{"id":3004,"date":"2018-02-06T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T18:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/?p=3004"},"modified":"2018-02-05T15:48:03","modified_gmt":"2018-02-05T23:48:03","slug":"accessible-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/accessible-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"Fashion For Every Body"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cur8able.com\/\">Stephanie Thomas<\/a>, Disability Fashion Stylist<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3007\" src=\"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Stephanie-Thomas-BHM-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Graphic novel\/pop art style photo of Stephanie Thomas, a smiling woman with her hair in a top knot, with her hands folded and resting elegantly under her chin. CFILC logo in the top left corner and the header, BLACK HERITAGE MONTH in gold block letters is at the top. Ms. Thomas\u2019 speech bubble reads, \u201cTHE CONVERSATION ABOUT DIVERSITY MUST INCLUDE DRESSING WITH DISABILITIES. IT EMPOWERS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO COMPETE FOR EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AND IT\u2019S ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL FOR POSITIVE SELF-EFFICACY.\u201d The box below it reads, \u201cSTEPHANIE THOMAS: PRESIDENT OF CUR8ABLE AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR SPECIALIZING IN DRESSING WITH DISABILITIES. MS. THOMAS IS A CONGENITAL AMPUTEE MISSING DIGITS ON HER RIGHT HAND AND FEET, AND HAS FOLLOWED CLOTHING AND RETAIL TRENDS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES SINCE 1992.\u201d The black stripe below reads #BHM2018 #DisabledAndProud.\" width=\"340\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Stephanie-Thomas-BHM-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Stephanie-Thomas-BHM-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Stephanie-Thomas-BHM-768x767.jpg 768w, https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Stephanie-Thomas-BHM-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Stephanie-Thomas-BHM-50x50.jpg 50w, https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Stephanie-Thomas-BHM.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For over 25 years, Stephanie Thomas has researched clothing and retail trends for people with disabilities. What started as a Miss America preliminary pageant platform grew into a hobby, and now two decades later, has morphed into her life&#8217;s work. Although there are many adaptive designers around the world (and have been since at least the 1930&#8217;s), there are fewer than 10 people in the world with Stephanie\u2019s personal background and experience working exclusively as stylists for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I am a congenital amputee missing digits on my right hand and feet, and I&#8217;ve followed clothing and retail trends for people with disabilities for 25 years. As a social entrepreneur specializing in dressing with disabilities, I use my Disability Fashion Styling System&#x2122; (DFSS) to empower others with disabilities to dress with as much choice, dignity, and self reliance as possible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The three guiding principles that Stephanie keeps in mind when styling someone:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Is it ACCESSIBLE? Easy to put on and take off on your own or with a dresser?<\/li>\n<li>Is it SMART? Not causing harm to the body; medically safe?<\/li>\n<li>Is it FASHIONABLE? Fits body type and lifestyle. Loved by the wearer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Accessibility varies depending on the wearer. For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A person in a seated position<\/strong> (i.e.: a wheelchair user)\n<ul>\n<li>Pants would be designed to sit higher in the back to prevent sagging.<\/li>\n<li>Pants could also have zippers on both sides from ankle to waist to make it easier for the wearer to dress themselves and\/or conceal leg bags or other equipment.<\/li>\n<li>Pants pockets need zippers, too, to prevent items from falling out.<\/li>\n<li>Coats and another outerwear pieces that unzip from the back, make it easier for someone to help a high-level quad put on or off.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>A person with a prosthetic limb<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A woman with a prosthetic leg may enjoy a skirt with a fitted waist and an A-line design. It would assist in \u201cbalancing someone out\u201d if one hip sat higher than the other. The design of the skirt would serve to provide an illusion of symmetry where needed.<\/li>\n<li>Keep fabrics lightweight and breathable as prosthetics can make wearers warm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Watch Stephanie&#8217;s Tedx Talk below or by clicking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=B_P9pu8gytI\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Fashion Styling for People with Disabilities | Stephanie Thomas | TEDxYYC\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/B_P9pu8gytI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">To register for an upcoming Ability Tools Training, click <a href=\"http:\/\/abilitytools.org\/training\/training-registration.php\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stephanie Thomas, Disability Fashion Stylist For over 25 years, Stephanie Thomas has researched clothing and retail trends for people with disabilities. What started as a Miss America preliminary pageant platform grew into a hobby, and now two decades later, has morphed into her life&#8217;s work. Although there are many adaptive designers around the world (and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[71,88],"class_list":["post-3004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inventive-at","tag-accessibility","tag-fashion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3004"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4310,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3004\/revisions\/4310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}