Abstrict A women's upper-body garment is provided with a front-opening outer
garment and a front-opening inner bra having shoulder straps attached
to the inside shoulders of the outer garment, and having breast
supporting portions with elastic perimeter portions and formed to
support the underside of the breasts.
Claims I claim:
1. A women's garment comprising:
a front-opening upper-body outer garment having:
left and right front panels,
left and right shoulders connected to respective ones of said front
panels, and
a first rear-portion neckline defined between said shoulders; and
an independently front-opening inner bra having:
left and right breast-supporting front panels,
left and right shoulder straps connected to respective ones of
(i) said left and right breast-supporting front panels and (ii)
said left and right outer garment shoulders,
said breast-supporting front panels including (i) body portions
of draping material extending downwardly from said shoulder straps
for draping over a women's breasts, said body portions having lower
portions for positioning under the breasts, and (ii) elastic means
for drawing the lower body portions upwardly into supporting engagement
with the lower portions of the breasts when the bra is closed; and
a second rear-portion neckline defined between said shoulder straps;
said first and second rear-portion necklines being unconnected
and moveable independently of one another.
2. A women's garment comprising:
a front-opening upper-body outer garment having:
left and right front panels,
left and right shoulders connected to respective ones of said front
panels, and
a first back panel connected between said shoulders; and
an independently front-opening inner bra having:
left and right shoulder straps connected to the inside of said
left and right shoulders, respectively,
a second back panel connected between said shoulder straps, and
left and right breast-supporting front panels including (i) body
portions of draping material extending downwardly from said shoulder
straps for draping over a women's breasts, said body portions having
lower portions for positioning under the breasts, and (ii) elastic
means for drawing the lower body portions upwardly into supporting
engagement with the lower portions of the breasts when the bra is
closed;
said first and second back panels being unconnected and moveable
independently of one another.
3. A garment as defined in claim 2 in which said body portions
are made from draping elastic material and comprise said elastic
means.
4. A garment as defined in claim 2 in which said body portions
include lower perimeter portions positionable under the breasts
and inner perimeter portions positionable between the breasts, and
in which at least one of said lower and said inner perimeter portions
include said elastic means for drawing said lower body portions
upwardly into said supporting engagement.
5. A women's garment comprising:
a front-opening upper-body outer garment having:
left and right front panels, and
left and right shoulders connected to respective ones of said front
panels; and
a front-opening inner bra having:
left and right shoulder straps connected to the inside of said
left and right shoulders, respectively,
left and right breast-supporting front panels, and
cooperative connecting means on each of said inner bra front panels
for opening and closing the bra independently of said outer garment
front panels,
said inner bra front panels including (i) body portions of draping
material extending downwardly from said shoulder straps and having
lower portions for positioning under a women's breasts, and (ii)
lower elastic perimeters extending inwardly and upwardly from under
the breasts to said connecting means for drawing said lower body
portions upwardly into supporting engagement with the lower portions
of the breasts when the bra is closed;
said body portions including inner elastic perimeters extending
upwardly from said connecting means and positionable between the
breasts for assisting said lower elastic perimeters in drawing the
lower body portions upwardly into said supporting engagement.
6. A garment as defined in claim 5 in which said body portions
are made from draping elastic material and include said lower elastic
perimeters.
7. A garment as defined in claim 1 in which said body portions
are made from draping elastic material and comprise said elastic
means.
8. A garment as defined in claim 1 in which said body portions
include lower perimeter portions positionable under the breasts
and inner perimeter portions positionable between the breasts, and
in which as least one of said lower and said inner perimeter portions
include said elastic means for drawing said lower body portions
upwardly into said supporting engagement.
9. A women's garment comprising:
a front-opening upper-body outer garment having:
left and right front panels,
left and right shoulders connected to respective ones of said front
panels, and
a first back panel connected between said shoulders; and
a front-opening inner bra having:
left and right shoulder straps connected to the inside of said
left and right shoulders, respectively,
a second back panel connected between said shoulder straps,
left and right breast-supporting front panels, and
cooperative connecting means on each of said inner bra front panels
for opening and closing the bra independently of said outer garment
front panels,
said inner bra front panels including (i) body portions of draping
material extending downwardly from said shoulder straps and having
lower portions for positioning under a women's breasts, and (ii)
lower elastic perimeters extending inwardly and upwardly from under
the breasts to said connecting means for drawing said lower body
portions upwardly into supporting engagement with the lower portions
of the breasts when the bra is closed;
said first and second back panels being unconnected and moveable
independently of one another.
