I was born with scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine, and it
is very difficult to find clothes that fit me properly.  I would like
to find a personal tailor that could make an entire wardrobe from
scratch (t-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, suits, sweaters. Jackets,
polo-shirts, etc...).  I'm not looking for a regular tailor.  This
tailor must specialize in making custom clothes and probably has a
niche business based on making clothes for people with disabilities. 
I would prefer to find one in Manhattan, NY but would be happy to find
someone out of state too.  A list of about 10 - 20 would be great.

Thanks,
Mediatek01

---

Request for Question Clarification by brettquest-ga on 12 Jan 2004 21:54 PST

Mediatek01:

The type of clothing you list in your request seems to lean toward a
male wardrobe, is that your primary interest? Would a listing of
adaptive clothing businesses prioritized by: providing custom
work/modification, geographic proximity to New York, and the type of
clothing you listed be a satisfactory understanding of your request?

---

Clarification of Question by mediatek01-ga on 13 Jan 2004 01:52 PST

Hi brettquest,

Yes, it is a male wardrobe that I'm looking for.  If what you mean by
"adaptive clothing businesses" are tailors that custom make clothes
for your specific body requirements than yes it would be a
satisfactory understanding of my request.  The sort order is OK too.

Thanks,
mediatek01

Question: I was born with scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine, and it
is very difficult to find clothes that fit me properly.  I would like
to find a personal tailor that could make an entire wardrobe from
scratch (t-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, suits, sweaters. Jackets,
polo-shirts, etc...).  I'm not looking for a regular tailor.  This
tailor must specialize in making custom clothes and probably has a
niche business based on making clothes for people with disabilities. 
I would prefer to find one in Manhattan, NY but would be happy to find
someone out of state too.  A list of about 10 - 20 would be great.

Thanks,
Mediatek01	


Mediatek01:

I'll begin this answer to your question by recapping my approaches to
constructing it. It's a customized listing of businesses defined by
either specialization or confirmed probable capability. Six of the ten
businesses listed specialize in adaptive clothing -- the commercial
term applied to clothing for the disabled. The six should work with an
individual client to design/custom tailor/modify a variety of
retail-style clothing for your wardrobe needs.  Identifying the
adaptive clothing businesses listed matches your interest in
specialization, with the benefit of a fair national range. They are
located in several different US states. The Internet sources which led
to their identification may lead you to identify others as well.

Your interest in geographic specificity in the Manhattan area invited
a modified approach, which should be just as viable for you as
identifying specialty businesses. This alternative approach was to
identify mainstream custom tailoring/alteration businesses in the
Manhattan area, then to inquire whether those businesses would confirm
the capability of custom tailoring/altering for an adult male effected
by scoliosis. Quick contacts by phone yield a roster of at least four
such businesses in the Manhattan area that affirmed at least the
probable capability of tailoring/altering a wardrobe for a man with
your needs. The geographic proximity makes the mainstream businesses
worth considering. If a mainstream business can accommodate a disabled
individual, and do so with style and selection on a par with retail,
that may be so much the better. Again, the Internet sources which led
to these may suggest other tailoring businesses with the same
capability.
  

Those are the approaches that led to the sectioned listing below.
Internet and e-mail addresses are included when possible. The
Manhattan tailors/seamstresses are listed first, followed by the
businesses specializing in adaptive clothing.
-----------


I.) Manhattan Area Tailors/Seamstresses Capable of Custom
Tailoring/Alterations for an Adult Male Effected by Scoliosis --

Alfonso Sciortino Custom Alterations
57 W. 57th ST.
New York, NY 10019
Phone: (212) 888-2846

Bhambi's Custom Tailors
14 E. 60th ST. 
New York, NY 10022
Phone: (212) 935-5379

Jack Silver
1780 Broadway (Suite 303)
New York, NY 10019
Phone: (212) 582-0202

Mendel Goldberg Fabrics
72 Hester ST.
New York, NY 10002
Phone: (212) 925-9110


II.) Noted US Businesses Specializing in Adaptive Clothing, Including
Customizations for Disabled Individuals --

Personal Touch Health Care Apparel (Does custom tailor)
P.O. Box 230321
Brooklyn, New York 11223
Phone: 1-888-627-1772 or (718) 627-0200
Email: E-mail link on contact page (in Sources and Links below)
Internet: http://www.adaptiveapparel.com/

Adaptive Clothing
78 Epping Road
Exeter, NH 03833
Phone: 1-800-572-2224
E-mail: info@adaptive clothing.com
Internet: http://www.adaptiveclothing.com/index2.ivnu

Accessible Threads Design Studio
4545 River Parkway #13-L
Atlanta, GA 30339
Phone: (770) 661-9996
E-mail: Currently unavailable
Internet: http://www.accessiblethreads.com/

Adaptive Designs
Location: Minnesota
Phone: (952) 457-9731
E-mail: sales@adaptivedesigns.com
Internet: http://www.adaptivedesigns.com/index.html

