The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to undergarments. More particularly, the subject matter relates to an undergarment having a shirt hold-down device.
It is often the case that the wearer of a shirt desires to tuck the shirt into his or her pants, shorts, skirt or the like. Many shirts are designed with the intention of being tucked in, such as men's formal wear, and many women's blouses. Indeed, tucking a shirt in is often perceived as professional, and has the aesthetic bonus of making the wearer look slimmer and sometimes even broader shouldered. Certain professions, such as the police or military, actually require the uniform of the wearer to be worn having the shirt tucked in. Whether the wearer is required by uniform or simply enjoys the aesthetic nature of a properly tucked shirt, it is unwelcome when the movements of the wearer cause the shirt to untuck or come loose from the pants. This occurs quite often when the shirt is short in length and does not extend very far below the wearer's waistline. In this situation, the shirt very little material being tucked into the article of clothing being worn below the waist. Many blouses or polo shirts, for example, have shorter lengths in this manner, but are often aesthetically pleasing to tuck in. Additionally, even longer length shirts may come partially untucked and look loose and displeasing aesthetically.
“Shirt stays” are a device known in the art which connect the bottom of the wearer's shirt to the top of the wearer's hosiery or socks. “Shirt stays” are often worn by many wearers in uniform, such as military wearers. However, they are neither comfortable nor attractive. A typical shirt stay consists of two long elastic bands with a clip at both ends. When the wearer of a shirt stay sits the elastic bands often chafe against the wearer's legs and sometimes even come undone thereafter snapping against the wearer's unprotected skin.
Thus, a comfortable and everyday undergarment having a shirt hold-down device would be well received in the art.
According to one aspect of the invention, an undergarment comprises a body; a first elongated loop attached to a front side of the body configured to receive an attachment mechanism of a shirt hold-down device; and a second elongated loop attached to a back side of the body configured to receive an attachment mechanism of a shirt hold-down device.
According to another aspect of the invention, an undergarment comprises a body having a stitched seam, the stitched seam attaching two edges of material of the body; a first fabric strip extending from the stitched seam; and a first hold-down device attachable to the first fabric strip, the first hold-down device attachable to an article of clothing to be worn by a wearer substantially above a waist of the wearer.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, an undergarment comprises a body; a first elongated loop attached to a front side of the body configured to receive an attachment mechanism of a shirt hold-down device; and a first hold-down device having a hook that is removably attachable to the first elongated loop, the first hold-down device having a hold down mechanism that is attachable to an article of clothing to be worn by a wearer substantially above a waist of the wearer.
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
A detailed description of the hereinafter described embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.
Referring firstly to
As shown in
In one embodiment, the fabric strips 14 comprise an elastic material. However, the fabric strips 14 may comprise any other appropriate material such as cotton, polyester, silk, wool or linen. It is also contemplated that the strips 14 are not made of fabric, but may be made of materials such as a synthetic or plastic. Furthermore, the fabric strips 14 may comprise an elastic stitch that provides for elasticity and flexibility in the fabric strips 14, further allowing the fabric strips 14 to stretch out when tension is applied by the pull of the shirt 22 on the hold-down devices 20. This elasticity also allows tension to be applied on the hold-down devices 20 from the shirt 22 and helps alleviate any bunching of the fabric of the panty undergarment 12 while also relieving stress on stitching or other attachment mechanisms between the fabric strips 14 and the undergarment 12. However, other stitches of the fabric strips 14 are contemplated and may be appropriate as would be understood by those skilled in the art. An elastic stitch may also be used to attach the fabric strips 14 to the panty undergarment 12. Other attachment means of the fabric strips 14 to the panty undergarment 12 include other sewn stitches, buttons, fasters, snaps, glue, adhesive, epoxy or another bonding agent, hook and loop fasteners or the like.
Shown in
Referring back to
With further reference to
Referring now to
Shown in
Referring still to
The attachment mechanisms 18, 19, 21 allow different hold-down devices 20, having different properties and designs, to be utilized on the same undergarments. For example, a wearer may attach a hold-down device that has a protective coating when they are wearing a shirt of a more delicate fabric, and attach another hold-down device that has a tighter clasp and no protective coating when wearing a shirt having a more robust fabric. Additionally, the hold-down devices may include decorative qualities such that a wearer may choose a particular hold-down device for its aesthetics.
Depicted in
Referring now to
It should also be understood that any number of fabric strips 14, 68 and hold down devices 20 may be included on each side of the undergarment 12, 60, 62, 64, 66. For example, as shown in
Referring now to
The loops 116, 118, 126, 128 may be elongated such that the length of the loops 116, 118, 126, 128 is greater than their width. The loops 116, 118, 126, 128 may be made of elastic having a width of ⅝ of an inch. However, the loops 116, 118, 126, 128 may also be made of any other appropriate material, such as fabric, plastic, or the like. The elastic may be folded over and sewn to the panty undergarment 110 along the main seams 120, 130.
The loops 116, 118, 126, 128 may be configured to receive a detachable shirt hold down device 132, shown detached in
An elastic band 138 extends from the hook 134 to a hold-down mechanism 140. The elastic band 138 may be folded over such that a metal slider 142 located along the elastic band 138 may adjust the length of the elastic band 138, as is commonly known in the art. The band 138 may not be made of elastic, but may be made of a plastic, fabric, or the like. However, an elastic band 138 may be particularly advantageous because of the elasticity may allow a wearer to move without pulling the shirt out of the hold down mechanism 140.
The hold-down mechanism 140 may be a metallic thumbnail clip that is removably attachable to the fabric of a shirt, such as the shirt 22, whereby the detachable shirt hold down device 132 and the hold-down mechanism 140 are configured to prevent the shirt from becoming untucked, or coming loose, due to the movements of a wearer. It should be understood that the hold-down mechanism 140 may include any or all of the same features of the hold-down devices 20 described hereinabove. Thus, the hold-down mechanism 140 may, for example, include a protective coating.
Elements of the embodiments have been introduced with either the articles “a” or “an.” The articles are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “including” and “having” and their derivatives are intended to be inclusive such that there may be additional elements other than the elements listed. The conjunction “or” when used with a list of at least two terms is intended to mean any term or combination of terms. The terms “first” and “second” are used to distinguish elements and are not used to denote a particular order.
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
The present invention is a non-provisional continuation application claiming priority to commonly owned U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/729,665, filed Mar. 23, 2010, of Isaacson, entitled “Shirt Hold-Down Undergarment,” which claims priority to Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/162,437, filed Mar. 23, 2009, of Isaacson, entitled “Shirt Hold-Down Undergarment,” the disclosures of which are each herein incorporated by reference to the extent not inconsistent with the present disclosure.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20140041101 A1 | Feb 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61162437 | Mar 2009 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12729665 | Mar 2010 | US |
Child | 14064781 | US |