The best thing to wear to the hospital is loose, comfortable clothing that’s easy to take on and off, with slip-on shoes and minimal jewelry or valuables. Beyond that, the specifics depend on why you’re going: a same-day surgery, an overnight stay, labor and delivery, or an imaging appointment each come with different considerations. Here’s what to plan for.
The Basics for Any Hospital Visit
Loose-fitting clothes with simple closures are the universal starting point. Think elastic waistbands, button-down or zip-up tops, and fabrics with some stretch. Knit fabrics like cotton jersey are ideal because they breathe well, move with your body, and stay comfortable across the temperature swings that are common in hospitals. You’ll likely be sitting in waiting areas, getting checked in, and having your blood pressure taken, so avoid anything tight on your upper arm or difficult to roll up past the elbow.
Slip-on shoes with rubber soles are the safest option. Research on fall prevention consistently shows that properly fitted shoes with slip-resistant outsoles reduce the risk of falls on hospital floors, which are often smooth tile. Slippers, socks alone, flip-flops, and heels are all discouraged. If you’re being admitted, bring a pair of non-skid socks or grip-sole slippers for walking the halls.
Leave valuables at home. Hospitals are busy places with shared spaces, and most facilities explicitly state they cannot accept responsibility for personal property kept at your bedside. Mount Sinai’s policy is typical: patients sign a release accepting full responsibility for any belongings not deposited with the cashier for safekeeping. Expensive jewelry, large amounts of cash, laptops, and designer items are all better left with someone you trust or at home entirely.
What to Wear for Surgery
If you’re having a surgical procedure, you’ll change into a hospital gown when you arrive. What you wear to the hospital just needs to be easy to change out of and, more importantly, easy to change back into when you’re groggy or sore afterward. A loose top that buttons or zips up the front is much easier to manage than pulling something over your head, especially after upper body or abdominal procedures.
Remove all jewelry before you leave home. Rings, necklaces, earrings, watches, and piercings all need to come off before surgery. Metal accessories pose risks in the operating room, and removing them while anxious and under time pressure is an unnecessary hassle. If you have piercings you can’t easily remove yourself, call your surgical team ahead of time to ask about options. Wedding rings are one of the most commonly forgotten items, and research shows that rings worn under surgical gloves significantly increase glove perforation rates, which is one reason staff will ask you to remove them.
You’ll also be asked to skip makeup, nail polish, lotions, and contact lenses. Anesthesia teams monitor your skin color, oxygen levels through your fingertips, and eye responses during sedation. Anything that interferes with those signals needs to go. Bring your glasses and a contact lens case if needed.
Dressing for Recovery After Surgery
What you wear home from surgery matters more than what you wear in. For abdominal procedures, soft elastic waistbands or drawstring pants sit more comfortably over incision sites and any drainage tubes. Avoid jeans, belts, or anything with a rigid waistband that presses against your midsection. Loose shorts or wide-leg pants work well for knee or leg surgeries.
For chest or shoulder procedures, a button-down shirt or a zip-up hoodie lets you dress without raising your arms overhead. After breast surgery specifically, look for bras or tops with front closures and outward-facing seams that won’t irritate sutures. Some patients find it helpful to bring a size or two larger than usual to accommodate bandaging and swelling.
Slip-on shoes are especially important on surgery day, since bending over to tie laces may be painful or impossible depending on your procedure. If you’re having foot or ankle surgery, bring a shoe that fits over bandaging, or ask your surgeon’s office in advance whether they’ll provide a surgical boot.
What to Pack for an Overnight Stay
For a planned admission, bring a small bag with clothes you’d wear on a lazy day at home. Soft pants or shorts, a couple of t-shirts or button-downs, underwear, and a light layer like a cardigan or zip-up jacket cover most situations. Hospitals run cool, and your room temperature may fluctuate, so layering helps more than packing one heavy item.
Practical items to include:
- Non-skid socks or slippers for walking to the bathroom and around the unit
- A robe or wrap that fits over a hospital gown for modesty during walks
- Your own pillow or blanket if comfort is a priority (hospital bedding is functional, not plush)
- Toiletries in travel sizes since counter space is limited
- A phone charger with a long cord because outlets may not be next to your bed
- Glasses instead of contacts since you may not have access to proper lens care
Choose tops that allow easy access to your arms and chest. Nurses will need to place IVs (typically in your hand or forearm), attach blood pressure cuffs, and apply heart monitoring patches. A sleeve that won’t push up easily means you’ll end up in a hospital gown all day instead of your own clothes. Some companies now make shirts and hoodies specifically designed with hidden openings for IV lines and chest ports, which can be worth looking into if you have a longer stay or receive regular infusion treatments.
What to Wear for Labor and Delivery
Most hospitals provide a standard gown for labor, but you’re usually allowed to wear your own if you prefer. The key requirements: your care team needs access to your belly for fetal monitors, your back for an epidural if you choose one, and your chest for immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth.
Labor gowns designed for this purpose typically have snaps at the shoulders, back, and sides that open independently. Some have waist-level slits for IV access. If you want to wear your own gown, look for one with front snaps or openings for nursing and skin-to-skin, plus back access for epidural placement. Several brands, including Gownies and Frida Mom, are designed specifically around these needs.
For the ride home, pack a separate outfit that’s loose and comfortable. You’ll still look roughly six months pregnant for a bit after delivery, so maternity clothes or stretchy high-waisted pants are the practical choice. Bring a nursing bra or comfortable sports bra if you plan to breastfeed, and don’t forget an outfit for the baby plus an infant car seat.
What to Wear for an MRI or Imaging
MRI appointments require extra attention to clothing because the machine uses an extremely powerful magnet. You’ll typically change into a facility-provided gown, but if you’re allowed to wear your own clothes, they need to be completely metal-free. That means no zippers, no underwire bras, no metal snaps, no belt buckles, and no clothing with metallic threads.
That last point is more important than most people realize. A growing number of athletic and “tech” clothing brands now weave silver or copper microfibers into fabrics for antibacterial and odor-fighting properties. These metallic fibers are invisible to the eye and not always listed prominently on labels. A case report published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology documented a thermal burn during an MRI caused by silver-embedded microfibers in an undershirt that looked and felt like ordinary fabric. Brands including Reebok, Adidas, and New Balance have sold products with these materials. The safest option is to change into the gown the facility provides.
For CT scans and X-rays, the requirements are less strict but you may still be asked to remove clothing with metal components over the area being scanned. Wearing a simple cotton t-shirt and elastic-waist pants can save you from having to change at all.
What to Leave at Home
A short list of things that cause more trouble than they’re worth at the hospital:
- Expensive jewelry or watches since hospitals won’t cover losses
- Contact lenses for any procedure involving sedation
- Perfume or scented lotion which can trigger reactions in other patients and interfere with some medical assessments
- Complicated outfits with lots of buttons, tight sleeves, or anything that requires help to put on
- Large bags since storage space in patient rooms and pre-op areas is minimal
The overall principle is simple: dress for comfort and easy access, skip anything valuable or hard to remove, and plan your going-home outfit around whatever part of your body is being treated. A few minutes of packing the right clothes can make an already stressful day noticeably easier.