MY OSTOMY IS

Making Life Fit Into Your New Lifestyle

  • Cleansing Care
  • Mindset
  • Daily Maintenance
  • Ostomy Daily Blog
You are here: Home / Ostomy Lifestyle Needs / Colostomy Clothing Was Immediately on My Mind

Colostomy Clothing Was Immediately on My Mind

This post may contain affiliate links. These will take you to products that I have found most helpful to my ostomy lifestyle. This helps us be able to keep our site in operation by helping with our operating expenses.

Why Was Colostomy Clothing Such a Big Deal?

Colostomy Clothing Was Immediately on My MindAfter over 5 days in the hospital, colostomy clothing was big time on my mine. Why you ask?

For 5 days I was wearing a peek-a-boo backless gown, not very becoming on a 61 year old man, I might add. What to wear, I sound like a woman now, but I had a good reason for this concern.

As I walked around I realized that my outfits right now would be sweat pants and a t-shirt. The main reason would be my ostomy was placed just immediately below my waist on my left hand side. my left hand side probably because I am left-handed?

Maybe some other reason but I do not know why. With this larger bump, It made it impossible for me to button up any of my pants that I owned.

Regular Clothes Just Didn’t Work Well

I tried, and tried all of them. The only answer was the baggy britches look with no belt but wearing suspenders. Huh?, Ah, NOT MY LOOK. Some may agree with this look others may disagree. I wasn’t going to do that look.

So I faced giving all of my pants away, and replacing them with something that I could wear. But What? A few days later, the Ostomy care nurse that I had an appointment with told us to check with a gentlemen at a store in a local mall. He would be able to help.

Searching For Clothing for Colostomy Patients, Takes Patience

So we went to this kind sir and he directed us to a shirt rack and a pants rack for what recommended for people with my needs. Was this the answer, no not really.Ostomy Shirt and Slacks

We did start heading in the right direction though. We purchased one shirt and we were not sure the trousers were the answer so we continued on our search.

Our search led us a few days later to an outlet store where the stocked Wrangler elastic expansion waist banded pants. These allowed me to wear a dress casual type of trouser and yet do it without a belt. None of my belts have been worn ever since my surgery.

The Shirt Search Was Next

Our next search was for a shirt type that could be worn out, the untucked look that still looked dress but would hang loosely and nicely over the pants. You see the object is to be comfortable but not to show the obvious ostomy bump that is always present.

parastomal hernia
parastomal hernia

It is best when the bag is newly changed and at it’s worst when it is full of gases or feces. Then it’s time to find a restroom.

So the search was for a tail less shirt, that looked dressy and had some nice design to it, not just a very plain looking shirt. This was a challenge. Several stores visited and we left several stores were left disappointed.


Finally we found one store where I was able to find 5 different shirts that I could wear comfortably that checked off all of the boxes on the list of requirements.

The challenge is that these stores only carry a few different shirts of this style that fit me. We still haven’t found any other store but that one.

Wrangler Authentics Men's Short Sleeve Canvas Shirt, ChocolateWrangler Authentics Men’s Short Sleeve Canvas Shirt, ChocolateWrangler Authentics Men's Short Sleeve Canvas Shirt, ChocolateHarriton Men's Bahama Cord Camp Shirt -Cloud BlueHarriton Men’s Bahama Cord Camp Shirt -Cloud BlueHarriton Men's Bahama Cord Camp Shirt -Cloud BlueHarriton Men's Bahama Cord Camp Shirt -Green MistHarriton Men’s Bahama Cord Camp Shirt -Green MistHarriton Men's Bahama Cord Camp Shirt -Green Mist


What Are You Looking For to Dress a Colostomy Patient

You will need a look that disguises the fact that you have an ostomy, with a piece of equipment attached to it.

Please be aware, as you are out of the house, that situations will arise when you bag will expand very much. the bulge that develops is rather large. It can be very embarrassing to you, if that bulge is very easily noticed.

Once you have either changed the bag or you have drained the bag, you are very happy to have a look in your clothing as a colostomy patient that covers this fact up for you.

Ostomy PantsThis is an area where I have had to realize that things aren’t as recognizable to most people.

But they are really uncomfortable to you knowing and wondering how many people are noticing.

With my lack in personal confidence, I wouldn’t be in public with my t-shirt and sweat pants look.

The ostomy to me is too apparent. I only do this if I am wearing a jacket over it, or a windbreaker over it.

Have You Prepared an Ostomate Emergency Bag?

Another thing to be aware of is that if you need to change the equipment you will need to be able to access the ostomy area easily.

Tight, restrictive clothing does not work well for changing or draining situations. Also I always take a change of clothing with me in case a breakout happens.

A breakout is if the bag is so full it starts unattaching itself and leakage is happening or if the wafer is leaking or becoming unattached. I have had both things happen, And It was very helpful having other clothes to change into.

So it is very important to have a colostomy emergency bag ready and easily reached in your car, if you are out for an extended period of time. I have a great post about this, Preparing An Ostomy Emergency Travel Kit. Being prepared is now more important than ever before.

Read More About Ostomy Life-View Related Posts Below

What I Eat-How Food Affects My Ostomy Pouch
How Food Affects My Ostomy Pouch is a personal detailed list of foods I eat every day. Using this list I comment on how each food affects my ostomy pouch.
Showering & Bathing With An Ostomy a Discussion

Showering & bathing with an ostomy is an unknown area that an ostomy owner needs to get answers about. I detail my experiences showering and bathing with my ostomy.
An Overcomer

George writes from first-hand experience about having a stoma and living with an ostomy. As a former cancer patient and a survivor of colon cancer, you can draw from his experiences. His goal is to help you as he shares the realities of living with an ostomy.

Filed Under: Ostomy Lifestyle Needs Tagged With: Colostomy Maintenance

About An Overcomer

George writes from first-hand experience about having a stoma and living with an ostomy. As a former cancer patient and a survivor of colon cancer, you can draw from his experiences. His goal is to help you as he shares the realities of living with an ostomy.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

20 + 13 =

My Recent Posts

  • Living With An OstomyLiving With An Ostomy-The Struggle
  • How Do I Bathe With An OstomyHow Do I Bathe With An Ostomy-The Steps to Cleanliness
  • Ostomy What to EatOstomy What To Eat-What Is Best To Eat With My Ostomy
  • How Food Affects My Ostomy PouchWhat I Eat-How Food Affects My Ostomy Pouch
  • How Does My Faith Fit My Ostomy StoryHow My Faith Is in the Middle of My Ostomy Story

Our Accessibilty Statement

My Ostomy Is's Accessibility Statement

This Is Who I am

If You Were Wondering Who I am, Please read further

My Testimony

  • 404 Page
  • Cookies Policy
  • It All Happened So Suddenly
  • My Story As a Colorectal Cancer Patient
  • Social Media Disclosure
  • Website Accessibility

Please Note: I am not a Doctor

Please Be Advised

Please remember in reading my blog that I am not giving you medical advice. I am not a doctor of medicine. I am a regular working person who happened to be diagnosed with Colo-Rectal cancer back in 2013. I am a survivor and my goal is to be able to help some similarly diagnosed people .

Copyright © 2023 My Ostomy Is
Contact Us | Cookies Policy | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Sitemap |Terms and Conditions

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in .

MY OSTOMY IS
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognizing you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. You can read our Privacy Policy by going here.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. Read our Privacy Policy Here

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!