Lymphoedema Fashion websites

[LymphieJem]

Hello All,

Does anyone know of specific fashion websites for Lymphoedema/Lipodema and other medical concerns that cause swelling e.g Diabetes.

The reason I ask is that I am researching a business idea at the moment and I am looking at the marketplace for fashion/accessories including shoes with a view to starting my own business long term.

If businesses such as this do not exist, would you use a website where you can buy branded or non branded products acrosas al clothing, shoe and accesssory ranges?

I should add I have primary Lymphoedema so I do have an good understanding on what it's like to live with the condition.

Thanks

Jemma

[Lynora]

My daughter did some research into this when she was doing a degree in textiles - she found that clothing companies catering for medical conditions such as lymphoedema were few and far between, and the shoes in particular, were dreadful! As for clothes - this was more difficult to research. As a project she designed patterns for a couple of my clients, and they had clothes made up using them, but as a business model it would have proved too costly to get the items mass produced - most manufacturers deal in 'article numbers' in the hundreds of thousands and cannot afford to produce small numbers. It would be possible as a 'cottage industry', to design and produce bespoke clothing for people with lymphoedema - & could be an interesting enterprise. Know a good designer? Got some friends with sewing machines???

I knew a woman a long time ago (pre internet!) who made some really colourful trousers for her kids - a couple of other Mums at the school gate (isn't that where everything is discussed!!!) asked if she would run some up for their kids and before she knew it, she had employed 2 local ladies and they converted a garden shed into a production line and her little empire was born. All the sales were by word of mouth and she made a very good living until she gave up the company at the turn of the millennium (and went to life in the south of France).

[norberte]

hi jemma

great idea but i fear lynora's right - anything vaguely mass-marketable has been hoovered up, & by the time you look at clothes sizes plus % of extra lymph plus people's individual tastes it'd probably be that bespoke thing where you show everything that's available on the site then make up orders as they come in

you might want to talk to these people: clothingsolutions.org.uk/be...

they make clothes for wheelchair users & other disabled people, & do just that at least for some garments - it's the bespokeness of having trousers that actually fit & the fact that they keep their prices down that keeps them going, but i don't know how they survive!!

i assume you've come across lymphedivas in the usa - they do compression sleeves & gauntlets & have a uk distributor now: chic-compressions.com/

if you captured people with enough different conditions it might just work, or start by seeing what other usa companies might want a uk distributor - they've got the advantage of huge numbers & when it comes to clothes for lymphoedema, obesity & diabetes there seems to be a lot more going on

good luck - it'd be lovely to have a home grown company

[begbatts]

That would be great .finding clothes that are small around the waist but big on the leg. And wide around the arms. as for shoes Evans do some wide ones .please keep us infoemed if you start your business up

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