#29 Dressing For Comfort And Practicality
Written by SAPL on December 23rd, 2008 in Clothing.
Sandy Austin whanau on Flickr
Clothes may make the neurotypical man or woman, but they will never make the Asperger person.
Aspies generally have no use for the latest fashions, and would prefer to wear clothing for comfort and practical purposes.
Much to the disappointment of the Asperger’s friends and family, the Aspie will continue to dress him or herself for these comfort and practical purposes even after constant reprimands, lessons, and downright rude comments.
An Asperger female may find herself at a greater risk, as the neurotypical female species place more of an importance on clothing and style. As one male once stated, “A man would not think twice about wearing the same thing twice in a week. A girl would think it was horrible to wear the same thing twice in a month.”
So when an Asperger girl wears her favorite pair of pumps with every outfit-including her jogging pants-nasty words are going to fly.
Ditto for untucked shirts, colors that don’t match, clothing with rips and tears, or that same pair of black pants that has been washed so many times, it is now gray.
Many helpful hints will be passed on to the Asperger, such as “Look through the latest fashion catalogues and copy your wardrobe like theirs.” Some will comply, with graciousness or annoyance.
A good way to cease these nagging, or, uh, helpful hints, is to follow the advice given. A smart Asperger would go out and find a fashion magazine and plan their wardrobe exactly after the models. The best brand to model after is Victoria’s secret, especially for men. Once an Asperger’s parents see their son in pink wings and a push-up, they might back off and make a deal that you only have to be mindful of clothing for a job interview or work itself, not going to the friggin’ grocery store.
Adult costume stores are also a good place for ideas. You could put together a nice outfit based upon dozens of characters, from “Naughty Nurse,” to “Temptress Teacher.”
Both of the above are sure to please those who are concerned about the Asperger’s fashion tastes. Victoria’s Secret never carries yesterday’s fashions. And sex shop costumes might be very open and revealing in various places, thus preventing any tight feelings on the skin for those with sensory sensitivity issues. If there are any objections, remind those around you you’re simply following their advice. And that the outfit you’re wearing matches, which is by far the most important thing.
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I dress mostly for comfort too, especially in the winter when it’s mostly track pants, but I get a lot of compliments because I enjoy dressing in the colourful, whimsical things I’ve designed and embroidered myself, such as T-shirts and skirts. My wedding dress, 2 skirts and a green dress are all embroidered with carousel horses around the hem and I have one white skirt elaborately festooned with colourful butterflies. I also have various T-shirts with carousel horses, lilacs, one with licorice allsorts and one with my trio of “Ewetopia” sheep, as well as two of my “Autism Awareness Carousel” T-shirts, all hand-embroidered. I am a walking advertisement for my own work and I’ve sold several hand-embroidered T-shirts over the years! 🙂
May 21st, 2009 at 12:43 am
I find myself gravitating towards certain jeans and shirts. I have nice clothes but find myself fixated on certain pants and shirts – it drives my wife nuts. I thinks she hates those pants and t-shirts.
June 1st, 2010 at 11:37 pm
haha my family and boyfriend have lectured me frequently on my dressing habits. It doesnt help I moved to the city where the fashion expectation is even higher. Its so contrary to me that women are expected to dress as such to be uncomfotable, at risk for embarrassing exposure, and in the the case of heels and a few other items health risk (bunions, toe scruntching, rolling on your ankles, blisters, calluses, etc). Besides usually not being comfortable many “fashionable” items are either unflattering on me or I plain dont find them aesthetically pleasing. Leggings as pants are only flattering on solid buns! I am however attracted to colorful, intricate, and sparkly things clothing wise.
February 17th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
I have got this thing where I can only wear a specific shirt on a specific day, otherwise I just overload mentally. Apart from that I always wear a tshirt and a blouse with cargo jeans, which definitelly sets me apart from all other girls I know and gives me a lot of rude comments. I just have to bear them though since I just psychologically cant wear anything else. So I just get stuck wearing things to shreads and buying 5 thesame items when I do find stuff that feels good.
March 21st, 2011 at 11:53 am
Thanks 4 this site from a NT girlfriend of an Aspie. I thought my 59yr old guy was being plain rude,inflexable and quirkey. He has not been diagnosed an Aspie(he thinks he is) I do too. Reading comments & expierances of others helps. I can now say “Oh, this is just his regular self & not premeditated malice on his part. Thank you
March 4th, 2012 at 9:55 pm
i’m an over 50 aspie female. I am as fit as I was in my youth and can wear the latest fashion with ease, if I choose to. I make my family crazy that I choose to wear comfy jeans, t shirts and gym shoes. new men I meet want to know why I dress down, when I could look much more attractive on the female scale. I just don’t care. One man said he has figured it out, he thinks I would draw so much male attention that I would be overwhelmed .
Nice compliment, but way wrong.
April 30th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
its why i wear my shirts till they have holes in them, just so comfy and feel right. new clothes, tags have to go, need to wash and crumple a few times. i have maybe 5 sets of clothes i rotate thru. and lots of gift clothes ive never worn and never will. sweaters, ughhhh, itch itch itch…
August 19th, 2013 at 1:38 am
Clothes are on my skin and my skin is very attached to my brain. Since a lot of my thinking is down with my skin the wrong clothes can disrupt it. Sometimes I’m concentrating on some thought for several days and that is why I don’t want to change clothes. All my underwear has to feel the same and be very flexible. Mesh is best.