A She-Ra and the Princess of Power inspired concept line of sensory friendly Children’s Wear, with outfits based off of She-Ra, Bow, Glimmer, Perfuma, and Spinnerella.
Most of you probably know this by now, but for those who don’t, I’m Autistic. Although nowadays I have no shame in talking or joking about my autism, this wasn’t the case for the majority of my life. Something that made my life a living hell for most of my existence were my sensory issues. I still have plenty today, and continue to have problems shopping for clothing, but they are not nearly as bad as they once were. As a child and a young teen, finding clothes that I could wear without having a meltdown was almost impossible. Things were too itchy, too crunchy, too heavy, the list goes on. Tags, seams, elastic. These were just a few of the long list of things that could make me have a meltdown. I would wear the same thing every day (I had multiple garments or colors) as I just wanted to live my life as pain free as possible. But interacting with girls my age who were all so interested in fashion resulted in me feeling terribly left out. I wanted nothing more than to be able to wear stylish jeans or the cute blouses everyone else was wearing.
Although my sensory issues have gotten significantly better, (I mean, look at my cosplays!) I still haven’t forgotten the terrible feeling of isolation or the bullying for not having cute clothes. It was easy to ignore all of the other popular activities my peers were partaking in, as I had no interest in things such as sports or gossip. But I have always loved fashion, so it was incredibly heartbreaking that I couldn’t participate. Designers and companies so often leave disabled individuals out of fashion, or on the rare occasion they do include us, we are always represented by someone who “looks disabled.” I never want children with sensory issues to feel left out, to feel like they can’t be a princess, and can’t stand the fact that they have to wear the same thing every day like I did. All of this inspired me to make this concept line, “Princess Power,” for a class project.
This line was designed with children with sensory processing issues in mind, however, it is not clothing solely made for those who deal with those challenges. This is clothing for every child or tween who wants to wear it. And what better to base my line off of than a show that portrays princesses in so many different, wonderful ways? Sensory friendly clothing has come a long way by entering the mainstream, but it still has a long way to go, and I want to help it get there. My personal favorite detail is the removable appliqués on Bow and Glimmer’s pieces that are reversible sequins. Not only is it fashionable, but it is soooooooo stimmy!!!
Although I won’t be making physical garments do to fears with licensing, here are some notes on the designs:
•Minimal seams, and seams in places less likely to cause distress
•sensory friendly fabric such as soft cotton knit and soft chiffon
•glitter effect on fabric without the itchiness
•Removable reversible sequins appliqués on Glimmer and Bow’s outfits. GREAT FOR STIMMING!!!
•No zippers or other fastenings, except for the overalls with snap buttons
baratheonpilled
janainaart
jacobvanloon
germansingergirl
