Fussy with clothing?
I'm wondering if anyone else was very fussy with clothes as a child? As a child, I was so fussy with my clothes, but nobody else was. With everything I wore, I had to be able to feel it firmly on me. If I could feel them, but they were like... loose/not tight enough, it would irritate me ALL day. Non of my peers were fussy with their clothes. Even my mum got frustrated with me on occasions because it was so difficult to clothe me due to my "fussyness".
Here's a few things I was very fussy about:-
I always wore knee high socks. Unlike everyone else, I could not stand ankle or trainer socks. This was a challenge for my mum as it was near impossible to find knee length socks in my town. I was also bullied because of this, because wearing knee highs was "uncool", apparently.
I refused to wear vests. I could feel them under my t-shirts and it irritated me all day.
I went through a stage of also refusing to wear t-shirts/anything under my school jumper.
I had to tie my shoes tightly so that I could firmly feel them on my feet. I was different to the other kids (and most people, actually) who liked their shoes to be loose. This was also something I was bullied for. (The things kids will pick on your for is ridiculous)
I refused to wear underwear that didn't have a thick elasticated waist on them. Again, very difficult for my mum as these were also hard to find.
I would not wear a cardigan/jumper under a coat. I could only wear 2 layers. I felt, and still do, feel restricted when I wear more than 2 layers under my coat.
I couldn't stand tights. Too restricting.
I hated gloves. Again, restricting. Same for scarfs and hats.
And that's all I can think of right now, although, I would not be surprised if there was more.
I still have problems today with clothing, although not as severe, but it is still hard for me to find clothes. I'd say about 70% of the clothes I buy, I'll take back due to my fussyness, and either exchange it or get a refund.
So, were any of you guys this fussy with clothes? I know it seems like only a small thing to write/ask about, but it was a big thing for me and my mum when I was growing up, due to my extreme fussyness.
I've never found anyone else at all who's fussy like this with clothing, but then, all the people I've known have been obvious NT's, so I was wondering if it's a possible Asperger's thing? (sorry this is so long)
Tags are annoying and I usually rip them off. Unfortunately, it often causes holes in shirts. Sometimes when I wear really heavy clothing when it's cold outside, I begin to break out in uncontrollable rashes. I have to work in a place called "Food Trades" 4th period and let me tell you something, the latex gloves smell like s**t! I also hate hats.
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My eight year old aspie is VERY particular about his clothing... We live in Hawaii so he only wears surf shorts but it HAS to be a certain kind.. I can tell right away when he tries something new if he'll wear it or not. It has to be a certain material... its not like its just irritating to him.. you can tell he can't function unless hes in the "right" clothes... Thank you so much for sharing about your childhood.. I am very sorry to hear you were bullied about your socks.. how ridiculous. My son also hates restricting clothes.. we went on vacation when he was three and it was 20 degrees outside and he would not wear warm clothes.. he would just have meltdowns. He was cold but wearing the clothes was worse to him... I can say it has been a big part of his life..so it would make sense that it is a big part of yours. We have learned to help him as much as we can because I know that it really is hard for him and this is not something he has chosen...
I used to hate sock bunchies. I would kick off my shoes or boots as soon as we got in the car, and my mom would have to put them on again. Now I don't get sock bunchies as much, but i get sleeve bunchies all the time if i'm wearing multiple layers. The other day I chose to walk to a restaurant for 15 minutes in 20 degree weather with no coat, because i'd rather freeze than have sleeve bunchies.
IT used to be I couldn't stand the seam in socks, I would fold the front over my toes, and if it came off I would immediately have to pull off my shoes and fix them. It dosen't bother me as much anymore but I still notice seams and they still bother me to some extent.
WHEN I'm wearing more than one layer it takes me a few minutes to get them 'ironed out' to smooth out any wrinkles and get the sleeves straight othewise it will bother me until I do.
IF a fabric is too rough I just can't wear it, it's best when fabric has been washed about 100-150 times, it's thin and starting to fall apart, but it's soft as silk.
I can't wear tight clothes, be they jeans or a tight shirt or a turtleneck.
NO tags, they get ripped out the second I get a shirt or pair of pants.
