This invention relates to a garment article, such as (but not limited to) brassieres (also called “bras”), sports bras, crop tops, bra tops, sports tops, bra pads, and a method of manufacturing such a garment article.
It is generally known that when a woman exercises without some form of support to her breasts (such as sports bras, crop tops and sports tops), her breast tissues will move around (most commonly in a figure of eight (“8”) motion). This can easily lead to permanent stretching and damage of the breast ligaments, which can become extremely painful. Depending on the impact of the sport/movement in question, it is generally the case that the larger the breast size, the more serious the issue will be.
There are in existence sports tops and bras which seek to solve this problem. One existing approach is “encapsulation” whereby the breast is supported by a three-dimensional support which follows the shape of most of the breast. This is mostly adopted in a molded garment with under wires. Another existing approach is “compression”, whereby the entire breast profile is minimized by compressing the surface area of the breast, thus restricting the bouncing movement.
It is found in practice that garments adopting the “encapsulation” approach usually suffer from the drawback of insufficient air-permeability through the garment (i.e. breathability). As for garments adopting the “compression” approach, such usually compress the breasts of the wearer downward, causing discomfort to the wearer or even disfiguring of the breasts.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a garment article and a method of manufacturing such a garment article in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated or at least to provide a useful alternative to the trade and public.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a garment article including a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer between said first layer and said second layer, wherein said third layer comprises a first part, a second part and a third part which collectively form a general H-shape, wherein said first part is adapted to extend across and compress a pair of breasts of a wearer of said garment article towards a body of said wearer, and wherein said second part and third part are adapted to support said pair of breasts of said wearer each from an outer side of said respective breast.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a garment article, including (a) providing a first layer and a second layer, (b) providing a third layer comprising a first part, a second part and a third part, (c) positioning said third layer between said first layer and said second layer such that said first part, said second part and said third part collectively form a general H-shape, and (d) fixedly engaging said first layer, said second layer and said third layer with one another.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
A padded sports brassiere accordingly to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in
Steps of manufacturing the bra pads 102 are shown in
Turning to
The two pieces of side-sling fabrics 116 and the piece of across-sling fabric 118 may each be independently made of a rigid material, a semi-rigid material, a material with middle to high modulus and a good recovery, or a combination thereof, such as a material with a modulus of 1.0 to 4.0 pounds at 40% elongation, or 1.0 to 5.0 pounds at 60% elongation and a recovery of over 90%. In particular, such materials may be stabilized block tricot, marquisette fabric, power net, satin net, two-way tricot, triskin fabric, and a combination thereof.
Turning to
As shown in
A pair of bra pads 102, as shown in
As the across-sling fabric 118 and the side-sling fabric 116 do not cover the entire bra pad 102, air may pass through the padded sports brassiere 100, enhancing breathability of, and thus comfort in wearing, the padded sports brassiere 100, in particular during exercise. In addition, as the across-sling fabric 118 compresses the pair of breasts of the wearer towards her own body but not downwardly, there is less discomfort to the wearer and less disfiguring of the breasts.
An unlined sports brassiere accordingly to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown in
A piece of outer fabric 204 (which may optionally be pre-molded to form two cup-shaped portions) is placed on the piece of inner fabric 202 to sandwich the two pieces of side-sling fabric 216 and the piece of across-sling fabric 218 there-between. The piece of outer-fabric 204 and the piece of inner fabric 202 are then fixedly engaged with each other (by sewing, heat lamination and/or an adhesive) to form a front panel 220 of the sports brassiere 200, as shown in
As shown in
As the piece of across-sling fabric 218 and the pieces of side-sling fabric 216 do not cover the entire breast part of the sports brassiere 200, air may pass through the sports brassiere 200, enhancing breathability of, and thus comfort in wearing, the sports brassiere 200, in particular during exercise. In addition, as the piece of across-sling fabric 218 compresses the pair of breasts of the wearer towards her own body but not downwardly, there is less discomfort to the wearer and less disfiguring of the breasts.
It should be understood that the above only illustrates examples whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that various modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention. It should be understood that the present invention may be worked in the context of at least brassieres, sports brassieres, crop tops, sports tops and brassiere pads.
It should also be understood that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any appropriate sub-combinations.
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