I am going to a black-tie wedding in June as part of the groom’s family. I am permanently in a wheelchair. Long dresses and wide leg pants get caught in the spokes. What can I wear that will cover my legs, look formal and festive and be comfortable? — Barbara, Minneapolis
I have long felt that one of fashion’s most ingrained shortcomings is its almost total failure to embrace adaptive clothing. According to the C.D.C., one in four adult Americans lives with a disability, and given that fashion plays an enormous and crucial role in how we feel about ourselves, this error seems to be both a moral failure and an enormous missed business opportunity.
When I began investigating this failure more than 10 years ago, I got so worked up that I called a large global brand that shall remain nameless to try to persuade it to lead the way. Not by bolting on some sort of niche line of shirts with magnetic buttons but actually altering their whole runway offering to consider consumers with different bodies.
The company didn’t bite — it would be too complicated to alter all the patterns, it said — and I’ve been tilting at that windmill ever since.
Some strides have been made, it is true. Tommy Hilfiger, in particular, has a real adaptive offering. But most adaptive fashion (or what Chaitenya Razdan, the founder and chief executive of Care + Wear, has named “healthwear”) has been left to independent entrepreneurs who often started their own companies because of personal experiences they or family members had with this precise problem.
And they understandably focus on clothes for the everyday, as opposed to clothes for the sort of special occasion you describe.
That said, there are solutions. The first thing to do is disaggregate the issue. “For many people, pairing separates is the answer,” said Alexandra Herold, the founder and chief executive of the adaptive clothing marketplace Patti + Ricky. “To achieve the look of a formal dress or romper, envision them as two pieces.” Which is to say, a fancy, fabulous top and a simple bottom.
Black cigarette pants that end at midcalf, for example, go with pretty much everything. Lucy Jones, the founder of Ffora, an adaptive accessory line, suggested looking for high-waist styles with an elastic waist or side zip that won’t bunch up at the crotch and waist when you are seated. (This is also why you should avoid pleats, as well as side pockets.)
Look for fabrics with as much natural fiber content and stretch as possible, Ms. Jones said, since that will provide added comfort through breathability, as well as being practical.
Then think of the pants as a base layer, or canvas, and add the most glamorous sparkling top: a cropped jacket with a built-in capelet, crystals or gorgeous embroidery; a shirt with a peplum (which has the added benefit of covering pants waistlines).
A V-neck elongates a seated body and can feel less restrictive, Ms. Jones said, but remember that for a lot of the evening your neckline will be below most other guests’ eye lines, so add a vest underneath a plunging top. (Skims recently introduced an adaptive underwear collection.) Also, Ms. Herold said, “consider wide-neck tops” that are easy to pull on and off.
Accessories also bring their own fireworks. Ms. Jones suggested adding lace socks or sheer versions spotted with crystals; shoes “that can be slipped on from toe to heel so there is no awkward bending, with a holding strap”; jewelry and a colorful bag. Ffora offers styles that attach to a wheelchair. There are great pleasures to be found in small details.
Finally, if you don’t want to wear pants, a pencil skirt is an option. Charanna Alexander, our weddings editor, found this terrific stretch-lace dress from Tadashi Shoji, which ticks pretty much all the boxes.
Hopefully, fashion will some day wise up and pledge its troth to the adaptive market. But in the meantime, you can still find clothes that will make you fall in love.
Your Style Questions, Answered
Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or Twitter. Questions are edited and condensed.
