Abstrict A post-surgical bra to be worn by women whose breasts have been
surgically augmented. The brassiere is fabricated from soft cotton,
spandex (LYCRA.TM.) or polyester blends. Each cup is reinforced
at the center and an insert is provided to ensure a smooth, opaque
appearance. The brassiere is devoid of any breast supporting structure
such as elastic panels and/or underwire. Adjustable, cloth straps
are provided to support the brassiere from the wearer's shoulders.
An elastic band passes through a hem at the bottom of each cup and
through openings in the shoulder straps. The cups are dimensioned
to be wider than comparable cups in conventional brassieres to accommodate
the generally increased width of augmented breasts.
Claims We claim:
1. A post-surgical brassiere comprising:
a pair of breast cups, each cup of said pair having an upper portion,
a lower portion, a front panel, a rear panel and a width;
a hem, said hem defining the lower portion of each said pair of
breast cups;
an elastic band, said elastic band having a first end and a second
end and disposed through said hem;
a pair of support straps, each support strap of said pair having
an upper end and a lower end, said upper end of each strap being
attached to said upper portion of a respective breast cup;
means for attaching each said lower end of each said support strap
to said elastic band for sliding movement thereon.
2. The post-surgical brassiere as recited in claim 1 wherein said
means for attaching includes a loop and an S-hook.
3. The post-surgical brassiere as recited in claim 2 further comprising:
a pair of inserts, each insert of said pair positioned and secured
between said front panel and said rear panel of each cup of said
pair.
4. The post surgical-brassiere as recited in claim 3 further comprising:
means for fastening said first end of said elastic band to said
second end of said elastic band.
5. The post-surgical brassiere as recited in claim 4 wherein said
front panel and said rear panel are fabricated from a soft pliable
material.
6. The post-surgical brassiere as recited in claim 5 wherein said
insert is fabricated from a soft pliable material.
7. The post-surgical brassiere as recited in claim 6 wherein said
width of each cup of said pair is at least one-half inch wider than
a width of a conventional brassiere cup.
8. A post-surgical brassiere comprising:
a pair of breast cups, each cup of said pair having an upper portion,
a lower portion, a front panel, a rear panel and a width;
a hem, said hem defining the lower portion of each said pair of
breast cups;
an elastic band, said elastic band having a first end and a second
end and disposed through said hem;
means for fastening said first end to said second end;
a pair of support straps, each support strap of said pair having
an upper end and a lower end, said upper end of each strap being
attached to said upper portion of a respective breast cup;
an loop defining each said lower end of each said support strap;
and
said elastic band being disposed through each loop for sliding
movement therein.
9. The post-surgical brassiere as recited in claim 8 further comprising:
a pair of inserts, each insert of said pair positioned and secured
between said front panel and said rear panel of each cup of said
pair.
10. The post-surgical brassiere as recited in claim 9 wherein
said front panel and said rear panel are fabricated from a soft
pliable material.
11. The post-surgical brassiere as recited in claim 10 wherein
said insert is fabricated from a soft pliable material.
12. The post-surgical brassiere as recited in claim 11 wherein
said width of each cup of said pair is at least one-half inch wider
than a width of a conventional brassiere cup.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to women's lingerie. More
specifically, the present invention is drawn to a brassiere for
augmented breasts.
2. Description of the Related Art
The past decade has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the field
of cosmetic surgery. Once the province of movie stars and other
public celebrities, face lifts, tummy tucks, liposuction, etc. have
been adopted by the masses with such fervor that cosmetic surgery
has become a multi-million dollar industry. Aside from the face
lift, augmentation of the female breast is probably the most common
cosmetic surgery performed.
After breast augmentation, problems have arisen involving the selection
and wearing of a proper and comfortable brassiere. First, the augmented
breast is substantially self supporting and does not require the
uncomfortable support structure (underwire, hard elastic, etc.)
incorporated in most conventional brassieres; secondly, after surgery,
the breasts tend to be wider, consequently they are not completely
covered by the cup sizes of conventional brassieres; third, protrusion
of the nipples of augmented breasts often can be detected through
an outer garment creating an unflattering image.
Examples of prior art brassieres which employ support structure
are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 355294 (Bussey et al.), U.S.
Pat. No. 2132128 (Rasch), U.S. Pat. No. 2676321 (Dubner), U.S.
