Anyone tried maternity clothes for scoliosis??

[harmoniesdj]

Has anyone shopped in maternity clothing for tops?? Was thinking that these clothes have empire waists & tie backs that may flow over the waist, hips & scoli curves. Want to get feedback before I go thru the exhausting effort of trying on clothes. Thanks - Cynthia

[Leelee]

I've tried it! Mostly for the pants though haha. I found maternity jeans before that had like a stretchy fabric top that worked really well, and it loved it. The tops would probably work very well too. give them a try it cant hurt.

[Ballerina]

I absolutely love them. They hide my curve very well. You will probably need to try on many of them. Some companies don't cut the fabric enough around the stomach area so it really does make you look 6 months pregnant.

[rainbow2010]

Back when I had my surgery, I was in a body cast (plaster) for 9 months. Maternity clothes were the only thing I could get to fit over my cast. They give you more room, but be careful of the cut or they will make you look pregnant!

[~ScoliosisGirl~]

ya i know.. haha thats why i never even thought of looking in that clothes section.. haha

[coloradogirl]

No. I have yet to try them. I am always trying to find ways to hide my rib hump.

[The Slice]

Hey folks, it's great that you've found clothes that work well with your scoliosis/brace, but here's a suggestion that may help as much if not more. Celebrate your differences - celebrate your scoliosis and/or the brace. I know that when you are a teen, or tween, your body image is important to you, but what's more important is who you are on the inside. There is too much emphasis on having a "perfect" body, and there ISN'T a perfect body! Dare to be different - to be an individual! Remember that the treatment for scoliosis is NOT for cosmeetic reasons, it's for medical reasons.

[rincotato]

Hey folks, it's great that you've found clothes that work well with your scoliosis/brace, but here's a suggestion that may help as much if not more. Celebrate your differences - celebrate your scoliosis and/or the brace. I know that when you are a teen, or tween, your body image is important to you, but what's more important is who you are on the inside. There is too much emphasis on having a "perfect" body, and there ISN'T a perfect body! Dare to be different - to be an individual! Remember that the treatment for scoliosis is NOT for cosmeetic reasons, it's for medical reasons.

well thats really great that you are that comfortable with yourself to "celebrate your scoliosis" but many people are not, and of course there are no perfect bodies but other people have a normal anatomy at least and thats what i'd call perfect! So your suggestion isn't that helpful, well not to me anyway as i'm very conscious and you can't just switch that off and be comfortable with yourself (if only you could.) I'd love to not care about my scoliosis like you, but i cannot unfortunately. For ppl who want clothes advice, i wear a lot of cardigans and cropped cardigans, they're quite useful for skimming the rib hump. I'm awfully frustrated with having to wear cardigans all the time now though, but give it a try, it's pretty good
-x-x-x-

[harmoniesdj]

well thats really great that you are that comfortable with yourself to "celebrate your scoliosis" but many people are not, and of course there are no perfect bodies but other people have a normal anatomy at least and thats what i'd call perfect! So your suggestion isn't that helpful, well not to me anyway as i'm very conscious and you can't just switch that off and be comfortable with yourself (if only you could.) I'd love to not care about my scoliosis like you, but i cannot unfortunately.

I have to agree with you. I am not a "teen or tween" but a grown adult & I still am conscious of my body. For goodness sakes even to "celebrate" my scoliosis I'd have to be conscious of my body. So this is not a valid point to make. Dealing with dressing oneself is the point. Especially when the "Dress For Success" social standards makes it difficult for us scolies to find clothing that fits our bodies. It's one thing to be comfortable with our bodies & our scoliosis.....and quite another to dress ourselves given the constraints of clothing manufacturers. Perhaps if the people with the attitude of "celebrating their scoliosis" put more pressure on society to get rid of the "Dress For Success" and "What Not to Wear" mind set, progress would be made to "celebrate" our personalities and individual bodies. Until then I'll always be conscious of my scoliosis.

Toss into the mix that I am tall (6') & I have a triple the trouble finding clothes long enough and shoes big enough for my body much less finding clothes to fit me because of the scoliosis. So often I just give up & start to cry. I get so tired of being told to 'celebrate my scoliosis' when all I really want is suggestions on dealing with the deformities.

