Sometimes I don’t know what’s down to just being a bit older than I was and what’s disability related but clothes shopping is something I really have to be in the mood for these days. Also, I don’t really place much value on buying clothes like I used to & think that making memories & filling our family memory jar with theatre tickets, photos & small keepsakes is the important stuff we will remember when we’re old and where the money goes. Sounds smug, doesn’t it? Well, this is my theory…until I look in the mirror or compare myself, without even realising it, to a stranger about my age, walking down the street.
Society teaches us from toddlers, that beauty is a virtue. I have a 7 year old and I think this fact is magnified greater than ever today. The issue is that disability does not equate with beauty. By this, I don’t mean it is impossible to be beautiful AND disabled, rather that disability is not perceived to be a thing of beauty. I digress.
Clothes are not cut to fit a full time wheelchair user who cannot stand up. Simple. Things don’t hang right as they are not cut for a (now) dwarf on wheels with a scoliosis, a tummy and a catheter….i.e. ME!!! Given this fact, trapsing round shop after shop is not a past time I relish, unless a strong desire gets hold. It’s hard to stay on trend with a tight budget and no way of trying things on in the shops. There ARE now shops which provide disabled cubicles for trying things on, some even have a bed in them. Glad they are aware of the rise of the purple pound. However, I can only ever really try on a top or two and that would involve an awful lot of faffing and about half an hour. So instead, I just try and opt for things I THINK I can probably get away with. This theory probably works about 50% of the time. The other 50% is spent returning items to the shop.
Dresses/skirts have to be a certain length, as by sitting on clothing, about 4 inches is normally lost, so if I were to opt for anything ‘normal’, I would probably be arrested for public indecency! I have long legs and require a min 34″ leg (not easy to get hold of!) so I don’t look like a 3 year old wearing half mast hand me downs. Perhaps I should just feign the ‘cigar’ pant look but not convinced that would really work either!
Don’t get me wrong, I still like to look a minimum of reasonable. But there are days I would just prefer to sport a duvet or a bin bag instead. Who knows, I might even set a new trend!!! š
wheellifeofmine 