How to look stylish in a wheelchair - a style interview with Alicia
Alicia is a truly inspiring style blogger. She is the perfect example of a stylish adult female who does not permit anything get in the manner of looking her about stylish cocky. Alicia has cerebral palsey and spends a lot of time in her wheelchair, just she found that she felt and then much better (and was taken a lot more seriously by others too) when she did not let that get in the way of dressing the best that she perchance manage. Find out more virtually this fashionable blogger and become her best tips on dressing for a wheelchair likewise!
Can y'all tell us a little bit more about yourself?
I was born with Cerebral Palsy, which is a condition acquired by lack of oxygen to the brain, unremarkably at birth. There are many different forms of CP. Mine affects my ability to walk well and my fine motor skills. It'south difficult for me to do some things that could easily be taken for granted, like typing or fastening a push button. I also have facial tics so posing for pictures can exist challenging. When I go out I use an electrical wheelchair to get around, although on rare occasions I may use my walker or crutches. I am one of merely a scattering of disabled fashion bloggers on the Internet.
Equally a indicate of reference which age group do you lot belong to or perhaps you lot are willing to share your age?
I recently historic my 53rd birthday.
Can you lot tell us a bit more about your weblog Spashionista and why yous created it?
It'south no hole-and-corner that the disabled are the largest minority in the entire globe. Not simply do they accept to overcome physical challenges on a daily basis they also accept self-esteem bug and economic barriers to debate with. Spashionista started as a mode for me to try and assist disabled women overcome some major fashion challenges due to their disability or the medical equipment they apply to function in everyday life. As time went on I realized that my message was as well relevant to women over 40 and women in my town of Nashville, Tennessee. A keen weblog shouldn't be afraid to grow its core message and that's what I have gradually done over time.
With Spashionista I promise to share all of my passions expressed in my boondocks with my physical limitations at my stage in life. That includes fashion and trends and giveaways geared towards older, curvier, and disenfranchised woman. But it besides includes a glimpse at life in Nashville, which is one of the fastest- growing, cosmopolitan cities in the southern US, and a steady push towards social awareness and acceptance of the disabled. I believe a narrative that advocates for positive, lasting social changes can be entertaining likewise equally enlightening.
On your about page yous described how paying more attention to your clothes, inverse the way people approached y'all. Can yous tell a chip more about that?
Equally a younger woman I used to exist adequately oblivious well-nigh my personal appearance. I had enough things to worry virtually and fashion was very low on my listing of priorities. People tended to overlook me completely and often spoke to my husband as though I wasn't even at that place, something I e'er attributed to being disabled. But after seeing a few episodes of BBC's "What Not To Wear" I started to wonder if it wasn't at least in part due to my sloppy appearance. Then I started making a conscious effort to dress in wearable that fit better and was more appropriate both to specific occasions and my body type. The difference in the way I was treated by others was dark and twenty-four hour period. Present it'southward rare for me to see a person who refuses to wait at or talk to me. We may non want to admit that people approximate a book by it'southward cover, but that'south often the case – at least until they get to know you lot. I've found that if yous brand an effort to make as best a visual impression as you lot tin it generally pays off.
Since you demand to spend quite a lot of time in a wheelchair, which clothing works the best for you?
Information technology honestly depends on the situation. As a general dominion anything overly voluminous or too long doesn't work because I run the risk of it getting caught in my wheels. About a year agone my better half rebuilt an electric wheelchair for me and that gives me more liberty in terms of clothing options. Because I no longer have to push I can deport a stylish satchel or clutch instead of having to wear a cross-body bag all the time, and heels are now possible as well. The main matter I take to worry about is how my outfits expect from a seated position because that'southward how everyone is probable to see them.
What are your best style and clothing tips for other women who demand to spend a big corporeality of their time in a bicycle chair?
The most important thing to remember is there is no hiding in a wheelchair. Even people who overlook you look you over starting time! The single biggest excuse I hear from disabled women is they can't exist comfortable and wear functional dress that are too stylish. This simply isn't true, only yous have to honestly appraise your wardrobe and be willing to look for pieces that work well and look skillful on yous. Pay attention to the items in your current wardrobe that don't interact with your chair very well and take notation of why they aren't working. For example, well-nigh women in wheelchairs should stay away from low rise jeans because throughout the twenty-four hour period, as you readjust yourself in your seat, you run a high hazard of sliding right out of your pants. Mid ascension jeans work just also and, given the correct fit, are equally as stylish. Oh, and find a decent tailor to do your alterations.