Pat. No. 4411269 (Weintraub) and U.S. Pat. No. 5820444 (McGuaghey).
U.S. Pat. No. 3847158 and 3939845 both to Guidoni, show brassieres
used for bathing suits. Neither patent is concerned about masking
nipple protrusion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4995847 (Hwang) is drawn to adjuster structure
for a brassiere. There is no discussion as to the structural makeup
of the brassiere per se.
U.S. Pat. No. 5334082 (Barker) discloses a brassiere having pouches
to retain a breast-augmenting gel pack.
U.S. Pat. No. 5782672 (Woodley) discloses nipple covers to be
worn by women who choose not to wear brassieres.
U.S. Pat. No. 6074272 (Herbert) shows a liner to be used by nursing
mothers to avert leaking fluid from soiling the mother's clothing.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly
or in combination, is seen to disclose a brassiere especially designed
to be worn after breast augmentation surgery as will subsequently
be described and claimed in the instant invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The instant invention,to be dubbed "Sweet Bra", is a
brassiere to be worn by women whose breasts have been surgically
augmented. The brassiere is fabricated from soft cotton, LYCRA,
or polyester blends. Each cup is reinforced at the center and an
insert is provided to ensure a smooth, opaque appearance. The brassiere
is devoid of any breast supporting structure such as elastic panels
and/or underwire. Adjustable, cloth straps are provided to support
the brassiere from the wearer's shoulders. An elastic band passes
through a hem at the bottom of each cup and through loops in the
shoulder straps. The cups are dimensioned to be wider than comparable
cups in conventional brassieres to accommodate the generally increased
width of augmented breasts. The brassiere of the instant invention
may be utilized as a swim top or a maternity bra, if desired.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide
a brassiere, which brassiere is adapted to be used by women who
have had breast augmentation surgery.
It is another object of the invention to provide a brassiere which
is comfortable to wear.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a brassiere
which is devoid of any extraneous breast supporting structure.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a brassiere
having an insert which will present a smooth and opaque appearance
when the brassiere is worn.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and
arrangements thereof for the purposes described which are inexpensive,
dependable and fully effective in accomplishing their intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily
apparent upon further review of the following specification and
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a post surgical brassiere according
to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial, cut-away view of a post surgical brassiere
according to the present invention.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently
throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises
cup members 10 and 12 having respective hems 10a and 12a disposed
at each bottom portion thereof. An elastic band 14 extends through
the hems and terminates in ends 14a, 14b. Ends 14a, 14b may be joined
together with any suitable conventional fastening device 16. Although
illustrated as a rear closure, it is obvious that the brassiere
could employ a front closure if desired. A shoulder strap 18 is
attached at one end to the upper portion of cup 10. At its other
end, strap 18 is slidingly attached to elastic band 14 by means
of a loop 18a and a conventional S-hook 18b. Shoulder strap 20 is
attached to cup 12 and band 14 via loop 20a and S-hook 20b in an
identical manner.
As best seen in FIG. 2 cup member 10 is constructed of inner 10b
and outer 10c layers of soft, pliable material such as cotton, LYCRA
or polyester blends. An insert 22 is positioned between layers 10b,
10c before the layers are stitched or otherwise joined together.
Insert 22 is fabricated from a soft thin fabric the same as, or
similar to, the fabric of layers 10b, 10c. As mentioned above, the
insert will ensure a smooth, opaque appearance for the wearer. A
central area over the center of the cup may be reinforced if necessary.
Cup member 12 will be constructed in the same manner.
Because augmented breasts tend to be rounder, a wider cup is necessary
for proper coverage. In each of the standard cup sizes, A, B, C
and D, the width of the cup of the instant invention exceeds that
of conventional cup sizes. For example, in the size 34 "MAIDEN
FORM" brassiere, the width of cup A is six inches; cup B-seven
inches; cup C-eight inches; cup D-nine inches. The width of the
cups of the instant invention for size 34 are cup A-seven and one-half
inches; cup B-eight inches; cup C-nine inches; cup D-ten inches.
The wider cup of the invention is prevalent in all brassiere sizes
(32 34 36 38) and exceeds the widths of all known brands.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited
to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments
within the scope of the following claims.
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