Helping Seniors Wearing the Same Clothes Every Day

As people age, nutritional deficiencies, mental illnesses such as dementia, and other causes can affect the brain and its thinking processes. It’s no surprise that strange behavior often ensues, including seniors wearing certain garments or the entirety of an outfit for several days in a row. As a caregiver, what can you do to cope with elderly patients or family members who dress in the same clothes every day?

What Does it Mean When Someone Wears the Same Clothes Every Day in Old Age?

Like most eldercare obstacles, the first step is to attempt to understand the reasons behind their actions. If you think it’s beneficial to just ask, do so in a non-confrontational way. For example, “I couldn’t help but notice how often you’ve been wearing that shirt! Why is it your favorite?” is much more sensible and open-ended language than “You’ve been wearing that exact same outfit for days! Don’t you realize it needs washing?” Every senior will be at a different stage of life so be aware of their mood and how you phrase your question.

Otherwise, careful observation can give you the answers you’re looking for. There isn’t a catch-all “wearing the same clothes everyday disorder.” Instead, you’ll have to look at specific factors that come with age to find the culprit of a habit like repeated dressing. Impaired judgment and/or short term memory, including that caused by dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease, are common contributors to the problem; sufferers may have trouble telling days apart, remembering which outfit they wore last, making decisions, or discerning dirty clothes from clean ones. Alternatively, your loved ones may simply like their one set of clothing, because it’s comfortable, attractive, or effortless.

Dementia & Dressing

Why do dementia patients not want to change clothes? With the progression of dementia symptoms, everyday tasks like dressing can become increasingly difficult. Memory loss may interfere with their ability to recall how to complete such tasks or even recognize the need to do them. For instance, a person with dementia may struggle to remember the steps required to dress or undress, or keep up other areas of their personal hygiene. Dementia can also affect a person’s understanding of their surroundings and the passage of time, which may make dressing confusing or even distressing. In these moments, it’s important to be patient and provide support while maintaining as much of their independence as possible.

Personal care activities, such as getting dressed, can be a source of anxiety for both the person with dementia and their caregiver. It’s natural for someone to feel embarrassed or self-conscious about needing help with something so personal. As you learn how to help someone with dementia, always aim to respect their privacy and dignity, offering assistance in a way that makes them feel comfortable and reassured. Discover our guide for more tips for dementia caregivers beyond dressing. 

Helping Seniors Get Dressed

As a caregiver, you must first be certain an elder’s choice of wardrobe (or lack thereof) really is a problem. It may not be such a big deal if they only change clothing every couple of days, especially if they’re content in them. Silverts has a large selection of easy-wash garments; our stylish designs are also great for disguising stains and spills. Be sure you’re after a solution in order to help their personal hygiene, not your displeasure in seeing repeat outfits.

Secondly, you may be able to assist them in improving their own habit. Perhaps it’s just a matter of taking them shopping, purging/organizing their closet, or pre-planning outfits for them.

Finally, if you have to get creative, here are some hands-on tips to help seniors that do not change or wash their clothing often enough:

• Buy doubles of their favorite outfit or clothing articles. This way, one can be washed while the other is worn. This is extremely important in pants,; these great gabardine pants come in  many different colors, so get a few pairs for an affordable price. Having a few of the same color can also help to create less confusion when picking out the morning outfit.
• For socks and undergarments, the more the merrier! The safe bet is to have underwear ready for two weeks and bras and undershirts have one week’s worth. This might seem like too much, but you have to remember they don’t have as much energy to do laundry regularly.
• Remove dirty clothes while they are asleep, laying clean, similar pieces in the same spot. Try to promote “laundry days,”, where you do your laundry with them. This can help them keep a resemblance of a routine, which might calm them about you taking their clothes to be washed.
• If you are finding them sleeping in the clothes they have on, try making a nighttime routine. If you see them daily, or know that they have someone coming in daily, try to promote putting pyjamas on their bed, so when they go to bed they are there for them to see. A big reason why seniors may sleep in the same outfit that they are wearing that day could be because they are simply too tired to change at night. Try calling them at a reasonable hour to tell them you are going to bed and that they should change into their pyjamas too.
• Giving them an area array of different outfits for the week can be an easy task for a Sunday visit. If you are only able to visit them once a week, clear off a dresser or vanity and make a week’s worth of outfits. Anything to make the morning groggy less of an obstacle.

There are many different reasons as to why seniors might be repeating the same exact same outfits. They could simply just be too tired to go through laundering. It might be their most comfortable outfit. They may even think that they haven’t worn it yet depending on their state. Once you figure out the reason you can take the proper course of action and think of ways to prevent this. If they don’t have any assistance at home yet, it might be time to start thinking about getting them in-home help. It could just be that they need a little extra help in the morning, or that they need a little extra help around the house. Start with Silverts, where you can encourage easy dressing with adaptive clothing items from our dementia and Alzheimer’s clothing collection.

Sources: 

Alzheimer’s Society. How does dementia affect washing and dressing?https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/daily-living/washing-dressing#content-start. Accessed on September 25, 2024.