By Taylor, RN & Joe & Bella Chief of Customer Happiness 

Getting dressed is something most of us take for granted – that is, until it becomes difficult. For many older adults, the simple act of dressing can become increasingly challenging due to various age-related changes. Understanding these challenges helps us create better solutions and communicate more effectively with our customers.

Reduced Dexterity and Fine Motor Skills

As we age, many people experience decreased hand dexterity and finger strength. This makes manipulating small buttons, hooks, and zippers particularly frustrating. Even pulling up pants or reaching behind to adjust clothing can become difficult tasks.

Limited Range of Motion

Arthritis, joint stiffness, and reduced flexibility affect approximately half of adults over 65. These conditions can make it challenging to:

• Raise arms overhead to put on shirts
• Bend to pull on pants or socks
• Twist to fasten back closures
• Maintain balance while standing to dress

Decreased Strength

Muscle mass naturally declines with age (sarcopenia), making it harder to perform the pulling, tugging, and adjusting movements required for dressing. This is especially true for heavier garments like jeans or winter coats.

Sensory Changes

Vision changes can make it difficult to distinguish colors or see small details like buttons. Touch sensitivity may decrease, making it harder to feel if clothing is on correctly or detect wrinkles that might cause discomfort.

Cognitive Changes

For those experiencing cognitive decline, remembering the proper sequence of dressing (e.g., underwear before pants) can become confusing. This leads to frustration and sometimes abandonment of the task altogether.

Too many clothing options or complicated garments can overwhelm someone with cognitive changes, making the dressing process stressful rather than routine.

Some individuals may have difficulty recognizing which garments are appropriate for weather conditions or occasions, or even identifying which clothes belong to them.

Why This Matters for Joe & Bella

Understanding these challenges informs every aspect of our product design:

• Hidden magnetic closures replace difficult buttons
• Strategic openings reduce the need for full range of motion
• Premium, lightweight stretch fabrics decrease the strength needed
• Color choice and tactile differences aid those with sensory changes
• Simplified designs reduce cognitive load

Most importantly, this knowledge helps us maintain dignity in our approach. Our customers aren’t “struggling” – they’re experiencing natural changes that our thoughtful designs accommodate.

By focusing on solutions rather than limitations, we help our customers continue to express themselves through fashion while supporting their independence and confidence.

Next Tuesday’s TTT will build on this foundation to explore how our specific product features address these challenges!

Be Happy, Dress Easy

Taylor, RN & Chief of Customer Happiness 

Originally Published on https://joeandbella.com/blogs/news

Ben Graham Joe & Bella VP of Marketing

Ben Graham is the Vice President of Marketing at Joe & Bella, an adaptive-apparel company for older adults that focuses on creating innovative and fashionable apparel. Joe & Bella was recently awarded the “Most Innovative Older Adult Clothing Brand: 2022” by Global Health and “2022 Best New Apparel Brand” by Boomer Venture Summit. Joe & Bella’s first adaptive clothing line, CareZips, won the 2022 "Best New Product”award by Today’s Caregiver Magazine and Caregiver.com. Ben was previously Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships at Collaborata, an innovative marketing-research firm that brought corporate partners together to find solutions to business problems. Collaborata focuses on topics including caregiving, aging, diversity, and equity with clients such as AARP, Procter & Gamble, Bank of America, Target, and Nike. Ben spent many years, together with his family, providing care for his two grandparents who lived for nearly a decade in assisted living and memory care.