Patent Application
20230010404
The field of the invention is garments that can be converted from a top into a bottom and vice-versa.
It is known for pants to have zip off pant legs for converting pants into shorts. Similarly, it is known for jackets to have zip off sleeves for converting the jacket into a vest. These conversions are done to provide versatility in athletic wear and in clothing used for camping and similar outdoor pursuits to accommodate changes in weather.
In the fashion world, the designer Balenciaga created a cape that converted into a skirt and vice-versa. This appears to have been done so that an expensive item of clothing could be worn more frequently.
However, there remains a need for garments that are versatile for fashion reasons and for weather reasons.
One embodiment of the invention is a garment having a top configuration for covering the torso of a person and a bottom configuration for covering the lower half of the person. The garment is interchangeable between the top and bottom configurations. In the top configuration, the garment takes the form of a top, e.g., a shirt, a vest, a blouse, a jacket, a coat or a poncho with sleeves. The top may be sleeveless, have short sleeves or full length sleeves. In the bottom configuration, the garment takes the form of a bottom, e.g., a pair of shorts, a pair of pants, and a skort (a combination of shorts and skirt) as well as a skirt & skants (a combination of skirt and pants) variation via folding/extra snaps. The garment has in the top configuration a removable front panel having a right side having a first elongate fastener half extending along the right side, a left side having a second elongate fastener half extending along the left side. An elongate fastener can be a row of 3 or more buttons and button holes, a row of 3 or more snaps (sometimes called button snaps), a row of 3 or more caps and socket, other discrete fasteners in a row of 3 or more, preferably a zipper, a hook and loop fastener strip, which can be sold under the brand name Velcro, and combinations thereof. Half of a fastener can refer to one half of a zipper or one of two mating strips of a hook and loop fastener strip. Preferably, half an elongate fastener when referring to buttons or snaps would be a row of buttons, a row of button holes, a row of caps, or a row of female portions of a snap, but it could refer to a mix thereof. An elongate fastener generally refers to a row of 3 or more points of fastening.
Preferably, the bottom configuration has a front, a back, a right side having a third elongate fastener and a left side having a fourth elongate fastener. The front and the back of the bottom configuration form the back of the top configuration when the third and fourth fasteners are at least partially undone. Preferably, the front panel is attached to the garment in the top configuration by the first and second elongate fastener halves. Preferably, the front panel is also attached to the body of the garment by a pair of opposed upper zippers, each upper zipper extending from an arm portion of the top configuration to a neck portion of the top configuration. Additionally, the front panel may also be attached to the body of the garment by a pair of opposed flaps. Preferably, the third and fourth elongate fasteners comprise zippers that extend through a waist portion of the bottom configuration. The bottom configuration may have flaps to cover the zipper sliders of the third and fourth elongate fasteners. The flaps can also be used to tighten a waist portion of the pants.
Preferably, the front panel has a centrally located and vertically aligned zipper. The front panel may be separable into two halves by the centrally located zipper and each half may be attachable to the inside of the garment in the pant configuration.
Preferably, the garment has a hood for the top configuration and an internal pocket for the hood.
Preferably, the garment has a right armhole and a left armhole in the top configuration, the armholes being leg holes in the bottom configuration. The garment may also have a right sleeve for the right arm and a left sleeve for the left arm in the top configuration. The sleeves are legs in the bottom configuration.
Another embodiment of the invention is a method for changing a garment from a bottom configuration to a top configuration. The method may use the garment previously described. The method includes (a) undoing elongate fasteners along opposed sides of the garment in the bottom configuration and (b) unfolding a back portion of the bottom configuration. The elongate fasteners extend through a waist portion of the bottom configuration. The back portion of the bottom configuration includes a seat portion of the pants configuration and a front portion of the pants configuration. The front portion may include a fly, typically a zipper fly or a button fly, for ease of urination and removal of the bottom.
Preferably, the method also includes attaching a front panel of the top configuration to the garment after undoing the elongate fasteners. The front panel may be separable into two halves and the method may include detaching the front panel halves from inside of the garment before the attaching of the front panel. The front panel may be attached to the garment as a single piece or as separate halves. The attaching of the front panel includes zipping a first zipper half on a first side of the front panel with a mating second zipper half on the garment and zipping a third zipper half on a second side of the front panel with a mating fourth zipper half on the garment.
