In my Accidentally Adaptive series, I share products or services that aren’t specifically designed to be adaptive but have a particular use for me as a disabled woman.
I love the look of a cardigan over a dress, but I often struggle with actually making it work. It can be tricky to make a cardigan look nice while seated – if they’re too tight, they end up bunched and keep rolling up, and if I leave it unbuttoned, it has to stretch around the supports of my wheelchair and it just won’t stay put. Plus, my shoulders are so narrow that if I leave something unbuttoned, it tends to keep sliding off my shoulders. But I like the warmth of a sweater! So when I saw this Madewell sweater with one button, I was so excited.
This sweater is perfect! It has so many features that make it a great extra layer for me – and a very cute part of my outfit! It’s a loose, cotton knit – it’s nice and warm, but doesn’t feel too heavy or constricting. The more relaxed fit is super nice, because it makes it so much easier to layer. It worked perfectly over my Nap Dress here, and made what would be considered more of a summer-y dress work really well for the colder temperatures.
But the real stars are the features that make it accidentally adaptive. First is the “shirttail” style, which is a term that’s new to me but I’m adding to my clothing vocabulary repertoire so I can look for it in the future. Because it’s loose and open like that, it fits perfectly around the supports on my wheelchair that help keep my hips and torso in place. It just feels so nice – there’s no tugging or pulling at all!
And the other important feature is the single button. If there’s no button at all, cardigans fall off my shoulders all the time. My torso and shoulders are just so, so narrow that things slide right off, and I don’t really have the mobility and strength to keep pulling the sleeve back on. But if there are buttons all the way down, it’s a problem, too! It stays on my shoulder, but the lower buttons make the sweater tug around those same wheelchair supports. And I just don’t love the look of having half the buttons closed and half open. But a sweater that’s meant to only have one button?! I love it! The sweater doesn’t fall off my shoulders, and it fits perfectly around my wheelchair while seated.
And of course – you don’t need to be in a wheelchair to enjoy this sweater! It’s cozy and just the right amount of oversized for anyone looking to add it to their outfit, whether it’s over a dress or a top. It’s so incredibly comfortable and just the perfect easy to throw on, extra layer.
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