10. A garment as defined in claim 9 in which said body portions
are made from draping elastic material and include said lower elastic
perimeters.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to women's apparel, and
more specifically, to front-opening upper-body garments with built-in,
non-binding breast support which, while suitable for other uses,
is especially suitable for use with causal, leisure and nighttime
apparel.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many women, and particularly larger breasted women, often prefer
to have some breast support when wearing casual, leisure and nighttime
apparel. At present, the choices for those desiring such support
include wearing either a conventional bra, or a casual "pull-over"
top that includes some form of shelf-type bra. Examples of such
pull-over tops are shown in Friedman, U.S. Pat. No. 4564015 Cordova,
U.S. Pat. No. 4440174 and Silber, U.S. Pat. No. 4372320. While
such pull-over tops are suitable for certain women on certain occasions,
they are not suitable for all occasions or for all women, and they
are not typically worn under other types of casual/leisure apparel.
Therefore, although conventional bras are often not desirable with
leisure wear as they tend to be restrictive and binding against
the breasts as a result of the supporting/forming hardware, or preformed
and/or elastic nature of the breast cups, given the choices presently
available, if wearing, for example, a leisure or nighttime robe,
or a sweat-suit or similar top as casual wear, women desiring breast
support will typically opt for wearing a conventional bra. This
is particularly true when wearing front-opening garments, although
they would often prefer a less restrictive alternative.
Thus, there is need for new and improved non-binding, less restrictive
breast support apparel suitable for use with casual, leisure and
nighttime front opening garments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The general aim of the present invention is to provide new and
improved front-opening garments suitable for casual, leisure and
nighttime wear, and that include comfortable, generally non-binding
and non-restrictive, breast support.
A detailed objective is to achieve the foregoing by providing a
front-opening outer garment with a built-in front-opening bra attached
at the shoulders for ease of putting the entire garment on and taking
it off, and to permit freedom of movement of the outer garment relative
to the bra.
Another detailed objective is to achieve the foregoing by providing
the built-in bra with breast-supporting body portions adapted to
drape over each breast, and with elastic perimeter portions adapted
to draw the body portions upwardly into engagement with the lower
portion of each breast to effect support from under the breast in
a generally non-restrictive and non-binding manner.
These and other objectives and advantages of the invention will
become more apparent from the following detailed description when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front view of a new and improved garment comprising
a robe and a built in bra, shown as worn by a user, and incorporating
the unique aspects of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view, but showing the robe in dashed
lines, and the built-in bra just prior to closure when putting the
garment on, or alternately, just after opening for removal of the
garment.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view similar to FIG. 2 but showing
built-in bra in the closed position.
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the robe in position
to conceal the built-in bra.
FIG. 5 is a front perspective view with the sides of the garment
generally rolled back for improved viewing of certain aspects of
the invention.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially
along the
line 6--6 of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a front view similar to FIG. 1 but showing an alternate
embodiment garment in accordance with the present invention.
While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and
alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments have
been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail.
It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to
limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the
contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative
constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope
of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
For purposes of illustration, the present invention is shown in
the drawings in connection with a women's upper-body garment 8 including
an outer garment in the form of a lounging robe 10 (FIG. 1) such
as might be constructed in typical style and design associated with
women's apparel. In a conventional manner, the robe 10 is formed
with a front opening 12 wraps around the upper body of the wearer
or user, and may by closed with a tie-belt around the user's waist.
In this instance, the robe includes left and right (from the user's
perspective) front sections 14 left and right sides, and a closed
back, and extends between an upper neckline 24 to a lower hemline
26. The neckline 24 includes a front neckline section 28 that extends
in opposite directions from the front opening 12 generally to the
shoulders of the robe, and a back neckline section 32 that extends
between the shoulders such that the neckline generally encircles
the user's neck.
