I have scoliosis, and I wore a back brace for over a year.
I was diagnosed with it half way through my freshman year of high school after getting acupuncture done and the accupunturest told me I should probably get it checked out.
Initially, before I got the brace, I thought it might be kind of fun.
In my head I thought it would be much smaller and more comfortable than it ended up being.
The brace I wore was a Boston Back Brace.
I hated it so much. Not only was it incredibly uncomfortable, but I also didn’t have much mobility when I was wearing it.
I had to wear the brace all day and night, which was not that enjoyable considering that it was very big and bulky.
However, probably one of the hardest things for me about wearing it was finding clothing that would hide it but still looked cute.
I felt really self conscious about my brace, and a lot of the time I would be frustrated because I never wore anything that fit my style or flattered my body type since it was covered in a giant piece of plastic.
One day I was running late for school, so I threw on the first thing I saw that would work with my brace.
Once I got to school I started feeling incredibly insecure about my outfit and the way I looked so I excused myself from my first period class so I could go change into workout clothes (a baggy grey shirt and black shorts) I had brought because I had to swim right after school.
It wasn’t often that I found myself feeling even a bit of confidence wearing my brace, but after I had it for a while, those days where I did feel a bit more confident increased.
One thing I remember very vividly after I got my back brace was researching with my mom outfits to wear with a back brace.
There was almost nothing!
I know that I really wished there were more resources discussing this topic when I had to wear my brace, so that’s why I have created this post!
I don’t have a back brace anymore but all of these are outfits I wore with my brace and did a good job hiding it while still looking cute
These are also outfits that I wear without a brace as well, so they’re great outfits to wear with a brace or no brace.
This is specifically summer fashion inspo, but I do plan on creating more posts like this one for the fall, winter, and the spring.
~outfit one~
I had shorts that looked almost the exact same as these when I had my brace.
A pair of flowy shorts like these are perfect to wear with a back brace and they are definitely a must to purchase when you’re shopping for new clothes for your brace.
I wore mine at least twice a week during the warmer months when I had to wear my back brace.
The loose style of the shorts helped disguise my brace really well.
I paired the shorts with an oversized tee I stole from my dad.
Oversized tee shirts are also amazing to wear with a back brace because they don’t hug your body therefore not outlining the brace underneath.
For shoes I wore brown Birkenstocks, and for accessories I wore a brown scrunchie to match with the tee shirt, and a vintage looking gold necklace.
~outfit two~
I love this outfit because it is so easy to put together.
I paired a white tee shirt with a maroon skater skirt with a stretchy elastic around the waist.
I also think that a black skater skirt would have looked good for a contrast to the white tee shirt.
I found that skirts like this are perfect to wear with a back brace because since the waistband is elastic, it can be worn with or without a brace.
Sometimes clothes you wear with your brace are too big for when you’re wearing clothes without it and vice versa- that’s why I love skirts with an elastic waistband.
For shoes I wore white sneakers from Madewell and I also wore a pink scrunchie.
~outfit three~
Dresses are so easy to throw on and look like you put in a lot of effort in creating your outfit.
This dress was one of the few pieces I was able to wear with my brace that I also wore prior to having a back brace.
Why? Because it’s a wrap dress.
I absolutely love wearing wrap dresses because they’ll fit you no matter what- and you can change how it looks on you.
Also, your dress won’t stretch out either since you can adjust it to fit your size with the brace without harming the item itself.
It is also great for the same reasons the skirt is- you can wear it with or without your brace.
I would wear this dress to school all of the time and I still wear it all of the time without my brace.
For shoes I wore the white sneakers from Madewell. I didn’t wear any accessories but I think if I did it would be a dainty necklace or bracelet.
If you wanted to make the dress a bit for fancy you could also wear heals, although I never wore heels with my brace because I’m already a cluz in them without a brace so that would have just been a disaster!
I know how hard it can be to wear a brace and find outfits that make you feel good, but I really hope that some of these outfits inspired you.
My motto was always my scoliosis doesn’t define me- I define my scoliosis.
So just go rock what you got and do everything you can to be confident!
