What Grey's Anatomy did for surgical scrubs

When people think of the medial profession, they tend not to think of it as a bastion of high-end fashion. We spare very little thought to the scrubs, jackets, shoes and caps that medical staff, particularly in hospitals, have to wear every day. Then, along came Grey’s Anatomy and suddenly scrubs were haute couture. They were hailed as the ultimate in comfort and leisure wear.

Grey’s Anatomy did what ER could not: it made surgical uniforms cool. Why this should be so is uncertain. Perhaps the romance, intrigue and downright sexy nature of Grey’s Anatomy helped establish scrubs as the epitome of seduction wear. Whereas ER focused more on medical drama, in Grey’s Anatomy, medicine forms only a backdrop to the characters’ complicated social lives.

The sudden popularity of scrubs is evidenced by the availability of a designer range from Katherine Heigl, one of Grey’s Anatomy’s biggest stars. Called the “Miami Collection”, it features empire cut tops in “flamingo” pink and “orange heat”, as well as a mock-wrap top (with back-ties to flatter the figure) in sunrise print. Scrub pants are cargo style with colours to match the empire tops. There are also faux-layered tops with long sleeves for chilly days.

Pretty designs aren’t new to surgical scrubs. The world in general may have only recently been introduced to medical fashion, but medical staff members have been reaping the benefits of designer uniforms for a while now. Mock-wrap tops are available from a variety of distributors, as are tops with sash back ties, square neck lines, plunging neck lines and elegant lace detail.

There is also a wide choice of fabrics, from golfing frogs and volleyball-playing lizards, to vintage hotrods and cats on stage, scrubs are available in about every pattern and colour you can think of. Sizes vary from maternity to petite to plus size, to men’s big and tall. Caps have also been funked up considerably, and come in a variety of patterns, colours and styles. There are simple tie-back caps, bouffant caps, mega caps and tie-back bonnets.

Not even shoes have escaped the attention of the functional fashion fundis, who have created Marshmallow Clogs, stealth clogs (from Rockers), Bermuda slip-ons (from Anywears) and Air clogs (from Birki).

Now that doctors’ fashions have come out of the closet, isn’t it time you invested in something ineffably cool and comfortable? I must confess to being drawn to flamingo pink cargo pants, and possibly a pair of marshmallow clogs to match, and I don’t even watch Grey’s Anatomy. Jump on the scrubs bandwagon before ratings drop, and join Katherine Heigl in the height of seasonal fashion.

Recommended sites:

http://www.scrubsandbeyond.com/

http://www.scrubs.com/

http://www.sassyscrubs.com/maternity_scrub_top.html#view_top

Sandra wrote this article for the online marketers Dickies Store functional protective clothing one of the most successful protective clothing stores in the UK