In accordance with the present invention, the garment 8 includes
an integral or built-in bra 40 adapted for front opening, and to
provide breast support under each breast, but which is free of supporting/binding/restrictive
form or hardware of conventional bras. As a result, the robe 10
provides for a leisure or casual garment that is quick and easy
to put on, and which provides the user with some breast support
without being restrictive or binding.
In carrying out the invention, the bra 40 includes left and right
breast support front panels 42 (FIG. 2) separated by a front opening
44 a back panel 46 (FIG. 5), shoulder straps 48 extending between
the upper portions of the front panels and the back panel to wrap
over the user's shoulders, and side panels or straps 50 extending
between the lower rear portions of the front panels and the back
panel to wrap around the user's sides and under her arms. Front
closure of the bra is accomplished in any suitable manner, such
as with a plastic bra clasp 52 that slides or snaps (not shown)
together, the two halves of the clasp 52A, 52B being connected to
the forward lower corner portions of the front panels. In this instance,
when the bra is closed, the front panels cooperate to define a generally
V-shaped opening at the user's chest between her breasts. Preferably,
the garment fabric, and in particular, the front panel and bra fabric
is selected for comfort when worn next to the skin, such a cotton/lycra
or other, preferably "stretchy", fabric blend.
In further carrying out the invention, the shoulder straps are
attached (i.e., sewn) to the inside shoulders of the robe as generally
designated at 54 with the armholes of the bra aligned with the
armholes of the robe, and the front opening of the bra aligned with
the front opening of the robe. Preferably, the only attachment between
the bra and the robe is at the shoulders such that the robe is free
to move relative to the bra, and thus, relative to the user's breasts.
This permits substantially unrestricted freedom of movement of the
outer garment robe as the user sits, stands, lies down, and generally
moves around, without resulting in a corresponding pulling of the
inner bra or associated pulling on the user's breasts.
In the preferred embodiment, the front panels are formed with a
generally triangular shape, having inner and outer side edge portions,
56 and 58 respectively, for positioning to the sides of each breast,
and lower edge portions 60 for positioning under the breasts. The
body of the front panels are formed from relatively loose fitting
material that drapes or freely hangs from the side edge portions
of the panels. The lower edge portion of the front panels, and optionally
the inner side edge portions, are formed with elastic perimeter
portions. In the embodiment shown, elastic cord 62 is sewn into
and concealed in the lower edge portion of the front panels, and
optionally in the inner side edge portion, with the associated edge
material preferably loosely surrounding the cord to define gathered-material
lower front panel edge portions 66 and optional gathered-material
inner side edge portions generally between dashed lines 64. With
this arrangement, as the front panels are drawn toward one another
and over the user's breasts for closure of the bra, the gathered
lower edge portions stretch under and generally conform to the underside
of each breast. As a result of the draping body construction of
the front panels, the breasts generally rest on the lower portion
of the front panels adjacent the lower edge portions for non-binding
support when the bra is closed.
It will be apparent that a garment in accordance with the present
invention may include an outer garment of other forms. By way of
non-limiting example, the outer garment may be a robe with a zippered
front opening, or a sweat-suit or other casual top having a front
opening and closure means. An alternate embodiment of a garment
80 having an outer garment 82 in the form of a top having a zippered
front opening 84 is shown in FIG. 7. In keeping with the invention,
the garment 80 includes a built-in bra 40 constructed as previously
described, each of the bra shoulder straps being attached to the
inside of each of the outer garment shoulders such as generally
designated at 86 for the left shoulder in FIG. 7.
From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention
brings to the art a new and improved upper body garment with a built-in
bra adapted for ease of use and for the user's comfort by providing
shelf-type support for the user's breasts. To use, the outer garment
and the bra are put on as a single apparel item, the front of the
bra is closed, and then the robe is closed to conceal the bra. Thus,
a garment according to the invention provides for breast support
in a comfortable, easy-to-use arrangement without being binding
or restrictive, and that is especially suitable for use with casual,
leisure and nighttime wear.
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