How to Choose Clothing to Wear In a Wheelchair

I don’t pretend to know anything about fashion – for me, dressing up means a suit and dressing down means jeans. Does it really need to be any more complicated than that? I’m sure the more fashion-focused think so, but I’m fine keeping it simple.

If you’re in a wheelchair, I would highly recommend you take the same approach. It’s not that you can’t look good; heck, do your hair and clean up real nice if you like. But there are instances where your appearance can interfere with your comfort and functionality as a wheelchair user.

Just look at the name of our website

Pants Up Easy isn’t some kind of metaphor or euphemism – it means exactly what it says. Our company is interested in helping you make it easy to pull up your pants. And if you’ve been in a wheelchair for a little while, you have come to understand how difficult that can be.

The problem centers on support. When you are paraplegic, you can’t depend on your legs for any reliable support. Therefore, it’s very difficult to pull your pants up without that lower body assistance. Our product was created to help with this issue, but there are other steps you can take. For instance, adjusting the type of clothing you wear.

Make the task as easy as possible

This should be your goal with most fashion choices, especially from the waist down. For many wheelchair users, comfort is paramount in their clothing options, and a similar tactic can serve you well. Comfortable bottoms like sweatpants, basketball and gym shorts, track pants, tights and leggings are all easier to pull up, thanks to their soft materials and elastic waistbands.

If you prefer to wear proper trousers, there are khakis and dress slacks on the market with elastic waistbands. Elastic is of great help, because it allows you slide your bottoms up without fear of them slipping back down before you zip the fly. There are also very cool specialty products specifically designed for wheelchair users. Take a look at Endless Ability for designer type jeans and other products.

Additionally, consider wearing slippers when in your wheelchair. Since your feet won’t spend much time on the ground, slippers will be perfectly suitable and are preferable to sandals, which leave your toes exposed. That could be dangerous, especially if you lack feeling in your feet.