the sideseam on a skirt or dress and then used soft Velcro to close the seam back up.
That way the skirt could be laid in the wheelchair, she gets sitting into the wheelchair and the skirt is fastened around her. I did that for her bridesmaid's dress for her sister's wedding and also for a prom dress. It worked out quite well.
I have also opened the side seam of shirts and replaced the seam with the same soft Velcro. That way, we don't have anthing along her back where she is sitting against it.

 

[LisaBi]

I second what Lanejudy said. My son has Down Syndrome. We need elastic waist. And clothes for short and chunky....if we do happen to find elastic waist big enough, pants are WAY too long. Most styles just don't look right if you cut off 18 inches. And pants that will stay up when there is no defined hip. He walks around most of the time in pants hanging way too low across his bottom and way too long.

 

[SueM in MN]

I second what Lanejudy said. My son has Down Syndrome. We need elastic waist. And clothes for short and chunky....if we do happen to find elastic waist big enough, pants are WAY too long. Most styles just don't look right if you cut off 18 inches. And pants that will stay up when there is no defined hip. He walks around most of the time in pants hanging way too low across his bottom and way too long.

Have you seen Downs Designs?

https://www.downsdesigns.com

The company was started by a grandma who was frustrated by not being able to find clothes (primarily jeans) for her grandchild with Downs.
She came up with jeans designed with the different figure types of people with a Downs. I saw their website a couple of months ago.

 

[LisaBi]

Thanks Sue!

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks Sue!

You're welcome.
I love the models on that site. Some are very serious and some are obviously having a ball modeling.

 

[WantToGoNow]

OT but does anyone know where I can get super skinny jeans. My Ds12 only wears black jeans but I have trouble getting them long enough and small enough around..even adjustables are too big. He needs a 14 for length but he has a 23" waist (he's 5'2" and finally 75 lbs). He does not like elastic waists because he said his pants come down when he has stuff in his pockets. Also no sweats or athletic pants.

 

[GinnetteM]

Thanks for all the replies! When I get off my butt and do the sketches for that part of my project, I'll post them up here.
Your input was very helpful and will allow me to expand my project so my teacher will understand it in a better way.

 

[nushiekitty]

My daughter uses a cooling vest but hates that they are so plain looking. If there was a way to have one that was affordable but also better designs (she has a white one and a dark navy blue one).

 

[SueM in MN]

This was a design project I did a long time ago for a college clothing design class.
The assignment was to design something for a special group. The target group that I decided to design for was women using wheelchair.

The skirts open down one side and were easy to put into the wheelchair then get into the wheelchair and fasten skirt around the waist and side.
Raglan sleeves are good choice because they give a lot more space for maneuvering the arms and putting the top on. Tops that open down the front are also easier to put on for many people. The sleeveless top had a ribbed waistband to help keep it down in place and the white top had snaps to close it, large snaps, and some shirring in the waist which would also help to keep it in place. An alternate way to close would be large buttons or large buttons on the top with Velcro underneath.
I had planned for the blue top to close with a type of soft Velcro.

Two of the tops open down the front with zippers that have large tabs for ease in pulling the zipper up.

The professor wasn't sure if she liked the designs or not, because she said they would not fit all figure types - she was thinking of them in terms of whether she would wear them herself. She was a woman in probably her mid 50s.
I was thinking of them more in terms of a young professional person who used a wheelchair. I actually knew someone my age in college at that point who was a wheelchair user. She was who I had in mind and she actually liked the designs.

 

[SueM in MN]

This is a prom dress that I renovated for DD who uses a wheelchair to wear.
It was originally a one piece, sort of A line dress with a fairly full skirt.
Because DD is pretty short (5 feet tall) and the dress was made for someone taller, I was able to cut it at hip length and make a skirt and top.

The skirt opens all the way down the side and closes on the seam line with soft Velcro. I had to add a waistband which closes with ribbons and loops. I put the skirt in the wheelchair, sit her down on top of it and then pull the ribbons thru the loops.

The top is long enough to come over the skirt waistband and the bottom 6 inches of the top's side seams are slit. That allows us to fasten her wheelchair seatbelt over the skirt and hide it with the top (the seatbelt fastens underneath the front section of the top).