MagnaReady Wants to Make Getting Dressed Easier for People With Disabilities

When living with a disability, sometimes a task as simple as getting dressed can prove painstaking. MagnaReady, founded by Maura Horton, is a clothing company that wants to make getting dressed a lot easier.

Horton founded MagnaReady after an incident involving her husband, Don, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at an early age. A college football coach, Don was getting dressed in the locker room after a game and was unable to button his shirt. Because of his disability, Don had limited mobility in his hands and needed a player to help button his shirt for him.

When Don arrived home, he was anxious a similar situation might occur. Horton then came up with the idea to magnetically infuse the buttons on his shirts, restoring freedom to his everyday routine.

MagnaReady shirts, rather than having traditional buttons, are infused with magnets that automatically clip together at the front. Buttons are sewn on the outside to maintain a professional appearance while allowing ease of access to users. Because the shirts are infused with magnets, they are not ideal for those with pacemakers.

Each MagnaReady shirt is 100 percent cotton, stain-resistant and wrinkle-free. They also come in a variety of styles for men and women, with each shirt costing $64.95. Horton told The Mighty the company plans to release a line of pants soon.

So far, Horton said feedback has been positive and customers reach out every day to share their personal journeys. One customer told MagnaReady “Love your shirts…I had hand surgery and left me with numbness in my fingers. While I can button regular shirts it takes me forever and I can never get the collar buttoned. I brag on it all the time. My neurologist thought it was great.”

MagnaReady was also featured in the White House’s 2016 fashion show “Celebrating Inclusive Design,” alongside brands such as Runway of Dreams, which partners with Tommy Hilfiger to create adaptive clothing for children and ABL Denim, which makes easy to remove jeans.