So far, anyway. The day is young.
That may sound strange to some, though maybe not to you, if you also suffer irritable bowel disease (IBD) symptoms. It is rare for me.
Usually, the waistband hurts me, or I continually adjust my bra to try to find the magical way it should be fitting so that it doesn't hurt. Or my arches are sagging painfully in not-supportive-enough shoes. I rarely wear a watch anymore, since the watch band can intensify wrist pain.
One of my challenges with Crohn's Disease is that the fashion industry expects people to be the same size all day long. So classy comfort is usually an oxymoron. Except when it isn't.
Last night, Dave and I went to the mall just for kicks (I know! Isn't he great!?). I found the most comfortable capris ever on the clearance rack in the Christopher and Banks store! They are snug without being tight. The fabric is a nylon-rayon-spandex blend that looks a lot like a polyester-twill blend. They hug gently through the hips with a gradual curve to the waist, with a wide waistband-yoke combination that shares the tension equally though the waist and hips. So far, they move with me when I stand, walk or sit, without any of my usually ever-present adjusting. The cut is flattering. They don't look frumpy! Even my 22-year-old daughter nodded her fashion approval. If there had been more than one size-8 pair, I would have bought more.
Most slacks that don't bind me too much around the middle require constant tugging to keep them up, unless I wear a stretchy belt (A belt that doesn't stretch is out of the question). Then, the belt can hurt if it's tight enough to work. Pants that are tight enough to stay where they should be cut into my middle. But only when I sit, or when my abdomen swells a bit in the afternoon as it usually does once I've downed a few solid foods during the day. So they'd be OK if I stood all day, kept to liquids, and avoided symptom flare-ups (heh). Smoothies for breakfast usually stave off the expanding gut for a while in the morning. But eventually, a girl's gotta eat!
Several pairs of pants and skirts that I can sometimes wear hang in my closet. Most fit loosely. All have elastic or otherwise stretchy waistbands. They range from size 8 -- a good fit on a good day, as long as it stays a good day -- to size 14 -- for less-optimistic days when I need to allow for the afternoon owies. Unless I'm sticking to liquids for the day (when that works) I can usually expect my tummy to swell a couple of sizes or so by late afternoon or evening. Others slacks in my closet are from maternity stores. These are my go-to gear when I wake up with abdominal pain.
Before I found the pants I bought last night, Dave and I walked into a maternity store to see if they had a good sale on slacks or skirts that would work for me. The clerk took one look at us 50-somethings and asked who we were shopping for. "Just browsing," I answered. I'm used to getting funny looks when I try on maternity clothes. Maternity stores don't realize that they could make a fortune branching out into a comfy clothes line for non-pregnant women.
Unless pants and skirts have lots of give in the waistband, I don't even consider them. Most often, the clothes that look best are the least comfortable, of course. Those that look best spend a lot of time on their hangers. I wear them for a few hours, or on particularly low-symptom days. The rare combination of something stylish that also is pain-free is a thing of beauty!
Bras are a whole other story. If I didn't feel so exposed and sluggish without one, I'd swear them off. Instead, I have many almost-comfortable bras at home. Some of them are OK for a few hours in the morning. But in the early afternoon, once my abdomen starts swelling, I readjust repeatedly to try to quell the pain. On those days, I can't get the torture-device-masquerading-
The Saturday before Mothers Day, Dave took me to Tanger Outlets' Hanes store at Kimball Junction to let me pick out some Mothers-Day-gift clothing. I started with bras. I tried on at least two dozen over about an hour, discarding immediately any that hurt as soon as I put them on, and settling at last on three that I decided to try. So far, my favorite of the three feels good for longer each day than the other two. But it has spontaneously unhooked itself twice. Not a desirable talent in a bra. The other two -- one is too binding on my rib cage, and the other , well, the jury is still out on that one. I also found a classic black shell dress -- no waist band -- and a complementary jacket. A magically comfortable-while-
Except that it takes on a frumpy look without a bra's support beneath it.
On days when I'm not going anywhere, sometimes I wear overalls without a bra and nobody's the wiser (except those of you who now know my secret). Too bad overalls aren't considered to be high-fashion, power clothes appropriate everywhere. Mine don't look hideous. But they're certainly not sophisticated or beautiful.
So I'm always seeking comfortable clothes. Consequently, I have several pieces in my closet that seemed OK at first, then ended up disappointing me. And I'm WAY excited when I find something that works. Feeling yucky, does NOT translate into wanting to look that way. But fashionable clothing that doesn't inflict or exacerbate pain is way more rare than it should be.
And somehow, I don't think I'm the only one with this problem.
What comfortable, non-binding clothes that also look great have you found?
This is the first article that I have found regarding comfortable clothes for Crohn's disease patients! I am very impressed! Could you recommend some stores or brands that I can wear? I have pretty much quit going out anywhere. Except maybe church and the doctor. Haha my comfortable clothes look really frumpy and I just can't bear the pain of regular clothes. I have both Crohn's disease and Fibromyalgia so clothes hurt, period! That also means most pictures of me are either of me hiding or covering certain areas of my body. I would hugely appreciate any suggestions! Thanks for your article! Rever Meek
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