I'VE never been able to wear a tie, period
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When I was young, I wished I could wear the dresses girls were wearing, because jeans were so annoying to wear because they touched my skin lightly. Unfortunately, that idea didn't fly with my mom too well. :p
When I was young, I wished I could wear the dresses girls were wearing, because jeans were so annoying to wear because they touched my skin lightly. Unfortunately, that idea didn't fly with my mom too well. :p
I hated to wear dresses.I was a tomboy,so maybe it was more psychological then physical?I do know,that the things I liked...walking in brammbly woods,climbing trees and jungle gym,sitting on the ground(hated chairs)were difficult in dresses if you dont want to get scratched up legs and have people see "london,france and your under pants".
Clothes was the biggest battle with my mom...there was always a fight and melt-downs and I could never explain why I hated the feel of something,either texture,fit,lace,tags.One of the worst things was when the "crotch" was down to my knees(felt that way),I couldnt walk without it rubbing my inner thighs and it drove me nuts but my mom/grandmom said only "sluts" wear tight clothes.I like clothes either very tight,so it doesnt rub or very loose,so it doesnt rub or "bind" in the wrong places.I cant stand anything tight around wrists,arm pits or neck...but it's not as bad as when I was a kid and some things I hated,I eventually acclimate to....some things never get better.
I have actually planned my jobs around my weird clothing quirks and I have been basically working over nights in places I can wear anything I want(including PJ pants)...Now I am beginning a job I may have to wear a bra and real pants...not looking forward to that but I think it will be worth it to work with the animals I love.Does seem absurd that I now have to wear uniform working with animals when no one cared when I was working with DD and teens....I am sure the dogs will report me if I dont keep my shirt tucked in.
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As a child?! I still am! But, yes, it was much worse when I was younger. I remember many horrific shopping trips that ended in tantrums. Shoe shopping, especially. My worst is still anything tight/pressure-inducing or itchy. I wear very baggy clothes to stop tightness. I rarely wear socks because they cause pressure in shoes and they're just pointless. I go out in subzero temperatures without socks. I'm very, very picky about my shoes. I cannot wear "typical" tennis shoes. I don't like that sole thing in the heel that's elevated. I buy "special" tennis shoes at K-Mart. They're flat on the ground and have absolutely no arch support. I also like them because they make it easier to walk on my toes. I can't wear real jeans, either. I just can't wear pants with zippers. I wear elastic jeans. Up until ninth grade, I wore leggings. Got teased about that a lot. I switched to the jeans because I wanted to, not because of the teasing. It was strange because you would think that my sensory issues would have made me abhor the tightness of leggings. I think that the tightness thing got more profound in later years, and that's why I abandoned the leggings. It did get me more "accepted," but again, it was my decision. If they were still all that were comfortable, I'd still be wearing them today. Basically, all of my clothes are specially-designed in some way. Is it just me, or do any other Aspies always "feel" their clothes? It seems that NT's just forget about them, due to the brain blocking out extraneous sensory info, but I always can feel everything, even if only slightly. I may not notice it much at certain times, but it's never completely "blocked out."
-OddDuckNash99-
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I dunno, Odd... I most certainly can feel everything that touches me... as I said before, if something touches me with a light touch, then it generally creeps me out unless I gave it permission.
I should point out I still do have some of those dresses, if only because they're something that doesn't touch me enough and I can wear them around the house. (Bah, why can't mean wear dresses in public... silly)
I've also got a lot of loose fitting overalls for some reason.
-OddDuckNash99-
I'm NT and fairly tactile sensitive so it's not been a huge leap to understand my child's sensory issues when it comes to clothes. Maybe it's because I had really bad exzema when I was a kid and just thinking back to what certain clothes (wool sweaters!! !) felt like over that is still very real in my mind. I wear mostly fleece tops and while I wear jeans would prefer sweat pants. I always cut tags out of shirts before wearing them. The feel of clothes if I wear those prefered choices is blocked out but if I put anything else on I'm constantly aware of it. I can wear those other choices though--just don't like it much.
But it's more extreme for my son and years before we even heard the term Asperger's or knew about sensory, the clothes battles started raging. I gave up on that one pretty quickly (age3) and bought 6 outfits of the style, size, and color he favored most. I had no clue then the reasons behind it but it helped a lot. But even having that degree of understanding I blew it with jackets and coats--took a few more years to realize what was going on there and then we ditched the winter coat. Much less adjusting to do to add a fleece jacket on top of a sweatshirt that's worn all the time.