Preferably the method includes moving the legs of the bottom configuration away from each other for converting them into sleeves for arms in the top configuration.
Another embodiment of the invention is a method for changing a garment from a top configuration to a bottom configuration. The method may use the garment previously described. The method includes (a) in the top configuration, folding a back portion of the top configuration, and (b) fastening elongate fasteners which are located along opposed sides of the garment in the bottom configuration. The back portion of the top configuration includes a seat portion of the bottom configuration and a front portion of the bottom configuration.
The method may also include detaching a front panel of the top configuration from the garment. It may also include separating the front panel into two halves. Preferably, each half of the front panel is attached to the garment and placed inside and along a different sleeve of the garment.
Preferably, the method includes moving the arm sleeves of the top configuration towards each other for converting them into leg sleeves of the bottom configuration.
Preferably, each of the elongate fasteners comprises a zipper having a zipper pull and the method also includes covering each zipper pull with a corresponding flap of the garment after the fastening of the elongate fastener. The method may also include tightening a waist portion of the bottom configuration using at least one of the flaps.
In one embodiment of the invention, a garment 20 is provided that is convertible between a top configuration and a bottom configuration. In other words, the garment is intended to be worn as a top and as a bottom. As shown in
Pants 26 also have holes 60 for each leg.
In
Snap halves 96 can fasten flap 88 to block wind with corresponding snap halves 98, typically snap studs. Front panel 80 assembled has an elasticized bottom 100, two approximately vertical sides 102 along which are zipper halves 89, two arcuate sides 104 along which are zipper halves 90 and a top side 106. Sides 104 are located in a shoulder area of jacket 82 and top side 106 is located in a neck area of jacket 82.
Zipper halves 89 and 90 and snap halves 94 are used to fasten front panel 80 to garment 20/first top configuration 66. Garment 20/first top configuration 66 has corresponding fasteners including zipper halves 108 and 110 and tags 112, each having a snap half 114, with a male portion. Snap half 114 fastens to snap half 94, having a female portion for engaging the male portion of snap half 114.
Snap halves 92 are used to fasten front panel 80 to pants 26. The illustrated locations of snap halves 38 correspond to hanging front panel 80 as separate halves 84a and 84b inside pants 26. It is contemplated that front panel 80 (as one piece or separate halves) could be attached to the outside of back portion 58 by snap halves 38 located on back portion 58. It is also contemplated that there be additional fastener halves on front panel 80 and pants 26 to prevent front panel from flapping around particularly when front panel 80 is attached to the outside of pants 26.
As best seen in
Zippers 89/108 and 90/110 have zipper sliders 116 and 118, respectively. The 2 sliders may be located on either half of zippers 89/108 and 90/110. Conceivably, zipper half 89 could fasten to zipper half 40b and zipper half 90 could fasten to zipper half 40a, but this is believed to not be optimal.
Turning now to a method of converting a garment from a bottom configuration to a top configuration, the reader's attention is directed to
If front panel 80 is attached to garment 20, typically by one or more fasteners, such as snap halves 38, front panel 80 is detached. Front panel 80 may be separated into halves 84a and 84b when attached to garment 20. Front panel 80 is placed on top of garment 20 as a single piece as shown in
Additionally, the method may include the formation of hood 68, which is shown in
Turning now to a method of converting a garment from a top configuration to a bottom configuration, the steps for converting from a bottom configuration to a top configuration are largely reversed. Front panel 80 is detached from jacket 82, typically by unfastening elongate fasteners, shown here as zippers 89/108 and 90/110, and snaps 114/94, thereby uncovering back portion 124 as shown in
If hood 68 is out as shown in
Sleeves 28 are moved towards each in the opposite direction to arrows 128 and back portion 124 is folded in the direction opposite to arrow 126. Zippers 40 (or corresponding elongate fasteners) are dosed in the direction opposite to arrows 122 in
Additionally, front portion may be attached to pants 26, typically by attaching snap halves 92 to snap halves 38. Snap halves 92 and 38 may be replaced with a hook and loop fastener.
While the invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, it is to be understood that the invention is capable of numerous changes, modifications and rearrangements, and such changes, modifications and rearrangements are intended to be covered by the following claims. An example of such a modification is to vary the length of sleeves 28 such that the sleeves can be full length, short or entirely omitted. If omitted, the bottom configuration can be short shorts and the top configuration a vest. Regardless the garment would still have holes 60 for a wearer's limbs.
