Wheelchair fashion – looking stylish and comfortable in a wheelchair

So finding clothes that fit and suit me well is honestly one of the most hardest things that I have to do. If you don’t mind me, I love online shopping whether it’s Shein, pretty little thing, ASOS my basket is always always filled to the brim with clothes. But I before buying I have to think of the logistics. Will I be comfortable in my chair wearing this or will that get bunched up behind my back all day. It’s honestly an absolute nightmare. Don’t get me wrong I love wearing dresses absolutely love them but when you’re sitting down in the chair all day it’s just not great. So I’ll be going through with you all my top fashion tips that have helped me find my style over the years and maybe this little guide will help you to.

Trying to find my style and what works best for me

I wear a sling underneath me as I find it so difficult to transfer at the moment and dressses are one of the most hardest clothing item to get on me which is such a shame as I used to love wearing dresses so much whether it’s a body con dress, flowy dress or a skater dress I would wear them. But last year I decided that dresses are definitely a no go for me as they can get really bunched up at the back and it gets so uncomfortable especially if I’m in the chair for a long period of time. Dresses also just make my body look awful and because I have hardly any core muscles dresses can also make me look really fat and wonky and I hate it so much. I’m already very insecure about my body anyway which is why I wear my tray all the Time to hide my stomach. But I’m trying to get out of the habit of doing that as whenever I go out to places I love taking photos but I hate taking photos with the tray on. My most favourite things to wear are baggy jumpers, cardigans and basically anything that doesn’t show my chest. Because I have a tracheostomy, I don’t like it to show to much you know when I’m out in public I get quite insecure about it. But in my experience baggy jumpers are just the best things for me to wear.

Just recently I found a brilliant alternative to dresses and they work amazing and I love them. They are called Rompers. There a bit like dresses but they have built in short. This means that the fit nice and comfortable behind my back and the first time I wore one of these to an event was Taylor Swift concert. It was white and tazzly and it was stunning. I then paired this with white cowboy boots and a shimmery silver jacket with no sleeves and it was perfect. The most perfect outfit for one of these best nights of my life. it’s been a really difficult few years trying to find the right style for me now that I’m a wheelchair user because like I said I never wear the same clothes like I did before and honestly that does upset me a little bit. I’ve never been insecure with my body but I don’t know sometimes I wish I could at least show my chest or show my thighs more but in my head I can’t do that. I just haven’t got the confidence enough. But hopefully in the future things will change and my confidence will grow and I’ll soon find my style eventually.

My experience with trousers / leggings ETC

Let’s talk about bottoms. I always always get my leggings from primark. You know the material that’s soft and stretchy in the inside. Omg they’re my favourite leggings. Did you know that primark do an adaptive clothing range now? How amazing is that and it’s going to help the disabled community so much. I was browsing on their website the other day looking at that range and they do so many things. Stretchy leggings, a coat that has magnetic poppers. This would be so much easier for people with limited hand movement and dexterity. The magnetic poppers will help us become even more independent and this is one of the things that I love about the range. It’s perfect for that. Now when I have physio and workouts I always make sure to put something lose and fited on to ensure that I’m never uncomfortable and it’s easy to move around it. I wear these splints called AFOS and I have to wear shoes over the top and they’re the most difficult to put on it’s ridiculous. I mean why design something when you can’t even put shoes on I don’t get it. Anyway we’ve found the perfect shoes which are converse. Normally I’m a size 5 but because of the AFOS I have to buy shoes that are twice the size and sometimes that still doesn’t work. I have a really odd big toe on my right side. It sort of bends in and if there is hardly any room for my toe it hurts so much and makes me feel really sick from the pain and k have to take my shoes and socks off for a while to relief it. It does help definitely. I hate wearing them splints so k wear them as little as possible.

On a regular day if I’m just relaxing and chilling at home, I love to wear a lounge suit. Omg they’re honestly the most comfortable things ever. I love them.

Fashion is definitely 100% the most hardest things that I’m experiencing at the moment as a wheelchair user. But one thing I am doing soon is I’ll be training my core muscles more and more so that they’re so much stronger and more sucked in. That’s my main workout goal at the moment. Train my core and also my right leg muscles.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my little article about wheelchair fashion! I hope you found some inspiration and new ideas to incorporate into your own style. Fashion is all about expressing yourself and feeling confident, no matter your mobility needs.

If you have any tips, favorite brands, or styling ideas of your own, I’d love to hear from you! Let’s keep the conversation going and continue to celebrate inclusive and accessible fashion together.