For years, there have been handicap vans available for parents to take their children where they need to go, but there is hardly an abundance of clothing lines specifically made with children who have disabilities in mind.
It’s a hurdle that parents of the estimated 2.8 million school-aged children who have a disability have to get over, but it’s about to become a bit easier thanks to a major clothing brand and one creative designer who have teamed up to make children’s fashion a whole lot more accessible.
Taking Steps in a New Direction
Although there are clothing brands and manufacturers who specialize in creating adaptive clothing for children with disabilities, the larger brands have yet to make an overly concerted effort to reach out to this branch of consumers.
But it appears that the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation has become a pioneer in this regard. The popular brand of clothing, which can usually be found in its outlet stores or in Macy’s, has teamed up a designer to create a comprehensive adapted clothing line for children.
The New Clothing Line
Tommy Hilfiger recently teamed up with Mindy Scheier, the founder of Runway of Dreams, an NPO that works with the fashion industry to create adaptive clothing for children. The philanthropist and mother of a son with Muscular Dystrophy can up with the inspiration for the clothing line when her son came to her wanting to wear a pair of jeans to school.
Since then, she has worked with Tommy Hilfiger to create clothing based on the company’s classic polo shirts, button-ups and khakis. Each shirt and pair of pants comes equipped with special adaptations that can help children get in and out of the clothing much more easily.
Adaptations to the clothing include features such as magnets replacing button and zippers, adjusted pant, sleeve and waistband lengths and other assistive designs. The clothing line is meant for boys who wear sizes 4 to 20 and girls who wear sizes 4 to 18.
Moving Forward
Although this clothing line is a great step in the right direction, it is not the most cost-effective solution for parents. T-shirts with magnetic buttons can run 20 dollars and a pair of girls’ leggings can cost as much as forty dollars. Since this is a Tommy Hilfiger line it is likely that some of the price is due to the brand name.
What do you think of the clothing line? Is it too expensive, or are you looking forward to buying these clothes for your children?