by Anais Durand

Four months after introducing you to CAPR-Style, a brand which provides adaptive clothing for disabled children and young adults in order to allow them and/or their carers to dress independently, bespoken catches up with founder Claudia Romero in their Edinburgh office.

A short and sweet introduction…

Capr-Style is an online store that offers handmade bespoke clothing for children and young people with special needs. They sell a range of T-shirts, trousers and jumpers individually customised for each customer’s needs and designed to integrate access to medical equipment.

Where did it start?

A small reminder of founder Claudia’s background: after moving from Chile where she used to work as an accountant and finance analyst, she moved to Scotland, gave birth to two sons and was determined to carry on working. However, she had to stop when her third son Christian was born with a rare genetic disorder which prevents him from moving voluntarily and makes him fully dependent on others to feed, dress and bathe himself. Claudia decided to focus on his needs full-time both at home and when he was in the hospital. She soon realised the extreme difficulties disabled people and their carers have to deal with when it comes to simple tasks like putting on t-shirts, jumpers and jackets. Claudia first had the idea to alter some of Christian’s clothes in order to accommodate to his limitations and make room for his different needs such as nappies, pads etc. Using the expertise of her fashion designer friend Bernardita Reyes, and the skilled hands of a seamstress, they started to adapt Christian’s clothes by making slight alterations, such as adding buttons and snap fasteners on the arms of T-shirts and on the legs of trousers, allowing for easier dressing and undressing.

A business idea that would help others too

After realising the massive change a simple alteration could make, and after being faced with the appallingly limited range of disabled clothing available on the market, Claudia decided to use her entrepreneurial flair to produce a complete line of clothing that caters exclusively for children with special needs and solves the daily challenges brought by dressing children with disabilities and physical restrictions. Some of the garments in the CAPR-Style range present features such as flaps in the fabric in order to dissimulate the gap for medical necessities such as G-tubes, IV tubes, catheters and colostomy bags. They offer adaptive clothing that is discreet, such as a jumper that opens and closes with Velcro at the back as well as a versatile jacket with openings both at the back and front that also comes with a detachable collar.  CAPR-Style is currently the only UK company that supplies stylish and adaptive clothing to children with disabilities and/or special needs. Each CAPR-Style garment is handmade and products can be customized and adjusted to fit the individual’s personal needs. The garments are designed specifically to adapt to the toileting and changing needs of people with severe disabilities, such as motor neuron disease, spinal injury, cerebral palsy and also for wheelchair users and those with incontinence problems.

Future plans

Claudia and her team are eager to tell me about their new ideas aimed to develop the CAPR-Style brand. They are currently developing new items such as tunics made of light fabric for summer, which are long enough to cover the discreet underneath bodysuit. Those tunics will be available to wheelchairs users and will prevent heat problems due to restricted movement. They are also developing skirts that come with shorts at the back and with a flap at the front, so that it looks like a regular skirt! It will be easy to put on and remove as it will come with buttons or Velcro. In the future, they are hoping to add dresses to their fashion line and offer a range of clothes that will be aimed at young adults as the majority of their range so far is designed for children. CAPR-Style are also in the process of establishing a long-term project alongside local schools to design uniforms that are adaptable for children with disabilities.

CAPR-Style have received media coverage by being featured in The Scotsman on Sunday and have been interviewed by BBC Radio Scotland. They are aiming to develop their brand and build new relationships with charities. One of the ways for them to effectively spread the word about the brand is to attend a selection of UK disability events and exhibitions that are aimed at people with disabilities and that promote independent living. They attended the Kidz South Disabled Living event at Reading, aimed at children and young adults with disabilities and special needs, their families and/or carers, as well as the Disability Awareness Day in Warrington on July 13th where they promoted the CAPR-Style range. The next event on their agenda will be the Kidz Scotland exhibition at the Royal Highland Exhibition Centre in Edinburgh on September 11th.

Do you think you or your child could benefit from the CAPR-Style clothes range? Have you any experience of adaptive clothing? Share your experiences with us below! Visit the CAPR-Style website here for more information.

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