How would yous draw your own style?
Classically feminine and sexy with a dash of trendy thrown in for good measure out.
What would you lot consider the nigh important components of your style?
A great jacket goes a long way with me. I actually don't like my upper arms so I vesture jackets year-round. Over tank tops in Summer; over sweaters in Winter. Because I'thousand very voluptuous a quality bra is a must! I tend to get for lower cut tops, also, or necklaces that draw the eye down, also as pencil skirts. Jewelry, especially bracelets, are essential. And so is a great hat every now and so. My beloved of shoes is adequately obvious to my readers. I often vesture as loftier a heel as I can stand up in.
Where do you live and how does that influence your style?
I live in Nashville, Tennessee, which is currently starting time to be recognized every bit a great, up-and-coming metropolis for the New South in the U.s.. I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to comprehend Nashville Fashion Calendar week 2014 and I write extensively about Music City'due south local designers and vendors. The gaudy, rhinestone-covered Country and Western wear has all but disappeared from here. Instead, Nashville finds itself an epicenter for the Hipster and Boho-Chic fashion movements. In addition to lots of denim, which has always been a fashion staple here, I love wearing local designers like Project Runway Alumnus Amanda Valentine when they have pieces that suit me.
What inspires your outfit choices the most?
Besides the obvious variables similar weather condition and venue I really retrieve nearly what bulletin I want to transport with my outfit.
Do you take things like colour profiling or trunk type into account when you apparel?
Absolutely! There non much point in making an effort if the terminate result is unflattering. It's of import to know what shapes, styles and colors look skillful and suit accordingly.
Has your style changed at all after turning xl?
Information technology has, and more and so after turning 50. Now it's much more than nigh quality than quantity. I'g smarter about what I demand and what looks adept on me. Gone are all the unflattering shapes – the cap sleeves, capri pants, short-shorts – along with the notion that just because I love a garment doesn't mean it will await good on me. Information technology has to be flattering or it will make me look old!
Exercise you believe in dressing 'age appropriately' and what does it mean to yous?
I recollect that phrase ways dissimilar things to dissimilar people. Some would argue that my Music City Hipster tank meridian isn't age appropriate, just If I pair information technology with indigo skinny jeans, a well-baked cotton jacket and some cork wedges I think information technology's perfect. I'm also Petite and I think Petite proportions lend themselves to dressing a little younger and getting away with information technology.
Would you say that at this stage of your life you are now more, or less interested in manner, style and the manner you look?
Much more! The older I get the more than urgency I experience in relaying the message that fashion is for everyone out there. I do everything I can to stay salubrious and be agile, so I'g going to take pride and pleasance in dressing the trunk I have today. It's a lot of fun, too!
Which of the outfits on your web log are personal favorites and why?
Obviously, the ii outfits that are on the Spashionista.com header. They're both very unproblematic seasonal representations of my coincidental fashion. On the reverse end of the spectrum I also really love the wearing apparel I wore to Thanksgiving dinner last twelvemonth.
I'm pretty pleased with how I styled my Amanda Valentine navy and taupe graphic tunic to testify information technology in an age-appropriate light.
My latest Stitch Ready outfit is the image of my Summer uniform.
Do you follow trends? And if yep, which trends excite you at the moment?
The black and white trend has really grown on me. I think blackness tin can be difficult to wear so information technology comes as a surprise. The shorter, looser tops and narrower pants are great, besides. My favorite current trends are the wedge sandals, peculiarly the corkies, because they were popular when I was in High School.
Do yous have any style and manner tips for women over forty?
Don't be afraid to be yourself. No thing how former you are, yous can all the same have a vibrant, authentic personality and express it in what you wear. But you're non a young woman anymore and you can't wear what you did when yous were twenty years erstwhile anymore. You have evolved as a person; so should your wardrobe.
What are your plans for your blog and how do you lot encounter it develop over the coming years?
I'd like to continue to focus on content that has a positive impact on anyone who reads Spashionista.com. If you call back about information technology my cadre audition – disabled, curvy, older people every bit well every bit Nashvillians with an involvement in fashion – are not privy to the same fashions as the able-bodied, young, and thin living in major cities. I'd like to reach as broad an audition as possible (and that includes manner industry people and clothing companies) and show them that there is dazzler in being different as long as you're being true to who yous are.
Annihilation further you would like to add?
Cheers for asking such thoughtful questions and for the accolade of beingness featured hither on xl+manner!
Alicia is a true inspiration, so be sure to check out her weblog Spashionista right now!
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