Wash, Wear, and Care: Clothing and Laundry in Long-Term Residential Care

Clothing and appearance are steeped in social and personal significance, conveying individuals’ gender, class, culture, and occupation. In the communal setting of long-term residential care, where residents’ autonomy and mobility are often limited but their dignity and identity are paramount, clothes have become crucial issues and the source of tension for residents, their families, and staff.

Assessing the neglected but important labour involved in ensuring that clothes promote respect for ...