Sensory-friendly clothing for kids?

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Taryn
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23 Jan 2014, 11:31 am

Is anyone aware of a less expensive option for spectrum-friendly kid clothing than Soft? I'm looking at using some of the stuff I've learned sewing for my daughter and myself (both of us have ASD) to start an Etsy cottage business making sensory-friendly fashionable kids' pants. My very tentative plan is to make my products more affordable than those offered by Soft and Hanna Anderson by using non-organic cotton and by having almost no overhead expense, but I'm not sure what sorts of pre-existing products or prices I'd be competing with. My family tends to shop the clearance sales at Gymboree, but that's hit-and-miss.

Can any of the parents here give me input or advice? For that matter, do you think demand exists for the product I described above?



LAlien
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23 Jan 2014, 12:50 pm

Land's End is pretty good. I've been wearing pretty much exclusively them for years. They are a bit more expensive, but they have some good sales if you buy at the right time. I can even wear jeans from LE on a good (sensory) day. I also wore almost nothing but gap kid's stretch pants for years, so you might try those.
Good luck! I know how hard and frustrating it is to find clothing that you (and you child) can wear.
:)
* Oh, and I'm not a parent so I may not have actually given you the input for which you were asking...


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ASDMommyASDKid
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23 Jan 2014, 4:04 pm

I don't know what percent of kids with AU have sensory issues to that degree. Our son has tag issues, but no problems with seams, or at least he says he doesn't. (I just double-checked and asked him) My son could not care less about being fashion-forward and it is not a concern of ours, either. Some kids and parents would care and I am assuming that is your target market.

I will say that for those who have schools that require uniforms, it is not so easy to find elastic waists that do not look absolutely awful for those kids with motor skill issues with snaps and buttons. Full elastic looks just awful. We always looked for the kind that look normal on the outside and have the functional snap and zipper, but also have that adjustable elastic strip through the waist that adjusts with buttons on the inside. This way, the child can pull the pants down when going to the restroom, but they look like and are regular pants. Jeans come like that in larger elem sizes but not those stupid uniforms.

That probably does not help you at all, but those are my experiences.



yarnmama
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06 Apr 2016, 5:38 am

In our house socks are the biggest issue, we have been looking for seam free socks for years. Shoes are the next biggest issue, sandals and croc style shoes are favourites with the kids but they are no good for winter and we are really struggling to find good winter foot wear.

Mostly when it comes to clothes we wear leggings or joggies and t shirts and cut out labels when we have to. We also tend to shop at H & M as they tend to have clothes we can cope with at prices we can mostly afford.

Sorry I know that probably isn't much help.



Fitzi
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17 Apr 2016, 7:05 pm

Socks are the biggest issue for my kid too. We buy Jefferies Seamless Socks, but only the crew athletic style since that's the only one my kid can bear. He does have sensory issues with clothing. He only wears sweat pants. I usually buy them at H&M, Target, or online at OshKosh (they have great prices). He will not wear anything with buttons, snaps or zippers (except a jacket). He will not wear collars or turtlenecks. He wears crew neck t-shirts, or long sleeve crew neck shirts. I would say he has a pretty hard time sensory wise with clothing, but we do not have to shop for sensory friendly specific clothing (except the socks). He does like softer shirts, but those are pretty easy to find. I think that starting an Etsy store for sensory friendly clothing is a great idea. My son does seem to have a fashion preference for the sweatpants he chooses. He likes ones with a stripe down the side, and no logos. He also likes the yoga pants style of sweat pants.



Ettina
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18 Apr 2016, 9:09 am

I don't know of any particular brand - I just go to the clothing store and try stuff on until I'm too overloaded to try on any more clothes, and hopefully find a couple pieces I can tolerate before that happens.



SpacedOutAndSmiling
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18 Apr 2016, 10:27 am

Hi,

In the UK, Racketys make brilliant clothing: http://www.disabled-clothing.co.uk i wear their vests (http://www.disabled-clothing.co.uk/disa ... xT8r2OMDUY) often.

They are expensive brought alone, but they often to 30% sales and offer discounted multipacks.


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ConceptuallyCurious
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19 Apr 2016, 8:45 am

SpacedOutAndSmiling wrote:
Hi,

In the UK, Racketys make brilliant clothing: http://www.disabled-clothing.co.uk i wear their vests (http://www.disabled-clothing.co.uk/disa ... xT8r2OMDUY) often.

They are expensive brought alone, but they often to 30% sales and offer discounted multipacks.


Those vests look awesome. I wonder if my SIL is aware of the different sizes - my nephew wears white vests and then a t shirt on top, but a coloured vest might be cooler in the summer.

Is there a particular reason you wear vests? I can imagine not wanting the waist band on trousers to rub being one.


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ConceptuallyCurious
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19 Apr 2016, 8:48 am

To OP: definitely fashionable trousers, seamless socks. My school had us wear shirts as part of our uniform, I didn't like the roughness of normal blouses so my mum would by special super soft ones that were also a bit stretchy. I don't know what they're called and only one shop sold them.


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Diagnosed with:
Moderate Hearing Loss in 2002.
Autism Spectrum Disorder in August 2015.
ADHD diagnosed in July 2016

Also "probable" dyspraxia/DCD and dyslexia.

Plus a smattering of mental health problems that have now been mostly resolved.


SpacedOutAndSmiling
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19 Apr 2016, 9:59 am

ConceptuallyCurious wrote:
SpacedOutAndSmiling wrote:
Hi,

In the UK, Racketys make brilliant clothing: http://www.disabled-clothing.co.uk i wear their vests (http://www.disabled-clothing.co.uk/disa ... xT8r2OMDUY) often.

They are expensive brought alone, but they often to 30% sales and offer discounted multipacks.


Those vests look awesome. I wonder if my SIL is aware of the different sizes - my nephew wears white vests and then a t shirt on top, but a coloured vest might be cooler in the summer.

Is there a particular reason you wear vests? I can imagine not wanting the waist band on trousers to rub being one.


There are a few reasons i like them:

* They are consistent, i have a draw of them, they are all washed together etc. They feel the same.
* They fit me well, not to tight, not to loose.
* Hold Nappy in place / can use cheaper nappies without leaking.
* They just "feel" right.


_________________
I'm a non verbal autistic adult living in the UK. I work for the BBC and I am in the middles of a transition to independent living.

I focus on being autistically happy and I write a website with techniques, reviews and guides. http://spacedoutandsmiling.com