Woman Invents Magnetic Shirt to Help People With Disabilities

Following her husband’s frustration at not being able to do up the buttons on his formal work shirts, Maura Horton came up with a simple and practical solution: magnetic buttons.

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According to a report on Fox News, Horton’s husband Don was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease but was still working and enjoying an active life. But when it came to getting dressed for work each morning, he was struggling to button his shirt. Horton looked around various clothing stores for a practical solution, but only found casual clothing or sportswear which were no good for her husband’s office.

In terms of adaptive clothing, most garments she found were aimed at either the elderly or the severely disabled, not those who still had a high level of independence but needed solutions to simplify tasks. She decided to alter her husband’s existing work shirts by replacing the buttons with machine-washable magnets and Don liked them so much that she decided to launch a business making them for other people.

In 2013, Horton launched MagnaReady selling her clothing online and clothing giant PVH, who own brands such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, will be rolling out MagnaReady shirts in stores in the U.S. and Canada later this year.

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