BY JESSICA LOPEZ
When you have a child with a disability, the last thing you would think you would worry about are clothes. But for 3-year-old Vivian Perez, it’s not easy finding pants. She has spina bifida and wears leg braces.
On the upside, Jackie Perez, Vivian’s mother, doesn’t have to worry about chasing her toddler down or keeping her shoes tied. On the downside, she has to deal with a number of unusual challenges. “She can only wear wider-fit pants or skirts,” Jackie said. “She wears short sleeves, but won’t stay with straps.” But her taste in clothes is predictable, just like any other girl her age: “Her interests in clothes are sparkly and shiny.”
Vivian and Jackie are part of the Spina Bifida Association, which is how they found FashionABLE, and how they wound up sitting in the fashion design room after school for Vivian’s second time participating in the program.
FashionABLE is giving the Perez’s, and other families with disabled children, a hand by providing custom-made outfits for their children, courtesy of fashion design students. Parents and children met with fashion students at the end of January to take measurements and talk preferences. The finished outfits will be showcased Sunday, March 22.
Also participating in FashionABLE is Mara Ortiz, who is 12 years old and another return participant. ”She first tried it when she was four or five. A mother of one of the classmates mentioned it to me,” Mara’s mother Dorothy said. As a child with Down’s Syndrome, “Mara has problems with blouses and dresses because they don’t fit her quite right.”
Dorothy isn’t quite sure what the outfit will be formal or casual, or if she gets to choose it. What she does know is it will look great on Mara.
“It would be nice if more local places in San Antonio made clothes for kids with Down syndrome,” Dorothy said. “Mara changes four times a day because she doesn’t like to be dirty.” Thanks to FashionABLE, Mara will have a few more stylish options to choose from – tailored exactly to her.
When you have a child with a disability, the last thing you would think you would worry about are clothes. But for 3-year-old Vivian Perez, it’s not easy finding pants. She has spina bifida and wears leg braces.
On the upside, Jackie Perez, Vivian’s mother, doesn’t have to worry about chasing her toddler down or keeping her shoes tied. On the downside, she has to deal with a number of unusual challenges. “She can only wear wider-fit pants or skirts,” Jackie said. “She wears short sleeves, but won’t stay with straps.” But her taste in clothes is predictable, just like any other girl her age: “Her interests in clothes are sparkly and shiny.”
Vivian and Jackie are part of the Spina Bifida Association, which is how they found FashionABLE, and how they wound up sitting in the fashion design room after school for Vivian’s second time participating in the program.
FashionABLE is giving the Perez’s, and other families with disabled children, a hand by providing custom-made outfits for their children, courtesy of fashion design students. Parents and children met with fashion students at the end of January to take measurements and talk preferences. The finished outfits will be showcased Sunday, March 22.
Also participating in FashionABLE is Mara Ortiz, who is 12 years old and another return participant. ”She first tried it when she was four or five. A mother of one of the classmates mentioned it to me,” Mara’s mother Dorothy said. As a child with Down’s Syndrome, “Mara has problems with blouses and dresses because they don’t fit her quite right.”
Dorothy isn’t quite sure what the outfit will be formal or casual, or if she gets to choose it. What she does know is it will look great on Mara.
“It would be nice if more local places in San Antonio made clothes for kids with Down syndrome,” Dorothy said. “Mara changes four times a day because she doesn’t like to be dirty.” Thanks to FashionABLE, Mara will have a few more stylish options to choose from – tailored exactly to her.