Non-dowdy zip- or button-front robes

January 27, 2019 11:25 AM

I am having abdominal surgery and have been advised that it will be easiest to wear zip- or button-front robes (with nothing else) during my recovery, because it will hurt to try to pull anything over my head. My criteria: 1) natural fibers only and 2) as not-hideous as possible. Doesn't seem unreasonable but is proving to be a unicorn as everything I'm finding is a polyester pastel floral. Can you help?
posted by HotToddy to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (33 answers total)

Can you step into something feet first then zip it? Here is a cute zip front dress that you can enter feet first.
posted by crazycanuck at 11:31 AM on January 27, 2019

Is this just to wear at home, or out in public? You could get shirtdresses (here's a random one from Everlane, or Nordstrom, and another. Wrap dresses could also work. If you want to just be cozy, here's something like a sweatshirt dress, and another long hoodie.
posted by pinochiette at 11:46 AM on January 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

This stripey, cotton nightgown from Madewell that buttons down the front is cute (and very on sale).

Edit: They have a few more in other prints with larger size ranges still in stock.
posted by asphericalcow at 11:48 AM on January 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: This is to wear in bed during a two-week recovery.
posted by HotToddy at 11:55 AM on January 27, 2019

If you can do the step in and then button up, rather than needing buttons all the way down, LL Bean has some cotton flannel plaids.

Vermont Country Store runs pretty hard toward dowdy, as well, but if you squint at them just right, some of the flannels aren't completely hideous? Maybe?

You can also look to menswear for darker colours or solids rather than patterns. Less likely to find ones that button all the way down the front, though.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:56 AM on January 27, 2019

Response by poster: Sorry for all the followups, but to clarify, I think it will be too hard to hold something and bend over to step in it. Pretty sure I need something that zips or buttons all the way down. I will be on my own with no one to hold it for me and I'm getting other advice like "use paper plates and cups as I found china ones too heavy to lift" so I'm going to err on the side of assuming I'll be pretty pathetic. Also, I should have mentioned that I would prefer short sleeves and a shorter length. Oy.
posted by HotToddy at 12:01 PM on January 27, 2019

Would something like a men's cotton jersey baseball style shirt work? They button up, the fabric would be soft, they come in 100% cotton, with short sleeves. I don't know if that length is too short?
posted by jacquilynne at 12:07 PM on January 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Though they are synthetic, I'm going to mention "shabbos robes" because they're a whole clothing genre you might not have heard of. They're zip- front robes styled to look like dresses. In case you need to receive a visitor or something.
posted by 8603 at 12:08 PM on January 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

Maybe this J. Jill nightshirt? It has long sleeves but is shorter
posted by current resident at 12:26 PM on January 27, 2019

How much time do you have? This might be something you could get custom made from Etsy.
posted by FencingGal at 12:36 PM on January 27, 2019

Vindaloo’s wife here. Searching for long nightshirts instead of robes or gowns got me better luck finding natural fibres with button up fronts. Would something like this J Crew cotton sleepshirt work, or this Madewell nightshirt? You could always hack off the sleeves and quickly hem if you prefer short sleeves.
posted by Vindaloo at 12:41 PM on January 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

Zippers past the waist are harder than you think. You have to bend over and apply force to the garment. Buttons require you to hold in a bent over position while you fasten them.

An alternative would be a layered approach. Buy a lightweight stretchy slip intended as sleepwear. Test it in advance - you want one you can enter feet first and pull straps over. It should also be a non-bulky garment.

To don it, lay the garment in an O shape on your bed configured to step in. Lie down on the bed and place your feet through the garment. Walk your feet back towards your butt and grab the garment with your hand. Now use your hand to pull the garment over your thighs. Swing your feet off the bed, stand up, and pull the garment on.

You can cover this with a button or zipper cardigan that you already own.
posted by crazycanuck at 12:46 PM on January 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Check your MeMail.
posted by essexjan at 12:53 PM on January 27, 2019

This LLBean robe zips in the front. 95% cotton, 5% spandex. Sorry about the spandex but as you say this is surprisingly challenging!

Depending on how much time you have and your budget, you could have a local seamstress whip up a few things for you - that way you get to chose the fabric, how far you have to reach to button/zip it, etc.

I notice you didn't mention tied robes - perhaps because they are generally tied around the waist - but - again with the seamstress - ties could be lopped off and replaced with buttons or snaps, so that the fit is loose and no reaching is required to fasten.
posted by bunderful at 12:55 PM on January 27, 2019

I am still googling around under "medical gown zipper" and related searches. So far it's looking like you may need to compromise wrt to dowdiness. You may also find some luck including "snap front" as opposed to button front in your searches.

