The present invention relates to outer wear for the lower body, and more particularly; to pants, including jeans, trousers and leggings, that redefine the appearance and reshape or sculpt a wearer's lower body, and especially the lower waist torso: i.e., the abdominal area and waist, the hips, thighs, upper buttocks and upper legs.
Material advances of the last century have allowed fashion to move toward garments that both shape and move with the wearer. In particular, this has included the drive toward lower outerwear that accentuates the feminine figure. However, this trend has created a gap in the plus-size market, especially for women who want to appear au current, but who are intimidated to dress in clothing that reveals rather than covers their shape. One answer is the use of internal under garments which compress and shape the wearer so as to provide a smoother and cleaner fit and/or appearance of the respective outerwear and the shapewear industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. However, this solution is expensive and can be uncomfortable and inconvenient, especially when the wearer wishes to relieve herself or himself. The present invention is designed to provide an option in garments, including for example, pants or leggings, that allow these people to participate in these fashion trends. The invention can be constructed in a stretch knit fabric or in twill or denim style lower garment, such as jeans, pants, trousers, leggings or even skirts, and including dress skirts.
The present invention relates to an outer garment for the lower body, including for example, pants, slacks, jeans, trousers, leggings, and even skirts or dresses, which are structured so as to provide support and definition to the wearer's body, including, the waist, hips, abdominals, buttock area, thighs, and legs. The garment may advantageously extend down the leg to the mid-thigh, knee, mid-calf or ankle, although it should be understood that inventive features may be incorporated into garments having differing configurations.
The outer garment broadly termed “pants” herein, is preferably a fitted lower garment intended to be an external garment, and so having an appearance that is sufficiently formal and modest to be worn out and in public (i.e. that does not appear to be a pajama bottom, girdle, or stocking).
The invention is illustrated both for a denim style lower garment, often referred to as “blue jeans”, where the color blue is traditional, but not necessary, and also for a twill pant or trouser, which may be constructed in a fabric having a greater degree of drape or softer “hand”. Style choices for these garments may include the blue jean traditional pocket in patch pocket styling or in other versions, front slit or side slit tab or welt pockets, accentuated lapped seams, rounded tab outer stitched or concealed front zipper openings on the center rise, and optional back, and exterior back yoke and/or dart members. In general, the garments may also feature a stretch waist band with self-top layer and an elastic inner layer to allow a transition at the waist that inhibits rolling and optional belt keeps. In addition, they may include pocket details in the back and front, which may be purely decorative or functional, depending, for example, on the desired profile and function.
In addition, in all embodiments, the lower garment includes a stretch mesh re-enforcement layer which is preferably an open weave fabric cut either on the vertical or horizontal grain, but not on the bias, and which may float or be adhered to the fabric also with a stretch adhesive in this case. The lower garment of the invention includes full circumferential or 360° of shape support, which means that the support system fully encircles the wearer such that the front, side, back, and waist, including the closure tab are all re-enforced with the power mesh, and this invention includes a back hip yoke inner re-enforcement that acts to support the front power mesh control portions, i.e. the “power pocket” feature. This system has at least two (i.e. left and right) mating front side panels which are joined at the center rise seam or if present at the center zipper and the zipper includes the re-enforcement at the tab of the front closure if present, so as to form a front panel assembly, and mating back panels (i.e., left and right) or yoke shaped panels that extend from the waistband to cover a portion of the gluteal area and which are joined at the back rise seam to form a back panel assembly. As used herein, “yoke” or “hip yoke” refers to a pattern piece that overlays the top of the wearer's glut area in the back of the garment, and is shaped to account for the decrease in volume from the lower buttocks to the waist. The front panel assembly is joined at the top to the elastic waistband and on the side to side seams. The rear panel assembly likewise includes corresponding left and right rear panels that extend superiorly over the QL and sacral area and toward the butt crease area and are joined to the rear center rise. The back panels may be the deepest at the center rise, or alternatively may extend lower on the side, but in both cases are shaped to accommodate the anatomy so as to hide seams or constrictions in anatomical features of the wearer to avoid un-slightly bulges.
In some embodiments, the bottom of the control panels may be floating, or the panels join a yoke seam in the lower garment. The front and back panel assembly is joined together, either directly or through the medial side seams so as to encircle the wearer and form an inner girdle assembly. Further, in some other embodiments, the control panels may be anchored along one or more vertical seams such as side seams (e.g., inside, outside), rise seams (e.g., front, back), and may be seamed at the waistband, either with the outer garment, or self-seamed.
