Dignity of the cloth

One of the first stories in the Bible that imprinted on me as a child was that of Adam and Eve “sewing” fig leaves together as “coverings for themselves” when they realised that they were naked.  (Genesis 3:7.)
 
Funnily enough, I did not question why they suddenly realised that they were naked, giggled about their nakedness, or questioned their shame. I accepted that unquestioningly. I just could not understand their choice of fig leaves.  I must admit that I probably had a much better understanding of the bounty of the garden of Eden than the average child. Not only did my parents grow just about any fruit tree you could imagine, such as almonds, pomegranates, sugar plums, oranges, loquats, peaches, grapes, quinces and more, but my other favourite people in the world, the Rabie family, had all the other exotic types, e.g. pears, apples, persimmons, avocados and strawberries in their garden. You named it, and I could taste it.  I loved fruit.  So you can understand why I focussed on the fig leaves.
 
We had a couple of fig trees in our backyard too, and the fig leaves, although big, were hairy and scratchy.  The sap was sticky and where it touched broken skin, it was especially uncomfortable. So why fig leaves, of all things, Adam and Eve? Of course the Catholic Church, not to be outdone, at one stage also imposed modesty on statues and insisted on sculptors covering up the essentials with leaves. The debate is out whether those are fig leaves, grape leaves or just plain ol' poison ivy...
 
Undeniably, the relationship between clothing and modesty/shame is particularly interesting, because what you’d choose to expose or not, depends entirely on your culture, where you live, the era or your status.  Exposed breasts are not just the domain of the third world, and neither was it always limited to beaches. Even Queen Elizabeth I, wore dresses with her breasts exposed as the fashion of the day dictated to demonstrate wealth and virtue. (Imagine that, and here you are thinking that the story of "the Kaiser's new clothes" were just fiction...)
 
Nowadays, all the bits usually covered by swimwear, would also be covered in polite society, but clothing still expresses our tribal association – the club or team we support, the culture or class we belong to.  Nothing much has changed.  The wealthy still dresses with branded tokens of wealth, and the poor dresses in whatever is at hand.  Upcycling, historically a necessity in desperate times, is now a fashionable, sustainable or environmentally sensitive choice.  So much so, that some fashion brands and designers are now looking at how to incorporate the upcycling tag into their new “launches”. There are even clothing patterns designed to utilise last season's accessories.  Yet, other brands are fighting upcycling. From deliberately destroying their goods to "protect the market value", to claiming upcycling as a “misrepresentation” of their brand, and not true to what their designers intended.  This debate is going to be an important one to resolve. If fashion brands don’t have buy-back schemes or recycling solutions to take responsibility for disposal at the end of life of their garments, we'd hope that the greater good will prevail, and that "greater good" may weigh heavier in the interest of the planet, than the brand. But I digress.
 
The issue that I really want to talk about is the dignity bestowed by clothing when fasteners become barriers to comfort or convenience.  I don’t see enough evidence of clothing adequately meeting the needs of wearers with physical limitations, whether it be ageing, illness or ability.  We take great care to create appropriate clothing for our babies and messy toddlers.  Soft cotton burb cloths, disposable nappies, snap fasteners, elastic and more.  Everything that makes it easy to change little ones and keep them comfortable.  Why don’t we pay the same courtesy to adults?
 
Some adults cannot tie bows, or knots, and much less undo them fast enough for a bathroom break. When you have arthritis, even buttons are challenging, and even more so if they are where they cannot be seen.
 
It is so sad to see an adult that needs to wear a bib, forced to wear a baby-style bib, or have a tea towel tucked in around their neck.  When we permit that, we are humiliating people. Why can’t adults have bibs that look like cravats? A smart accessory. Or a a lined, faux shirt front, while the wearer enjoys a meal or a cup of tea? Ladies like my grandmothers, would certainly have wanted to look smart even when they were no longer able to care for themselves.
 
And the nether regions... pants with stains. There, I said it. Why are there no brands making smart pants with toggles at the end of drawstrings? It remains in the realm of track pants. Even pants with elastic do slip down.  Seeing an elderly man trying to catch his pants, while also holding on to his walker, is not funny. But he can no longer tie the draw strings, and unbuckling a belt or fastening a button is just as challenging, if not more. Bathroom breaks become anxiety filled events and almost sure to result in embarrassment. Handing over a pack of dignity diapers is really not good enough. Not all people with motor skills limitations want to wear sweatpants, and especially not in Australia on 40 degree days.
 
Illness, especially cancer, is a large dignity robber. More than turbans are required. Clothes which can accommodate ports, drains, colostomy bags, prosthetics, comfort pillows and more would be very helpful. Standard clothes will no longer fit a body that has been altered so that it no longer conforms to the broad average, for example after a mastectomy. And it is difficult to tolerate the weight of prosthetics for a whole day. Just as it is challenging to access devices hidden under your clothing, unless you opt for ultra casual, and that is not always appropriative attire for someone trying to live an outwardly normal life. Choices are so limited for both men and women. There are some charities taken on dignity clothing projects, but I think even more could be done.

Undeniably, clothing bestows some dignity on our vulnerable bodies. It can make us feel better about ourselves and less conspicuous when circumstances make us different from others in our tribe. How do we address this issue?  Can we fix this at home with quick hacks? Do we encourage designers to do better? What are your thoughts?