Patent Application
20140201886
Tall, knee-high or over-the-knee boots, typically made of leather or similar materials, are perennially in fashion as women's footwear.
Knit leg warmers have been popular since the early 1980s among aerobics exercise and yoga enthusiasts.
Boots made of knit materials have become popular in recent years, especially with young women who are vegetarian or support animal rights and dislike wearing leather or sheepskin, yet enjoy wearing “Uggs”-style comfort boots. A Google search for “knit boots” shows many varieties.
Wearing leg warmers inside boots is common. This style is practical, for example if a woman is wearing a skirt in cold weather and wants to keep her knees warm. Knit leg warmers can match an outfit. The variety of colors, patterns, and textures of leg warmers can attractively complement boots, which are typically plain black or brown. However, leg warmers worn inside boots are mostly hidden, with only a few inches visible above the boots. With a skirt whose hemline is below the knee, and tall boots, leg warmers inside the boots would be only occasionally glimpsed.
Wearing knit leg warmers outside boots is less common. It looks odd to have the soft material outside and the hard material inside; this other way around is the norm. Also, a woman may not want to hide tall boots that have decorations such as straps and buckles.
The January 2013 issue of Footwear Plus (a magazine for shoe retailers), as part of a cover story titled “Boots Country: Our Fall '13 Preview,” shows (page 36) several women's boots that combine knit and leather materials. An ankle boot made by Dr. Scholl's features a wedge heel of about two inches and an off-white knit leg warmer folded down over the top of the boot. A boot made by Dee Keller features a four-inch stiletto heel and brown leather below the ankle, and brown knit material above the ankle reaching to mid-calf height. The knit materials in these boots are brown or other neutral colors, without decorative patterns, possibly because brighter colors or distinctive patterns would limit the selection of outfits that could be worn with the boots, even if such colors and/or patterns would match a particular outfit. The knit materials are attached to the boots, making it difficult to clean the knit materials. One slushy day would ruin the knit sections of the Teva and Dr. Scholl's ankle boots.
There appears to be a need for footwear that enables wearing contrasting materials such as knit fabric and leather, with the soft knit fabric visible yet also inside the leather, and the knit fabric changeable to match the wearer's outfit, and removable for cleaning, and yet also conforming to the perennial elegance of tall boots.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention broadly described herein, one embodiment of this invention comprises boots that give an appearance that the wearer is wearing three pairs of boots (over-the-knee or knee-high, knee-high or mid-calf, and ankle boots) and three pairs of leg warmers. One pair of leg warmers is worn inside the tallest boots and is visible for a few inches above the top of the boot. A second pair of leg warmers is worn outside the tallest boots, several inches below the top of these boots. A second pair of boots is worn over the second leg warmers, leaving a few inches of leg warmers visible above the top of the second boots. A third pair of leg warmers is worn outside the second boots, several inches below the tops of these boots. A third pair of boots (typically ankle boots) is then worn over and below the third pair of leg warmers.
In actuality, the wearer is wearing a standard pair of ankle boots, which are not part of this embodiment. Above and inside her ankle boots she is wearing a garment made of a material to match her ankle boots (typically leather or a similar material), extending from near her ankles to near her knees. This garment is similar to the upper portion of tall boots, except with a unique feature in the middle that appears to be the top of a medium-height boot. The wearer can place an abbreviated-length leg warmer (typically half the length of a standard leg warmer) inside and above the top of the medium-height boot. The wearer also wears another abbreviated-length leg warmer on the outside of the lower portion of the garment, partially inside her ankle boots and partially visible above her ankle boots. She then wears a standard leg warmer (not part of this embodiment) inside and partially visible above the top of the garment, i.e., appearing to be above the top of knee-high or over-the-knee boots.
In embodiments, the garment may have functional features or decorations similar to boots, e.g., straps and buckles to tighten the garment, or elastic gussets to fit the garment to the wearer's leg.
The garment may have a zipper or other fastening systems such as buttons and loops, hooks & eyes, snaps, or Velcro to enable the wearer to easily put on and take off the garment.
The leg warmers may be removable from the boots. This enables the wearer to match the leg warmers to her outfit, as well as to clean the leg warmers.
The garment of the present invention is useful for holding together fashionable accessories that otherwise could not be worn together. The garment is uncomplicated and easy-to-use yet versatile, enabling an infinite variety of looks and fashion statements. Buying a new pair of shoes to match every outfit is impractical, yet matching leg warmers to individual outfits is easy. Multiple leg warmers enable matching a multi-colored outfit. Separating the ankle boots from the tall boot shafts enables wearers to select their preferred ankle boots, which are more complex and individual than boot shafts, e.g., to wear low-heeled ankle boots on the subway and then change to high-heeled ankle boots at work. And, of course, leg warmers are useful keeping one's legs warm.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, where:
The first set of six views includes an ankle boot depicted in broken lines.
The second set of six views includes an ankle boot depicted in solid lines.
The third set of six views doesn't include an ankle boot.
The right boot and leg warmer configuration is a mirror image of the left boot and leg warmer configuration.
A preferred embodiment of this invention is a garment composed of several parts:
The lower boot shaft (220) is similar to the shaft of other mid-calf or knee-high boots. The material is leather or leather-like, although other materials could be used. The color is preferably black or brown. It is approximately 22-26 cm in length. It has an elastic gusset (222) at the outer top to fit the wearer's leg. It has a strap and buckle (208), also to fit the wearer's leg.
The upper boot shaft (224) is similar to the shafts of other knee-high or over-the-knee boots, except that it doesn't extend to the ankle. It starts inside and is attached to the middle of lower boot shaft (206). It is approximately 30 cm in length. It includes a strap and buckle (214).
The combined length of the lower and upper boot shafts is approximately 46 cm.
A inside zipper (302) runs the length of the lower boot shaft.
Two of the leg warmers (204 and 212) are abbreviated or approximately half the length of standard knit leg warmers. The length of these abbreviated knit leg warmers is approximately 14 cm. These leg warmers are abbreviated to prevent overlap with the other leg warmers, which could be excessively hot or make the wearer's legs look thick or fat.
A third leg warmer (218) can be of normal length (28 cm) or abbreviated (14 cm).
The leg warmers are removable, replaceable, and interchangeable. This allows coordination with the wearer's other attire, cleaning, etc.
While this garment, when worn with an ankle boot and three leg warmers, may give the appearance that the wearer is wearing three boots and three leg warmers, in actuality there is little overlap between the elements. The boots overlap each other only for an inch or two. The leg warmers may not overlap each other at all. Thus the wearer's legs look slim.
Thus it will be seen that this embodiment of the garment can hold two or more knit leg warmers, with each leg warmer held at an interval from other leg warmers, and with each leg warmer partially inside and partially outside of the garment.
While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible.
Accordingly, the scope should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
