[blindLaw] Bespoke suit design features for blindies or court

Sat Mar 25 02:38:22 UTC 2023

Congratulation. Sanho has a point here. I would be extra vigilant to be sure that this "unusual" look, though satisfying to you,  does not serve as a distraction in a setting where you would actually prefer the focus to be on something other than the suit, such as in the courtroom. I also recommend that you get a few sighted friends to give you their opinion before going too far with it.

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sanho Steele-Louchart via BlindLaw
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2023 9:54 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sanho Steele-Louchart <sanho817 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Bespoke suit design features for blindies or court

Sai,

Congratulations on the marriage.

As for the suit, I'm not sure if you're thinking about representing yourself or representing others. Please be careful if intending to represent others while dressed extravagantly. The reality is that making a negative impression on a judge or jury would negatively impact your client. I also wouldn't be remotely surprised if judges would have you leave the courtroom until you were dressed quote unquote "appropriately."

I'd suggest you might have a trusted sighted person tell you if the lines of your suit are broken when you put things on interior pockets.
Perhaps broken lines can be mitigated by being bespoke. If not, I'd wonder what the point is of it being bespoke in the first place.

Warmth,
Sanho

On 3/24/23, Sai via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi all.
>
> I'm getting married soon, and having a bespoke three piece suit made 
> for me. I'd also like to wear it in court and other formal settings. 
> In large part the design is driven by gender presentation (I'm 
> non-binary)… but since I can get the tailors to design and sew more or 
> less whatever I want that's in the general ballpark of a suit, I'm 
> also thinking about practical or pleasure features, some of which are blindness related.
>
> Do any of you have suggestions as to what features might be nice to 
> have (or avoid) in a jacket, waistcoat, or trousers/skirt?
>
> Could be blindness related, practical, style, whatever. (I don't care 
> if it's "feminine" or "masculine" or neither.)
>
>
> For context: for me, functionality or personal enjoyment almost always 
> trumps traditional normativity (e.g. I wear toeshoes because they give 
> me much better ground feel), but I'd still like this suit to come off 
> as formal overall, albeit rather unusual.
>
> For example, two blindie things I almost always have on me are a 
> Bluetooth wireless earbuds string (for using screen reader on phone) 
> and a pen "mini cane" (a metal telescoping pointer/pen, pen size when 
> collapsed and about three feet long when extended, made for sighted 
> people to point at things in PowerPoint presentations — works well for 
> conference rooms, restaurants, familiar homes, etc. when my long cane 
> is a bit cumbersome and I don't need to clear obstacles below knee level).
>
> My usual jacket is a Scott-E-Vest, which has tons of pockets. Relevant 
> here, it has pen pockets on the inside placket near the front zipper, 
> and a channel plus little bungie loops at the back collar for stowing 
> and securing earbuds nicely. I think I'll ask the tailors to add these 
> to my jacket.
>
> The tailors suggested a sort of combination asymmetric skirt/hakama 
> based on Yohji Yamamoto's designs which I kinda like. Since I cane on 
> my right, and when I'm walking quickly I sometimes lever my cane 
> against my extended leg, I figure the skirt part should be on the 
> right, so that it covers the pleats underneath that might otherwise catch on the cane.
>
> Fabric was an example of a tactile pleasure driven choice (and my 
> level of tactile sensitivity is probably a blindie thing) — bamboo 
> fabric had a feel to it almost like the sensation of soft fluffy cat 
> fur. Of all the fabrics the tailors (and their cloth merchant 
> suppliers) had, it was way more pleasant than the next best (a very 
> fine wool — lovely stuff, but just not the same "this is like dark 
> chocolate for my fingertips" level reflex reaction).
>
> Another example of design motivated by blind life is that the jacket 
> will have "surgeon's cuffs", i.e. actually used cuff buttons, so that 
> when closed, the gap between wrist and cloth is smaller than the width 
> of my slimline cane handle. With looser jackets, when I run into 
> something (like on everyone's favourite, cobblestones), my cane handle 
> would often catch inside my sleeve and hurt my arm or just make it 
> more of a sudden shock; with cinched wrists, that's never been a problem.
>
>
> I figured y'all might have some other ideas — things you've noticed 
> that you particularly liked or disliked, things you've gotten positive 
> or negative comments about from others, etc. I'd appreciate any 
> suggestions you may have.
>
> Sincerely,
> Sai
> President, Fiat Fiendum, Inc., a 501(c)(3)
>
> Sent from my mobile phone; please excuse the concision, typos, and 
> autocorrect errors.
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--
He/Him

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