by Tiff -

IZ Adaptive Designs to be Showcased in Museum Exhibit

Now this is something I can guarantee you’ve never seen at any museum before. Debuting this Saturday at the Royal Ontario Museum,  also known as the ROM, Canada’s largest natural history museum, is a textile exhibit sure to impress any wheelchair-user, or anyone interested in fashion created for the seated form.

Called Fashion Follows Form: Designs for Sitting, this exhibit showcases the brilliant designs of Izzy Camilleri and her line IZ Adaptive, which were all created with wheelchair-users in mind. But it’s not just showcasing her designs and no one else’s. The exhibit also will be showcasing designs from the 18th and 19th century that were also created for the seated form.

This part is pretty cool considering how difficult it is to preserve textiles from even 100 years ago. I absolutely love antique clothing for this very reason. To get into specifics on the new garment side, Izzy will be showing 12 of her looks, including her leather jacket that splits into two with a vertical zipper for easy access, a trench coat with the shorter back (my all-time fave) and her gorgeous wheelchair-friendly wedding dress.

And there will be 6 antique textile pieces shown alongside IZ’s garments. A few of these include a dolman created to accommodate a large bustle, 18th century breeches and a 19th century side-saddle riding habit. All of IZ’s garments will also be shown on standing mannequins to demonstrate why the designs work so well for sitting.

Also, 12 of Izzy’s iconic designs, garments she’s made for film, will also be on display, including her silver fox coat worn by Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.

Fashion Follows Form debuts this Saturday, June 21, 2014 at the ROM and will run through January 25th, 2015. And even cooler – if you can’t make it in person, the exhibit will also be online. I’m so glad an exhibit like this is happening. It will give a huge slice of the population insight into a world, a textile issue, they’ve never thought of before.

And if you’ve never gone to the ROM, definitely consider going in you’re in the Toronto area. It has won several accessibility awards and has dozens of fascinating exhibits. You won’t regret it.

Will you go to Fashion Follows Form: Designs for Sitting?

– Learn more: Fashion Follows Form: Designs for Sitting

– Izzy Camilleri’s online clothing store: IZ Adaptive

by Tiff -

Excited to Share IZ Adaptive’s Revamped Site & Inventory

IZ Adaptive has been an award-winning adaptive clothing line for the seated body since 2009, spearheaded by renowned Canadian fashion designer Izzy Camilleri. Izzy intimately knows the world of fashion, and know that change is always a good thing, which is why she’s revamped her website & inventory.

I couldn’t be more excited either. Prints are one of the biggest changes you’ll notice in her collection, with leopard print and floral prints now available with their adorable Capri pants and Women’s blazers. They’ve also added a “Dressing Easy” category that exclusively contains some really cool items to help you dress easier.

The items they’ve included will delight anyone interested in clothing construction. You’ll find their super smart Open Back Sweater, that has an open back with snaps, their Solid Magnet Shirt with easy magnet closures and their Tear Away Pant, which has snap closures on the outside of each leg.

IZ Adptive’s Men’s area has also been given a refresher. Not only will you find a bigger selection of everything from shirts and jackets (these are also available in new prints like camouflage) to increased athletic wear options, they now have male models modeling their clothing.

They’ve hired several new female models too, all real-life IZ users, who you will see throughout their online catalog, and each representing an unique ability. IZ is showing real-life users in real-life situations in their images and it couldn’t be more awesome.

Above all, IZ Adaptive clothes are meant to help you feel better about yourself. From their shop in downtown Toronto, they’re always thinking of the next great garment for people who use wheelchairs and they eagerly and gladly welcome any garment ideas and suggestions, which is so great.

So if you have any kind of light bulb of inspiration, even an inkling, make sure to email it to info@izadaptive.com. They are open to as many suggestions as they can get.

– Visit the site: IZ Adaptive

– Be sure to check out IZ’s new Vimeo Channel, with interviews of real-life clients: IZ Adaptive on Vimeo

by Tiff -

Video review of the Jamies Camisole

Time again for a video review! Just in time for Spring, I decided to give a Summery touch to the Jamies Camisole, a great top made by Ag Apparel, adding a belt and a grey skirt.

