The fashion industry has always catered to a particular type of body type that designers and clothing manufacturers see as their primary target audience, usually ranging in limited sizing from S to L and often with a Eurocentric perspective. However, over the last decade, we have seen how often overlooked, or marginalized groups have taken the lead into facing this engrained issue and reclaim clothes tailored to their needs. Combining aesthetics, functionality, and wearability into clothing items has opened the door for people to present themselves to the world with confidence and pride regardless of their background and condition.
Tearing down the discriminatory barriers in fashion with inclusive clothing
Functional fashion, which you may have heard of as accessible, inclusive, or adaptive clothing, aims to place the user at the centre of their design. The principle is as straightforward as it gets-- no matter the different shapes, sensory capacities, and physical abilities, we all have the right to access proper clothing and not worry about inadequate fitting or abandoning our style. By now, we know that inclusivity helps break down social and cultural barriers separating people of different sizes and bodies from the rest of society. And even if we don’t notice it, fashion has such a substantial impact on our daily lives that it can make or break someone’s self-esteem or sense of self-worth. So why should we deny people with disabilities or different body sizes to feel good about themselves?
Supporting functional fashion: why should I care?
Choosing adaptive clothing isn’t only about what works best with your body, but it’s also about improving your quality of life. There are so many reasons why people don’t feel comfortable wearing traditional clothes. Maybe the fabric or tags trigger sensory overload, or the conventional fitting doesn’t account for physical disabilities and makes it difficult to dress and undress without assistance. Everyone has the right to feel good and show their best self to the world, and at The Shaped United, we work hand-to-hand with our users to ensure no more struggles to find nice, comfortable, and functional clothes. It’s very likely that your resilience and perseverance have allowed you to reconcile your disability with your daily routine, so we want to make sure your clothes don’t get in the way!
Letting your personality shine through with The Shapes United
Women of all ages, sizes, and body types can feel stunning without compromising comfort with any product of our clothing line. For example, you can style our side-opening Skater Dress with accessories like belts, headscarves, and handkerchiefs. Or you could include minor details like enamel pins or one of our ironed pockets to any place you feel like can be the perfect detail to complete your outfit. The limit is your imagination! Everyone can live their best life with the inclusive, stylish, and functional clothing we’ve recently released at The Shapes United. Whether at work, running errands, or going out with friends, our clothing offers high versatility and functionality without compromising aesthetics.
But this is just the beginning! We are looking forward to sharing with you weekly updates and news through our newsletter so that you’re the first people to know about them. We understand that we must work with our community to ensure we deliver the best experience possible, so you can always reach out to us through social media on Facebook and Instagram.
