Adaptive Clothing Needs of Seniors: A Caregiver’s Perspective

Caregivers make important decisions every day on behalf of loved ones, from finance to personal care. Today’s Canadian Baby Boomers are acting as caregivers to their same-age or older loved ones in greater numbers than ever before.  

New research led by Dr. Hong Yu and Dr. Osmud Rahman of Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), Exploring the shopping experiences of aging caregivers and their overall well-being is increasingly important and timely.  The study’s findings are informed by a survey of over three hundred Canadian Boomer caregivers, including 15 in-depth caregiver interviews and focus groups with industry experts in retail, adaptive-wear design, health policy, and care provision.  

The Role of Shopping as Caregivers 

This new study shows that caregivers play a very important role in apparel shopping for seniors. Caregivers who help provide clothes that are appropriate and functional to their care recipients also contribute to a sense of overall personal wellbeing, not just for the loved ones they support.  

Key Factors Impacting the Caregiving Shoppers and Care Recipients 

The good feeling experienced when shopping for older adults is described by caregivers as emotional engagement, or the meaningfulness in service found in the task of shopping for others. This study found several factors that create positive shopping experiences, for example: 

1. Helpful and knowledgeable sales associates

Many of the caregivers surveyed reported that shopping for others is a social engagement they enjoy. They described how patient and friendly staff make a big difference in their experience when shopping for clothes to fit the needs of their friends or family members.  

Store associates who can answer questions about the changing clothing needs of older adults such as offering fit advice and style options—make a positive difference by providing a friendly ear to clients who need guidance in choosing or finding the garment for their loved one.  

2. Appropriate clothing selections

Caregiving shoppers take their responsibilities seriously, as selecting the right adaptive clothing can make a big difference to the physical and emotional comfort of a loved one in care. A caregiver’s help in assessing the needs and preferences of their care recipients is essential, as it contributes to the wearer’s comfort, who may need new or extra considerations for accessibility, warmth, sizes for changing body shapes, washability, or style.  

3. Meaningful exchanges that foster connection and mutual trust

Through life’s transitions, caregivers offer a thread of important consistency during the stress of changing needs, new diagnoses, or environments. Fostering this social interaction is key, regardless if their loved one has home care or assisted living options. Caregivers who spend time and consult with loved ones about clothing choices and preferences, from size to colour to functionality, find that these are low-stress, conversational moments where trust and friendship grow. Bringing a digital device into a care setting to look up garments online together offers an engaging social experience that results in the purchase of items that are agreed upon by both the caregiver and their loved one.  

Doing research together by browsing favourite clothing items, and finding similar styles available online, offers the loved one a voice in the choice of what to buy. Questions like, “Which colour do you like best?” or, “What fabric feels best?” can offer insight into the personal preferences of the cared-for person. Caregivers who know and who honour the preferences of their loved ones establish and retain a special connection that is extremely important to a senior person’s sense of overall wellbeing when health, mobility, or other life circumstances are shifting.  

4. Celebration of independence and self-expression

Choosing adaptive solutions that help a loved one keep their sense of personal style and to keep dressing on their own, like the Silverts Self-Dressing Magnetic Buttons Shirt, is one more way for caregivers to help their loved ones retain independence. Many people with arthritis or mobility issues find self-dressing easier with adaptive features, and prefer styles like the Silverts Snap On clothing line designed specifically to extend options for self-care and support aging-in-place.  

Within assisted living or care homes, the choice to wear adaptive clothing that looks like everyday clothing instead of a hospital gown is essential to both people in care and caregivers.  

“If patients or residents are wearing usual clothes, then it helps with their recovery,” says one senior health policy lead from Newfoundland, Canada. Senior Executive VP Michael Hughes of the US network of United Church Homes agrees, saying, “Residents should feel like they are in control of their own routine; that they are able to manipulate and choose the clothing they would like to choose.”  

As caregivers are often asked to help move an aging loved one into an assisted living environment, or to help organize a newly downsized lifestyle, determining the usefulness as well as the meaning of items of clothing to a loved one in care is important. TMU researcher Zachary Robichaud says, “Caregiving is not merely about running errands — it’s also a meaningful activity that impacts the quality of life of their aging family members and friends.”   

5. Collaborative shopping deepens the satisfaction of caregivers and recipients

Caregivers engage with the task of garment shopping as a meaningful way to better respond to the needs of their loved ones. They report finding happiness in providing clothing that fits a loved one’s particular needs and wants, reassuring a caregiver that they are purchasing the right items. Some caregivers in the TMU study found they were surprised by what their loved ones find fashionable, comfortable, and within a healthy price range. 

Clothes Shopping for Seniors – Final Thoughts 

Researching clothing solutions together that fit physical needs and personal preferences ensures greater reassurance during a caregiver’s shopping experience. While clinical or care environments can be confusing, a person in care can experience security knowing their personal style choices and preferences can be met by a thoughtful caregiver who is garment shopping on their behalf. Likewise, caregivers who feel informed by consulting with the care recipients and store experts about these clothing choices feel empowered that they are making well-informed clothing purchases.  

Sharing ideas about clothing preferences allows a cared-for person to feel heard and involved in the task. Caregivers who consult this way with loved ones experience a sense of internal reward themselves: knowing that by assisting others with garment shopping for adaptive or recovery wear, they are helping to enhance the independence, self-confidence, and overall wellbeing of their loved ones.