Style Counsel

Just because you have a stoma, it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with fashion. Are there any rules about what to wear – and what not to?

Helen Martin has spent a great deal more time in clothes shops lately. When she started working at ConvaTec, her work-wear wardrobe changed completely. “I used to work in a laboratory and I would just put my jeans on,” she said. “Now I wear smart casual clothes – usually trousers and a top.”

On the day that we spoke to ileostomist Helen, she was hunting for a pair of shoes to go with an outfit she had already bought for a friends wedding. “I’ve bought a lovely aubergine-coloured outfit from Mexx,” she said, “but I can’t find any shoes to match.”

A petite, vivacious and snappily dressed woman, it’s hard to imagine that Helen has ever worried about what to wear. But this wasn’t always the case. In fact, she had a confidence crisis a few years ago when she had a high jejunostomy – a stoma high in the small bowel. The very high output meant that she had a tube leading from her stoma to what she describes as a demijohn, which she had to carry around with her.

During this time, she was very self-conscious that people might be staring at her and wore Kaftan-type tops to cover up as much as possible.

Now with a much more discreet ileostomy, and a little planning, shopping for clothes has become fun again for Helen. When she’s trawling her favourite shops – H&M, Marks and Spencer, Wallis – she’s also on the lookout for bold accessories to jazz up her outfits.

Wear clothes to fit your shape

“I’m a big fan of Trinny and Susannah (the fashion gurus from the BBC’s What Not To Wear) and how they recommend wearing clothes to suit your body shape. For example, I used to wear cropped trousers until I realised they make me look even shorter,” she said.

Helen often wears trousers but she finds low-slung hipsters impractical and uncomfortable and prefers them to sit on the waist. “I did have a lower pair but I was always hoicking them up,” she said.

When she’s out shopping for clothes, Helen doesn’t usually bother with the changing rooms, even though most shops have individual cubicles rather than open spaces. She has become a good judge of whether trousers are high or low-waisted without trying them on.

“I can’t wear anything bias-cut either,” she said. “It looks too clingy and I worry that my pouch will show. I would love a wrap dress but I can’t wear them as they are usually made of jersey fabric and it would be obvious if my pouch was even slightly full.”

So Helen is the prime example that just because you have a stoma, it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with fashion, however, there is one problem that even Helen can’t overcome – “where can I find shoes to go with an aubergine – coloured outfit?” she asks. Ideas, anyone?

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