Meanwhile, did the doctor's office offer you any leads on suppliers? If they are familiar enough to know that their patients will need this specialized clothing, they should be able to provide some supplier info. If the doctor can't, see if someone at the hospital can; they don't want to discharge you in something uncomfortable.
posted by vignettist at 1:51 PM on January 27, 2019

This "brobe" is designed for people recovering from surgery. It includes interior pockets for drains, ice packs, etc. and a detachable bra and belt for holding medical stuff in the shower. Although originally intended for people recovering from breast surgery, the makers say it's good for abdominal surgery and there are testimonials to that effect. The closure is velcro.
posted by carmicha at 1:55 PM on January 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

Here's one. Here's another. LL Bean might have more but in general, a button-up nightshirt (male, female, new, used, whatever) with a standard bathrobe over it worked for me.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:22 PM on January 27, 2019

Eileen West Lavender Fields Short Sleeve Robe at the Vermont Country Store.
posted by SemiSalt at 2:37 PM on January 27, 2019

A beach cover up?
posted by oceano at 2:43 PM on January 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Etsy seller silkandmore has knee-length, button-front dressing gowns, caftans and "robetans" in 100% cotton print.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:15 PM on January 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Search term help: “housecoat” example in a palm print cotton/poly blend. A cottton half sleeve one. It can also be relatively easy to add some or your own sew on snaps to a wrap front robe. Like. Really easy if you sew or you can get a snap kit. Or a button with a loop.
posted by Crystalinne at 3:28 PM on January 27, 2019

When I'm looking for this type of thing I check National for robes and housecoats. Their options tend towards the frumpy, but I have a hideous floral snap-front duster from there that is amazingly comfortable and warm, and I am willing to own the 1970s Grandma look for the sake of comfort. (Everything they carry isn't natural fibers, but they have a decent selection -- I actually found them while looking for 100% cotton socks on Amazon a few years ago.)
posted by camyram at 3:36 PM on January 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have this fleece zip up robe from Duluth Trading Co. It’s 60/40 cotton/poly blend.
posted by kittydelsol at 3:46 PM on January 27, 2019

Having gone through this myself, I would say that anything that requires you to bend over to zip or button is going to be difficult for you. And if you have to step into something, that means you are probably bending over to pull it or hold it up. I honestly think a loose tie on a generously-sized wrap robe is less likely to be a problem--you'd have to pull it pretty tight to have it put pressure on the abdomen. In which case, LL Bean has some OK options. I just bought their "sweatshirt robe" which is cotton and about knee-length in anticipation of another surgery (not abdominal) myself. I wouldn't call it cute, per se, but it's a robe, it's at least not actively frumpy.
posted by praemunire at 6:31 PM on January 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

(As a side note, I would also really encourage you to do whatever you can to get maximum help during the recovery period. Two days after mine, which was pretty brutal (I was in the hospital for eight days), I couldn't even hold up an admittedly somewhat thick book.)
posted by praemunire at 6:32 PM on January 27, 2019

Alternate suggestion, wear a sarong with a cardigan/hoodie to cover your shoulders. A sarong can be any length of any cloth, 2 meters more or less, that you wind around your torso under your armpits and tuck in the ends or knot them (depending on length you bought). They are just-below-knee when worn that high.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:47 PM on January 27, 2019

if you go for the wrap style robe, Nordstrom has a number of them in modal and cotton blends on their website right now.
posted by crush at 7:05 PM on January 27, 2019

When my father had abdominal surgery, I got him a jinbe with long pants. A jinbe is a (usually cotton) top that has an open front with two sets of tie strings, one inside (tied first) and one on the outside. As a bonus, there’s usually a pocket on the outside. You can tie it loosely to avoid discomfort, and they’re pretty great for recovery type stuff, and most hospital gowns in Japan have similar construction. Here’s one I found on Amazon. One thing, often, these are summer clothes, and come with shorts, not pants. You might need to do some searching, maybe Rakuten might help.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:29 PM on January 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Would denim do, or do you think it would be uncomfortable? Here's a possibility from the Vermont Country Store:

https://www.vermontcountrystore.com/pintuck-denim-dress/product/73157

The buttons do look small.
posted by SereneStorm at 8:11 PM on January 27, 2019

The Company Store has a number of button-down cotton nightshirts in solids and nice prints on sale for around $30. Looks like most of them have longer sleeves, but you could trim those off. They also have knee-length light cotton kimono robes for a similar price.
posted by karayel at 9:44 PM on January 27, 2019

If you have time to source something vintage, cute zip-front house dresses were made in cotton or rayon.
posted by Scram at 10:23 PM on January 27, 2019

Nthing nightshirt/sleepshirt. Here's one from Marks and Spencer, and here's another.
posted by satoshi at 3:38 AM on January 28, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I think a nightshirt is the way to go and I can just button as far down as I comfortably can. Not sure why I didn't think of it. I got a cute one at Madewell on super sale for $26 too!
posted by HotToddy at 6:37 AM on January 28, 2019 [2 favorites]