Bob Beveridge, a 65-year-old retired army sergeant, has launched his first fashion venture.
Beveridge has spent the past two years designing and manufacturing a range of hospital gowns under the label 'Hospital Glamour'.
The start-up label was inspired by his wife, who felt depressed and exposed when issued a standard gown for surgery.
“My wife just wanted to feel more like herself in hospital which made me question why the outdated hospital gowns had never been updated over the years or designed better to ensure a bit of dignity,” he said.
“Standard hospital gowns are so awkward and often your bottom is left exposed when you’re strolling down the hospital corridors unaware.
“I decided to do something about it, but I had no idea about fashion so I enrolled myself in a six month fashion production course and found myself learning along side a lot of young women designing bikinis while I was focused on my hospital gowns.
“The current hospital gowns are one size fits all which doesn’t suit everyone and they have metal fasteners so they can’t be worn when getting x-rays.
“Every year 1.4 million Australians have a planned overnight hospital stay for elective surgery and of those, 215,000 are women giving birth.
“That special first photo taken of a newborn is often with their mum who’s dressed in an ugly, plain hospital gown, but now mums can be wearing ones that are not only fashionable but also make it easier to breastfeed in.
“When you’re in hospital you’re so reliant on the nurses and doctors but one way to feel as though you’re still in control is to wear a hospital gown that makes you feel like you, whether it’s a loud and bright print or simple and classy.”
He said designs were inspired by women of all ages and sizes.
“When deciding on the fabric patterns we picked out celebrities like Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Katy Perry, Kelly Osborne, Princess Kate, and thought what would they wear, then matched the fabrics with their personalities – elegant and conservative to younger and funky.
“Choosing fabric for men’s gowns was the hardest because it’s most likely the women who will end up buying for them.
“There are nine different designs for women including zebra, bluebird and heart printed gowns as well as two simpler designs for men.
“We also have 5 star quality bathrobes that are designed with kimono style sleeves ensuring they won’t get in the way of needles and drips.”
The gowns are produced from 100% cotton is sizes 8-24, with bathrobes up to a size 28.