Capsule wardrobe for a care home

[Melfish]

Am asking on behalf of my mum who has had a stroke and is in a wheelchair. She was very keen on clothes before she became ill and made a real effort with her appearance (unlike me!).
She has lots of clothes but I am not sure what sort of thing would be suitable especially as she is in a wheelchair. Do you think that it may be easier for the carers to dress her in skirts, dresses or trousers? She has been wearing tracky bottoms and the odd skirt in hospital as she is doing physio stuff but I think she would prefer something a bit prettier.
It'd be helpful to have an idea about how many of each item she may need-such as 5 skirts or so as I guess they don't have much wardrobe space in the care home.

My friend has been in a wheelchair for years and wears trousers almost all the time because your legs get cold when you're not mobile. Better to concentrate on glam upper half. She goes for very nice trousers though, hareem type would be ok?

Tops and skirts or trousers are easier to manage than dresses. Adding glam through accessories is the way to go though as everything will go through industrial washers and tumble driers and anything in the least delicate will get trashed. And tbh, everything else won't last as long as at home.
Talk to the home about how long laundry takes and what they recommend as easiest for her to wear.

I'm a carer in a care home. Trousers because a skirt always gets in the way when toileting. Also like somebody already said legs get cold. And tbh tights are never seen again I think the washing machines eat them . Also clothes go missing a lot and the machines used destroy a lot of clothing so not to be unkind but I wouldn't spend a fortune on any clothes. The residents that always look the best are those with jewelry and lipstick. And those with hair done regularly. Also most carers will paint nails with permission from family. Don't get any ungiving material because by god these are a nightmare to take on and off and sometimes rip despite best efforts. Clothing washed will be ready the next day or 2 days maximum if they don't send laudrey out as some home do. The jumpers with sparkly patterns are our women's favorites and they always look lovely in them. Realistically I would start with 7 full outfits but don't be surprised when things go missing. It's one of all the care homes I've worked in biggest complaints. And 2 pair of slippers and 2 dressing gowns. Also depending on if dm is continent a lot more nightwear. Hope this helps.

Sorry for spelling mistakes v tired

Oh and most homes expect you to label the clothes. Some have tagging systems so best to ask. Right sorry I will shut up now

Thanks for all your replies, I've got some name tapes (it feels like I'm sending mum to school!) and will get some more trousers and stock up on some nighties that are easy for the carers to get on and off. I'm thinking of making her some hospital style gowns (not the open back ones) in some pretty fabrics to sleep in, as her paralysed arm is probably quite awkward to 'feed' into sleeves. Will take note of the need for stretchy fabrics and she does love having her hair done so will make sure she gets booked in for those things. Thank you all again, it's all a bit new for me and I would like it all to go smoothly for mum, she's had a totally rubbish year so far.

Thank you Getuhda, it's really helpful to know what is expected by the staff in homes as I want to make it as easy as possible for them to help mum.

I'm sure she will be well looked after. I can't speak for every carer but we treat them residents like we would treat our family. And it's sounds like she's got a supportive family behind her. Wishing her all the best

Thank you too Getudah, that's really useful. Both DMIL and DBIL have both recently gone into residential care and I've been buying clothing and ironing in the name labels. I bought DMIL a pair of Primark harem trousers and she hated them. They're staying though :)

Speaking as a Carer also, I would second anything elasticated for easy dressing, tops & bottoms (either trousers or skirts) rather than dresses and, like a previous poster, if you are buying new clothes I wouldn't spend a lot of money as things can get damaged or lost.

Apart from that I would just say to get your mum the kind of clothes she has always liked - in terms of colours, patterns etc. I care for a lady who has clothes kindly bought by her DIL but which she actually hates as her DIL bought what she thought the lady would like, rather than what she actually does like IYSWIM.

I also agree that the main thing that makes some residents look smarter than others tends to be the accessories - a bit of make up, a string of beads, a spray of perfume, well kept hair etc. etc. (for the ladies anyway obviously).

Sorry that your mum has had a stroke Melfish.
Marks and Spencers usually have soft cotton straight leg trousers and/or track pants in navy and black. They look like smart trousers but have a soft elastic waist. Make sure the legs aren't too wide as these can get caught or get in the way. It's probably more comfortable for your mum to have button down blouses as the paralysed arm can be fed through one sleeve more easily. If you do buy pull on tops make sure there is enough room for them to get on and off comfortably. Easycare cardigans that can be machine washed and dried ( Sainsburys often have simple classic knits in lots of colours).

Yay to accessories, mum has lots of costume jewellery and scarves etc so will make sure I pack some (and work out how to label it).

I find mum is best in dark trousers. Mum has toileting issues so we learnt early on that if there was a little accident a dark trouser is better for dignity.

I bought mum a load of t shirt nighties from Primark and they get replaced quite often.

I try to buy only black bras and pants as I'm afraid in mums home whites came back dirty grey.

My has some lovely sparkly tops. If you have enough and you are a frequent visitor I would take them home to launder.

Much safer that way. Primark is good for soft fluffy dressing gowns too.

Mum also has loo issues so I will stick to dark bottoms and thanks for your tips on sparkly tops. She does like a bit of leopard print too! I might also get her a slanket or a bed jacket as she is in a wheelchair so she might get tangled up in a dressing gown.
Thanks to all for your advice.

Nice washable polyester slacks , glittery jumpers ( places like Bon Marche have surprisingly good quality jumpers and slacks albeit in synthetic fibres but then they don't get trashed in the wash) . We bought my nan some slippers with the Velcro front easy to get on and off same for shoes. Lots of undies. Second. Primark for dressing gowns and I find Matalan PJ and nighties to be good quality for the price, certainly as good as m and s. Couple of cardies to slip on when cold, those longer 'grandad style ones, rather than the small cropped style.

Other things I have though of are a nice back support pillow, and see if a foot stool is needed, we found there was never enough of these to go round.

Just thought of something else, coming up soon Aldi will have the extra warm thick ladies socks in ( they have a brand name) they are spot on for cold feet
Love and best wishes to you and your mum, it can be a difficult time. Sadly the
top choice homes we wanted were all fully booked and it was literally dead men's shoes, the one she went to wasn't great, but she had daily visitors and we watched like a hawk, and weren't shy about complaining.Given that she seemed reasonably settled we were concerned about moving her again . Sadly she passed away earlier this year but as a lifelong smoker aged almost 90 , she didn't have a bad innings !