I wear a lot of cardigan sets also and that helps. I also get my pants & skirts altered to fit properly. I gave up trying to keep up with the fashion trends.....esp when I was working in Manhattan where you are judged not only by job performance but also by how you dress.....and try to stick with fashion classics. Empire waists and A-line dress cuts seem to work as well as seperates. Still looking for ideas however. xxxx

[ScoliGirl81]

I agree with both sides. When I was younger, scoliosis was the most horrible thing in my life, most days. It consumed me. I was obsessed with my uneven hips. It was horrible. I remember laying in bed, face buried in the pillow, crying hyterically because I wasn't going to be able to go to a church function bc of my hips. (I couldn't find anything that looked good to wear!) Looking back, that was silly to some degree. But at the time, it was very real. And it hurt so badly. I remember it like it was yesterday.

The older I got, the less it bothered me. But it still bothered me. I didn't want guys to get too close, bc I didn't want them to feel how different I was. And I have to admit, when I woke up in the ICU after my surgery, the very first thing I did was feel my hip bones to see if they had moved. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't insanely happy that they were almost normal.

About clothes, I did try maternity clothes. Liz Lange makes really cute stuff at Target. And I also wore a lot of cami tops with jackets/cardigans/button down tops to cover the hips.

Try to hang in there and know that to some degree, it will get better!

[The Slice]

Rincotao and Harmoniesdj, I didn't mean to upset you. Take a look at the other thread in this section, it will give you a good idea of what I'm talking about. It doesn't mean that you have to not dress stylishly, but there's no reason these days to have to hide the brace. Yes, when you're a kid/tween/teen, there are those who will tease you. And that's not nice, or is it right. But learning to accept that at least for a while, this is a part of who you are, Then you're a lot closer to where you can let people say what they want and not be bothered about it. Because you are so young, you have no way of knowing how much things have changed when it comes people being different because of a physical challenge. I am middle aged, and have a sleep disorder that requires me to wear a mask when I sleep. A few years ago, I was involved with a youth mission program with teens and there was not one comment, or question about what it was or why I was wearing it. The brace issue is one that is similar to your every day life. What you may see as "different", or "wrong" about you is probably something that no one else has noticed. There used to be a time when kids were extremely self conscious about wearing braces on their teeth. Now it's like a "badge of honor". Yes, there are a number of downsides to having to wear a brace, the biggest of course is dealing with it in hot weather. As one of the posters in the other thread said, it will seem like a big deal right now, but later when you look back on it, you'll wonder why it was. I had a whole bunch of medical problems as a child, most of them non apparent, and scoliosis was not one of them for me but it has affected me in so many ways that I wish that all I had to worry about was something that made me look different than other kids. Okay, maybe saying that you should celebrate having scoliosis, or wearing a brace was a bit far out there, But learn to accept yourself, and the brace and learn to take a "so what" attitude about it. When others see that you are taking it in stride and that it's no big deal, then it's alot less likely that anyone will bother you about it. If you work on trying to choose clothes that work with the brace instead of clothes that will hide it, I'll bet that you'll have a lot less trouble finding cool things to wear.

[ecnw]

I think it not only has to do with clothes, but what you're comfortable with. When I had to wear a brace, I wore sweats or borrowed an adult sized dress, nothing else fit in my size range, the brace added too much bulk. I wasn't that comfortable with how I looked, it showed in the clothes I wore. My daughter has a much better outlook on things (plus, being as thin as she is helps too). She finds trendy things that look great on her, sometimes her brace pokes out, but normally most people don't notice. For my son, you can't help but notice from the backside, permenant plumbers crack, but that doesn't bother him.
It's all about what you're comfortable in, especially in the teen years. You have to be confident with yourself, then it shows on the outside.
Em

[BraceGal]

Hey,
I love camo print clothes and I found this awesome pair of pants in the maternity secotion! they are my fave jeans now the only probis they slip down at the back so im constnly pulling them up.
It may look a bit werid a young gal shopping in the maternity clothes but u gotta do what u gotta do

BraceGal (BOSTON BRACE 2YEARS)

[The Slice]

Hey Bracegal, try putting a bit of the "fingers" side of some velcro on the back of your brace, this may be enough to hold the back of your pants up.

[BraceGal]

Hey thanx thats a great idea ill have to try it!!