I really love this top in the ivory cotton pin-stripe. Such a subtle, classy pattern and it goes great with so many looks. Great top with two distinct looks – with cap sleeves or remove them for a sexy strappy look.

And the top is chock full of adaptive elements – a built-in bamboo layer so you don’t have to wear a breat, big button holes for people with limited hand movement and no zippers or Velcro.

Watch the video review

Buy the Jamies Camisole

by Tiff -

How Do You Wear Your LegaWear?

This is the first entry in my new, Styling with LegaWear blog series, which is a partnership I’m doing with LegaWear (the Swedish adapted clothing company). It will be an ongoing stream of style entries, with a new outfit added each month. Each blog will feature a garment from LegaWear, and how it can be worked into a fabulous outfit idea. Each outfit will be seasonal, and I promise they’ll be easy-to-recreate (I‘ll try my best) and fashion-forward. Onward now to – The Urban Weekend look.
by Tiff -

Suit styling: Imma be lookin’ all fly in LegaWear

After about a month-long wait, and what I can imagine was a very long and arduous tailoring process (as all their suits are made in Thailand), I’ve finally received my custom SMOKIN black suit (jacket/pants combo) from the adapted clothing company Legawear. See the jacket I’m wearing in the pic? This jacket is one of the greatest pieces of clothing I’ve ever bought and the reason is simple: Precise tailoring. More…

 

by Tiff -

Ordering my first (adapted) custom suit

Everyone dreams of getting a custom-made suit, and my perfectly tailored suit to fit my seated frame is soon on it’s way! I just ordered a custom-made suit from LegaWear, an adapted clothing company for wheelchair-users. I had to take about 2 dozen measurements (34-28-38, baby! And 6″ round wrists FTW!) and was able to choose everything from the color, pattern, cut, down to even how many buttons and breast pockets I’d like. I cannot wait to recieve my creation in the mail!

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The quite rad David Lega, a Paralympian swimmer hailing from Sweden (and his accent is adorable), began LegaWear a few years ago. Last week they just launched their brand new site that includes a cool “Design Your Clothes” area, that has a Flash widget so you can see your clothing creations as you move along in the online design process. I partiularly love this new addition to their site, as it really makes you feel like you’re a fashion designer. Maybe not a designer from Project Runway, but close. Also, LegaWear may be based in Sweden, but they’re a truly international company with many close ties here in the USA, and are looking to expand here as well.

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After purchasing a measuring tape from Target for a cool $2, I had my attendant help me do the measurements. LegaWear’s site includes a handy “How to Measure” area that was a lifesafer in this process…because my attendant and I were clueless on any measurements past measuring the bust (afterall every girl knows how to measure that!). It was actually quite fascinating seeing all the measurements that are required to get a suit fitted, from the hip to ankle measurement (a smart way to get a proper inseam measurement for a wheelchair-user) to the “bottom” measurement. But I’m all about putting in the effort for the desired results, and I know that the more exact measurements they ask for, the better the fit. It only took about 10 minutes to get them done, and I input them into my profile.

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LegaWear sells suits for both men and women, and will soon be offering a skirt option. I ordered a BEAUTIFUL grey suit (with pants), and made it as simple as possible because I want my suit to be the easel, the perfect backdrop for the shirt and accessories I plan on additing to it. Grey is also versatile and will let me “change it up” style-wise. They do offer fun colors. My friend Madonna Long at Chloe Magazine ordered a hot pink suit from LegaWear recently. Yeah, she’s awesome 🙂

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All of LegaWear’s suits are made in Thailand, which is why their prices are so reasonable (crazy good). This suit is definitely an investment piece and will certainly last many, many years. Maybe I’ll even pass it on to my future daughters? 🙂

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Look for more blogs about my first experience ordering a custom suit (and LegaWear’s other custom clothes) in the coming weeks!