Specially For You, Inc.
15621 309th Ave.
Gettysburg, SD 57442
Phone: (605) 765-9396
E-mail: speciallyforyou@sbtc.net
Internet: http://www.speciallyforyou.net/sfygreet.html

Swartzie's Handicapped Custom Clothing
400 Elquist #2100-2
Battle Mountain, NV 89820
Phone: 1-800-685-4648
E-mail: swartzie@the-onramp.net
Internet: http://www.the-onramp.net/swartzie's/
------------

Thank you for your patience in waiting for an answer to your request,
and best wishes in using the information provided. Hopefully, the
resources named here suit you as a response to your needs. I hope the
clothes that become part of your wardrobe suit you even better.

Sincerely,

Brettquest



Sources and Links

An alphabetical listing of Disability Resources
http://disability-resource.com/disabilityresource.html#dclo

Manhattan Yellow Pages, Directory and Guide by Citidex-NYC.com: Adaptive Clothing
http://www.citidex.com/6114.htm#C6115

Manhattan Yellow Pages, Directory and Guide by Citidex-NYC.com: Alterations
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=295533#a

Adaptive Clothing Disability Resource Directory
http://disability-resource.com/clothing.html

The Boulevard - The Disability Resource Center - Adaptive Clothing -
Custom Tailored
http://www.blvd.com/Adaptive_Clothing/Custom_Tailoring/

Personal Touch Health Care Apparel, Inc.
http://www.adaptiveapparel.com/

Personal Touch Health Care Apparel: Contact Us
http://www.nursinghomeapparel.com/store/contactus.htm

Accessible Threads
http://www.accessiblethreads.com/

Accessible Threads: Custom Clothing
http://www.accessiblethreads.com/custom_clothing_i.html

Accessible Threads: Contact
http://www.accessiblethreads.com/contact_i.html

Adaptive Clothing
http://www.adaptiveclothing.com/index2.ivnu

Adaptive Clothing: Contact Info
http://www.adaptiveclothing.com/contact.ivnu

Adaptive Designs
http://www.adaptivedesigns.com/index.html

Adaptive Designs: Contact Us
http://www.adaptivedesigns.com/contact.html

Specially For You, Inc.: Clothing For the Physically Challenged
http://www.speciallyforyou.net/

Specially For You: Greetings
http://www.speciallyforyou.net/sfygreet.html

Swartzie's Handicapped Custom Clothing
http://www.the-onramp.net/swartzie's/


Search Strategies

Google Search: "custom clothing" "disabled"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22custom+clothing%22+%22disabled%22&btnG=Google+Search

Google Search: "adaptive clothing" "directory"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22adaptive+clothing%22+%22directory%22&btnG=Google+Search

Google Search: "tailors" "alterations" "Manhattan"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22tailors%22+%22alterations%22+%22Manhattan%22&btnG=Google+Search

Thanks! You did a great job.
mediatek01

Mediatek01:

I wanted to let you know that I'm in progress on your request. Without
previewing the answer in comments, I wanted to share my approach to
pursuing it so that you'll have a general idea of what you'll be
getting when the answer is ready. I used "adaptive clothing" because
that appears to be the common business term for "clothing for the
disabled/handicapped". Thus far, I've been working toward building a
custom list of businesses based on criteria I believe best meets your
request. That criteria includes: provividing clothing to individual
customers rather than institutional/residential customers; providing
clothes akin to a full retail wardrobe reather than hospital wear the
service to design/create/customize/adapt retail-like clothing based
upon an individual's needs. Using that criteria, I've identified five
resources in various states.

Oddly enough, the New York area is proving problematic, at least for
specializing in adaptive clothing that is not institutional or
residential in its customer base. To solve that problem, I am leaning
toward simply contacting tailors in the New York area to document
their willing capability (as opposed to the specialization) to custom
make clothing for an adult male with your condition. Acquiring the
clothing that way might be more expensive. However, identifying such
providers should give you rounded options, with both geographic
specificity and flexibility.

This may take some time, but I hope knowing the approaches I'm
employing reassures you. As a man with disabilities myself, I
certainly appreciate the need for functional accomodation from time to
time. Therefore, I'm pleased to assist you for reasons beyond the
monetary payment.

Regards,

Brettquest

Hi brettquest,
I learn something new everyday.  Adaptive clothing is exactly what I'm
looking for.  I didn't know they coined a term for it.  Your approach
to answering my question is excellent.  I would just like to add that
if the out-of-state tailors are willing to work with me (using the
internet to e-mail pictures or having the tailor or myself pay one or
two visits per year) I would add them to my list too.  Seeming that
you are working very hard and creatively on answering my question I
have no problem compensating you with a fair tip.
Thanks,
mediatek01

mediatek01:

Thanks for the five stars and the incredibly gracious tip!