It’s a question I get at least daily, if not several times a day.
And let’s be clear, that’s when I leave the house and have contact with potential curious people 😊. Because you know, pandemic, quarantine, isolation, working from home, etc.
I respond, no one, I haven’t hired a stylist yet, because I am just that good. 😊
It’s not that I don’t understand people’s curiosity… things about combinations, colors, matching fabrics, and everything that dressing involves.
I’ll stop a bit at color matching, because the rest might be easier to understand: the sense of touch and creativity + some theory help me.
Most of the time, I go shopping with someone who knows me, who knows certain peculiarities of my clothing style, which helps so that the process of touching items isn’t endless.
I touch a lot, but they should be within my area of interest.
Because yes, you guessed it, to buy something I have to touch it.
The human companion’s description is useful, but it feels more fitting for me when I touch item X to see if it’s suitable for me or if I’m too fabulous for it. 😊
I wonder, what would a *prospectus of a clothing item sound like?
And the person accompanying me tells me the color, a detail I remember even after 3 years, well, if the item *survives.
For matching, the memory of what a color looks like is useful to me, it helps me visualize in my mind what combination X or Y looks like.
And because I rely a lot on other senses, I am attentive to what is within my power, such as textures, cuts, accessories.
I stick to colors or non-colors that don’t risk causing emotional shocks. 😊
Colors – are a challenge for me, but also a pleasure because, you know, the desire to look good, not just to be comfortable.
And if you think a blind person is not interested in how they look, nothing could be further from the truth.
Everything goes through different filters, yes, but they might achieve an even more complex result than what your sight allows you to reach.
How I dress, you might have an idea, but the challenge lies in *equipping the wardrobe.
And how about supporting the independence of blind people with very small adjustments?
An example where it only requires a change in mentality and a bit of social education, inclusive or however you want to name it.
I, blind, with the help of the white cane or a guide dog, get to store X in Mall Y, enter, find the reception strategically placed on the right or left, there I find someone, who is anyway in the store, who even if you are with a companion comes to ask you “do you need help”, once I’ve identified the store employee, I can tell them: I need a pair of leather pants and a lace shirt/blouse. They help me go to the place, I touch, choose, try on, buy, and leave.
A situation that requires nothing but minimal intellectual effort.
Well, we could also talk about an assistant button placed in such a way that it is accessible to find or a shopping cart that expresses my desire for help.
And the challenge remains: How do I find out the color of the leather pants and the lace blouse, ask the person providing assistance… or the option of an accessible label? Where we find (color, size, type of material, price). That actually sounds good.
Could you choose an outfit without using your eyes?
I challenge you to do it!
Tell me about your experience in the comments!
Accessibility_is_not_a_whim!
