Yeah!! Fashionable Hospital Gowns

[Sarajmt]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg has helped the Cleveland Clinic create a more stylish hospital gown without the peek-a-boo back.

The gown features elements associated with von Furstenberg designs — a wrap dress with a bold, graphic print. The clinic's logo is printed on the fabric.

The gown has side ties, which eliminate the embarrassing open-back look.

The Plain Dealer says the fabric was chosen to address a concern that patients were too warm in the hospital.

So designers had to find a material lightweight enough to be cool but tough enough to withstand frequent laundering and having monitors and drains pinned to it.

Feedback has been mostly positive. Some men have complained that the gown is too feminine, so the design team is condering an alternate print.

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Information from: The Plain Dealer, www.cleveland.com

[CaoMoo]

I always said tying a hospital gown is a great sobriety test. If you can get it half right you're probably sober. It's the dexterity challenge.

[Jaybay]

I'm all for it!  If I have to be stuck in The Place even for one night, I bring my own nightwear.  I like comfy pyjamas that button down the front and lounge pants for hospital stays.  The nurses can get to the parts they need to get to and I can maintain a little dignity.   So far, I've never had an objection to bringing my own bed attire and I'm so much more comfortable with just a little bit of home next to my skin.  No matter what time of year, I'm always frozen in a hospital room.  The only time I've worked up a sweat is with a high fever, so the fabric choice doesn't really matter to me.

[geminigirl1963]

I think it's a great idea - we're quite often at our most vulnerable when we're in the hospital and anything that can give us a little bit of dignity certain helps!

I also totally agree about needing a fabric that isn't so hot - the only time I've ever been cold in a hospital gown was when I was having surgery and that's only because they keep the OR and recovery areas soooooo stinking cold!  Other times, I end up sweating like a pig that has run a marathon in the gowns.

While men may think the new gowns are "too feminine", I can't quite imagine they would feel "comfortable" in any type of "gown" - after all they ALL do vaguely resemble dresses!

I also like the idea of the side ties because they'll be much easier for us, as the patient, to tie and untie ourselves - the ones that open in the back you pretty much always need a nurse or someone else to help you get it tied - especially for people like me who have had a shoulder replacement and can't lift my arm enough to reach either behind my neck or behind my back to tie the lower tie.  Hopefully also, the side tie gowns won't dip down in the front so easily if you're on a monitor and have to carry around that heavy contraption - even the gowns that have the little pockets built in for them don't stand up to the weight of them very well.

Here's to anything that can make our hospital stays more "home like" and less embarassing.