Client requests have spurred the success of Debbie Kuznitsky’s fashion business.
“First, the customers wanted more and more of the women’s business suits. Then the business environment relaxed and they wanted more of a relaxed style,” says Kuznitsky, creator of Fun Designs, in Chesterton, Ind.
Offering professional and casual clothing, Fun Designs is among a limited but growing number of manufacturers trying to meet the need for specially designed clothing solving some of the practical problems of the elderly and those with physical disabilities.
Specially cut pants and jackets, Velcro-closure shirts, special shoes, gloves, slippers and intimate apparel increasingly are available at moderate prices.
“(Customers) tell us their special needs and we design certain features of our line to cater to their handicaps,” Kuznitsky says.
“The principle,” she says, “is to make sure that they have a garment that allows them to do as much as they can for themselves.”
One of her biggest requests is for Velcro-closure T-shirts. A design up near the top of the shirts is often incorporated so the attention is drawn to the face and away from the wheelchair.
ADAPTOGS, in Otis, Colo., is another source serving special-needs customers. It was founded nine years ago by Shirley Sunderman who discovered the need for special products through her social work at a nursing home.
“Most people were using polyester clothing,” says Sunderman. “We use a 50-50 cotton-polyester blend because the cotton is essential to the healing process (because it allows air to circulate more freely than synthetic fabrics do). We make many items with raglan sleeves, which are great for people with a limited range of motion.”
Gay Dawson, president of Aviano USA, formerly known as Avenues Unlimited, in Camerillo, Calif., says the most frequent request from customers is for traditional blue jeans that have elastic at the back.
“It’s very challenging to get into a pair of blue jeans in a wheelchair,” she says, “and then it’s often not very comfortable. Some people who took from a half hour to 45 minutes to get into them before can get into ours in five or 10 minutes.”
Career apparel is also popular as are ponchos, she says, because they can be slipped over the head easily.
Some department stores, such as Nordstrom, through its Solid Gold program, and J.C. Penney, through its Easy Dressing line, also serve special-needs customers.
Lynn Cooper, a Chicago motivational speaker who has created image communications programs for the blind and visually impaired, says the market for fashionable clothing for the mobility impaired is essential.
“The language of dress is a shared language,” she says. “When someone is obviously impaired, there is a distance between them and the rest of society. Having clothing that is fashionable and looks like the clothing that their friends and colleagues buy helps to bridge that chasm and bring us closer.”
WHERE TO FIND THE FASHIONS
– Fun Designs can be reached by calling 800-261-6335 or by e-mail at fundes@niia.net or DKuznitsky@aol.com.
– Order catalogs from Aviano USA, formerly Avenues Unlimited, by calling 800-848-2837.
– To receive a J.C. Penney catalog including the Easy Dressing line, call 800-222-6161.
– Call 800-535-8427 for an ADAPTOGS catalog.
WANT TIPS ON HOW TO ADAPT YOUR EXISTING CLOTHING TO ACCOMMODATE A SPECIAL NEED?
The non-profit PRIDE Foundation (Promote Real Independence for the Disabled and Elderly) has a free book resource catalog. The group also will answer specific questions on adapting clothing. Write to 391 Long Hill Rd., P.O. Box 1293, Groton, Conn., 06340. Or call/fax 860-445-1448.