The outer garment is preferably made of a stretch fabric that also provides shape and give, but which conceals the control panels that provide a greater degree of giving support so as to balance the degree of control with the wearer's comfort. In at least one embodiment, the control panels may comprise spandex and/or elastomeric, and preferably open weave stretch mesh, and may be incorporated into the garment by sewing, gluing or adhering. Preferably, the controls panels are undercut (meaning that they are slightly undersized for the contour of the area that they cover) and are configured to accentuate the anatomy so that the transition between areas which include the control members and which do not form a smooth and un-intruded transition between the support and non-support sections of the garment. In particular, the bottom hem of the control assembly is configured to lie against a muscular transition (for example in the front and side at the top of the hip crease) or be disguised by a fashion feature in the pants, such as a pocket. In addition, the front set of panels may include a front shape that curves upwardly from the side seam of the garment and which intersects the bottom of the front rise or zipper tab in the event that the garment includes a front closure, such as zipper opening which likewise includes the re-enforcement of a mesh panel. The side of the front panel can thus vary from being level to the front center depth of the closure opening to extending from 0.25 to 1, 1.5, 2, or as much as 5 inches below this level relative to a horizontal line taken across the front of the garment tangential to the highest point of the panel or panel assembly (or with a the low point below the crotch at the inner thigh) in front.
The front panel assembly may include a central curve that ends higher at the front rise, for example from level to 3 inches, and preferably from 0.5 to 2 inches above the front zipper assembly, and which curves downwardly at the lateral edge by 0.5 to 5 inches, and preferably from 1 to 3 inches. In addition, the garment may include pockets that overlay or incorporate the support panels. Considered as a portion of a circle, the arc that is represented by the portion of the lower hem of the front panels may have a radius that is from 0.35 to 0.75, or preferably from 0.45 to 0.55 times the waist measurement of the garment, although it should be understood that the hem may be a rounded shape other than a portion of a circle, such as a compound curve, including a double S-shape.
The further embodiments may also include back side yoke features, and optional darts to accentuate the rounded shape of the wearer's backside. The garment may include a back-control panel assembly which includes, one or more of, left and right yoke control panels. The yoke typically has a left and right side where the yoke is seamed in the garment at the back center rise. The bottom seam of the yoke panels may extend lower in the center from the mid-point of the panels and the lateral hem of the yoke panels may extend in a line up-ward toward the lateral side seam, or may curve downward, so that the lower yoke hem is round from the side seam to the center seam. It is preferred that the yoke panels of the present invention include and define the shape of the yoke control panels which comprises a power fabric, such as a power mesh.
The control panels may form part of an interior lining of the garment and may extend from the top waist seam of the outer garment to the lower control seams, to the leg hems, or to a portion in between, such as to the lower thigh or knee. The control panels may be anchored along one or more vertical seams such as side seams (e.g., inside, outside), center back seams, or any design seams (e.g., vertical stylish seams). One area of the interior re-enforcement sections may provide control to tone or more of the waist, abdomen, thigh and butt, which is advantageously achieved by a unique pattern and sizing of the control panels relative to the areas enveloped by them.
The present invention relates to lower outerwear, such as pants, jeans, trousers or skirts that have various features that collectively contribute to an outwear garment that redefines the appearance and the shape of the wearer.
A first embodiment of the lower garment 400 of the invention is shown in
An example of a suitable construction of a waistband is shown in
The back interior also includes a back power assembly 409 which is part of the control construct or assembly that includes left 414 and right 416 hip yoke members. The hip yoke members can also be considered “sacral” members as they overlay at least the sacral area of the wearer, but may extend below this level as described more fully hereinafter. In one version, the bottom hem 415 of the yoke members are the yoke seams with the exterior fabric layer.
In some embodiments, the bottom edge 403, 406 of the construct may be floating, that is, not anchored to the outer garment. It is preferable that it is not observable from the exterior of the garment. For example, the construct may comprise one or two layers of lining fabric and the bottom of the layers may be bound by stitching or glue, but may not be anchored to the outer garment. The bonding may be done by stitching (e.g., Merrow or purl stitches) or glue. In one embodiment, the two layers of fabric of the construct may be tricot mesh and these two layers may be bound together at the bottom edge by 1/16 inch Merrow edge stitch.
As is shown in
Number | Date | Country | |
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62659393 | Apr 2018 | US |