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Our Inspiration
Creating a clothing line for people with Down syndrome has been an overwhelming task but a true labor of love. My inspiration has been my granddaughter who was born with Down syndrome. As I watch her grow, I see the challenges her mother faces in finding clothes that fit her appropriately.
Our Journey
My journey began when she was four years old. One day while visiting my daughter, she planted the idea in my head to start a clothing line for people with Down syndrome. At first I laughed at the thought, after all what did I know about clothing? How could I possibly do something like this, I was already running my husband’s busy medical practice, and couldn’t imagine fitting one more thing into my day.
I spent hours online looking for clothes that would fit my granddaughter, surely there must be someone doing this already. But my search came up empty. The wheels were in motion and I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. At first I thought that I could purchase clothes and alter them, but it didn’t take long to realize that this was not the solution. Attempting to alter existing clothes did not solve the clothing problems of a person with Down syndrome. The need for actually creating a special line of clothing seemed like the only answer.
Downs Designs’ First Designer
So, in January, 2010, I hired a wonderful designer, Jillian Jankovsky, who joined me in my quest. We immediately got to work and began to develop this unique size of clothing. I call our special sizing “Down Sizing”!
Because of the enormous task of creating a size that had never existed before, we started with adult-size jeans and a simple long-sleeve T shirt. It was important to begin with a basic pant and shirt to establish that our sizes would actually fit a person with Down syndrome. We used 8 adults with Down syndrome as models.
After months and months of working with them, we finally completed our patterns. Then, finding a factory that would accept our work was very difficult. We had a size of clothing that had never existed and many were reluctant to take on our patterns. Finally, I found a jeans factory in China that was willing to work with us. The General Manager of the jeans factory was wonderful to work with and he also found a shirt factory that was willing to make our T shirts. They both made samples of every size pant and shirt and had them shipped to us by mid-July.
Introducing our First Jeans and Shirts
At the end of July we attended The National Down Syndrome Congress Conference in Orlando, Florida. There were almost 2,000 people in attendance. We set up our dressing room in the exhibitor’s hall and had all our sample sizes of jeans and shirts available. We had many volunteers who were willing to try them on and tell us what they thought. We were not selling anything at this time. We were there merely to test our sizing and to see how our jeans and shirt sizes actually fit a multitude of people with Down syndrome other than our 8 models back at home.
What an emotional experience this was for Jillian and I. After all these months, we saw the results of our labor. Those who tried on our pants and shirts looked great and their response was amazing. There were some changes we needed to make once we got back home, but overall, the results were very good.
Our Journey to China
Once we were home, it was back to work. We wanted to make changes in our waistbands and a few other alterations we found necessary after the conference. I had also made arrangements for Jillian and I to visit the factories in China and see for ourselves where our clothes were being manufactured.
So, after the Buddy Walk in August, Jillian and I headed to China to see the factories for ourselves and visit textile shops so we could choose the denim for jeans and pick the fabric for our shirts. Choosing fabric was very important. We wanted our clothes not only to be comfortable and fit properly, but to be stylish as well. Production started in September and was completed by year end. Delivery of our first order of the adult jeans and long- sleeve T-shirts arrived in January, 2011.
Our Goal
Our goal is for people with Down syndrome to have proper fitting clothes that fit their unique body shapes and have style as well. Our clothes are more than just shortening a sleeve or taking up a hem. They fit at the elbows and knees appropriately. Fasteners will be simple to open and close. These clothes are made to fit! We promise that rolling up sleeves and hems will no longer be a problem and settling for uncomfortable clothing because there are no other options will become a thing of the past.
It’s a long process from idea to pattern to actual production, and then shipping adds another 30 or more days. So developing and producing this clothing line takes time. But I promise that by the time my granddaughter cares what she wears, Downs Designs will have appropriately fitting clothes for her and all ages.
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