The shapewear market has exploded in recent years. Since the inception of Spanx in 2000, the global shapewear market ballooned to $1.9 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow exponentially, which means new and innovative styles are being brought to the masses every day. Undoubtedly, women are spending their hard-earned money on the sometimes-constrictive garments that promise a smoother foundation underneath their clothes.
What Is Shapewear?
If you aren’t familiar, shapewear includes any bra, panties, biker-style shorts, bodysuits, and full-body shapers that offer light to firmer compression to smooth and shape the body, virtually eliminating the appearance of lumps and bumps.
What Is Adaptive Shapewear?
As the market has had to adapt to consumers’ growing needs and demands, a new category has emerged — adaptive shapewear. According to Future Market Insights, adaptive shapewear is “special clothing designed specifically for people with disabilities, including congenital, acquired, or temporary disabilities, as well as physical disabilities. In other words, it is a type of clothing designed for people with trouble dressing.”
The overall demand for adaptive shapewear products is expected to grow by 8.5% between now and 2032.
Considering there are some 61 million people in the U.S. living with some sort of physical disability (one in four adults), according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), it comes as no surprise that there would be a major call for shapewear that slips on with ease.
Adaptive clothing has been around for decades, with brands like Creation Comfort, Lands’ End and Tommy Hilfiger hopping on the trend. However, more and more intimate apparel brands are now stepping up to offer adaptive options as well.
What Brands Are Making Adaptive Shapewear?
One of the first to step up to the plate was Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS line, designed to address the gap in the market for such accessibility. The line includes bras and panties with easy-access closures for people with limited mobility. The hook-and-eye closures located on the sides of the garments make it easier to take them on and off, something that’s not widely being done in the intimate apparel industry.
Consider 47-year-old Jennifer Dwileski, a physical education teacher in upstate New York who suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident that confined her to a wheelchair. Despite being a paraplegic, she maintains an active lifestyle and bikes 32 miles a day.
“My biggest issue is finding a comfortable bra that does the job it’s supposed to in terms of support. Being in a wheelchair, using my arms is the only way to move anywhere, and bra straps either irritate my shoulders or fall off completely.”
Jennifer Dwileski
What To Look for in Adaptive Shapewear
If, like Dwileski, you’re looking for accessibility in shapewear too, here are some features to look for:
- Flat and sensory-friendly seams to reduce friction.
- Hassle-free closures such as Velcro and snap fasteners.
- A racerback-style bra may help keep straps from slipping down.
- Additional closures or hidden flaps allow garments to be pulled on without bending over or reaching upward and access to chest ports or colostomy pouches.
- Breathability and natural fibers.
Adaptive Shapewear Brands To Shop
Luckily, there are now many options for people looking for more accessibility in their foundation garments. We’ve rounded up 10 brands that are doing just that.
1. Yitty
Singer Lizzo’s brand Yitty emerged in the shapewear market in 2022 and, unsurprisingly, provided fashionable options for women in larger sizes that previously hadn’t been there before. Coined as a “body positive brand” for all shapes and sizes, Yitty offers items perfect for people with physical disabilities, such as this stretchy and super soft “Pet Me” four-strap bandeau style bra ($39.95), where the strapless silhouette allows for ease of arm movement.
2. Able2Wear
British brand Able2Wear was designed specifically for people in wheelchairs, including this front-fastening bra (~$33) with soft, breathable cotton and easy-fastening poppers along the front panel.
3. Buck & Buck
A biker-style shaper short is one of the core items that helped to create the category (when Spanx founder Sara Blakely cut the legs off a pair of control top pantyhose), and Buck & Buck has provided an easy-on alternative in these Snuggie bottoms ($21) made from 100% cotton with a comfortable elastic waistband.
4. Care + Wear
This brand specializes in post-surgical products, including this innovative Believer Bra ($65), which provides full adjustability for ultimate comfort, breathability, and ease of use throughout the healing process.
5. Liberare
We are loving Liberare because they specialize only in intimate apparel options for this category. They offer everything from an easy-on everyday front-close plunge bra ($54) with straps that won’t slide down to side-opening underwear and lingerie. Their fasteners have an innovative interlocking mechanism using magnets, so you never have to crane or fumble to clasp.
6. IZ Adaptive
Another clothing brand designed specifically for people in wheelchairs, IZ Adaptive offers front-close bras in breathable cotton that are easy to snap on and off. But we are loving this cotton cami that has a built-in bra ($35) and accommodates cup sizes B through D. The brand was born when founder and designer Izzy Camilleri was tasked with designing for a woman in a wheelchair and realized there wasn’t much on the market to accommodate people with disabilities.
7. Skims
Skims is now a proverbial fashion powerhouse thanks to influencer promotion and Kim Kardashian’s star power. In 2022, the brand released an adaptive collection, including the Fits Everybody bodysuit ($58), featuring the brand’s signature buttery soft and stretchy fabric, with hook and eye closures on the side and at the bottom gusset for added accessibility of dressing and discrete bonding at the closures.
8. Slick Chicks
Slick Chicks offers perhaps the most extensive variety of panties on the market, including a high-waist pair ($29) that helps with tummy control. The Velcro fasteners are strategically placed so anyone can put them on whether sitting, standing, or lying down, and they feature absorbent liners for those dealing with incontinence.
9. Zappos Adaptive
While not an adaptive collection per se, mega fashion website Zappos has carefully curated its selection to pinpoint easy-dressing products. Hence, adaptive clothing options are easy to find among its massive selection. That includes bra tops, camis, shorts and shapewear like the Underbust Crop Compression Top ($78).
10. CrissCross Intimates
Breast cancer survivor Jean Criss wanted to create a collection for other women like her to wear post-surgery, so CrissCross Intimates was born. Her innovative bras utilize a magnetic clasp that’s easy to close and stays put. In the shapewear vein, these contour-cropped leggings ($68) pull on easily and contain a pouch for post-surgical drainage.
What’s Next in Adaptive Shapewear?
While there’s still a long way to go in creating clothing items to target specific disabilities, this is a good start. As new companies launch each day, we hope to see more offerings that give people total independence when dressing and the ability to look and feel completely smooth under virtually any outfit.
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