Abstrict A camisole underwire bra garment (10) including a camisole unit
(11) and an underwire bra unit (12) whose upper portions (11') and
(12') share the same general contour and configuration, wherein
the underwire bra unit (12) is only connected to the camisole unit
(11) along their respective upper portions to produce a camisole
garment (10) that provides lift and support for a woman's breasts.
Claims I claim:
1. A camisole underwire bra garment comprising:
a camisole unit having a generally scooped neck and a plurality
of camisole strap elements; and
an underwire bra unit including a pair of underwire bra cups operatively
attached to one another wherein the bra cups are provided with at
least one bra strap member for encircling the underwire bra unit
around a woman's chest, and wherein the upper portion of the underwire
bra unit is only operatively attached to the upper portion of the
camisole unit along the edges of their common upper portions whereby
the camisole unit is suspended from the upper portion of said underwire
bra unit.
2. The garment as in claim 1 wherein the camisole unit is provided
with an elongated slit.
3. The garment as in claim 2 wherein the underwire bra unit is
provided with cooperating securing means for securing the said bra
unit around a woman's chest.
4. The garment as in claim 3 wherein the securing means on said
bra unit are adapted to bring the opposed edges of the elongated
slit in said camisole unit into close proximity with one another.
5. The garment as in claim 1 wherein the contour of the upper
portion of the underwire bra unit and the contour of the upper portion
of the camisole unit are configured generally the same.
Description TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to the field of feminine
undergarments, and more specifically to undergarments having a built
in support means.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3343545;
2558420; 2290954; and 3565081 the prior art is replete with
myriad and diverse undergarments having a built in support means.
It should also be noted that a typical camisole construction offers
virtually no support whatsoever for the wearer. As a consequence
of the foregoing situation, most women will only wear a camisole
under certain outerwear garments which are generally loose fitting,
and will resort to the prior art brassiere and bra-slip constructions
when more closely fitted outerwear garments are to be worn.
Up until the present time when a woman wished to wear a camisole
due to its loose fitting nature and she still required support for
her breasts, she was required to wear a bra underneath her camisole
to achieve the desired results, if not the desired effect, from
both a fashionable and an aesthetically pleasing standpoint.
While a limited number of women due to their physical busts, youth,
and/or physical fitness do not require or desire support for their
breasts while wearing a camisole, the vast majority of women both
need and require the support that is not to be found in a standard
camisole construction.
Based on the foregoing situation there has existed long standing
need in the fashion industry and particularly among the manufacturers
of womens intimate apparel for a garment that could combine the
comfort and fit of a camisole with the support and uplift of a brassiere.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises in general the combination of a
brassiere construction with a camisole construction, and in particular,
the incorporation of an underwire bra unit into a typical camisole
unit to produce a camisole underwire bra garment.
In addition, the camisole underwire bra garment of the present
invention involves the physical attachment of the underwire bra
unit to the camisole unit only along the upper periphery of both
units, wherein the underwire bra unit is virtually suspended from
the top of the camisole unit along a single common edge.
Furthermore, the camisole underwire bra garment of this invention
utilizes the closure means of the underwire bra unit to produce
a snug fit of the garment around the user's upper torso while the
camisole unit hangs loosely around the user's mid-torso in the usual
fashion of a typical camisole.
As a result of the unique construction of the camisole underwire
bra garment of this invention, a woman can have the support and
lift of an underwire bra while still maintaining the loose fit of
a camisole in a single item of intimate apparel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention
will become apparent from the detailed description of the best mode
for carrying out the preferred embodiment of this invention which
follows, particularly when considered in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front plan view of the camisole underwire bra garment
of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a rear plan view of the garment;
FIG. 3 is a front view of a woman wearing a prior art camisole;
FIG. 4 is a rear view of a woman wearing a prior art camisole;
FIG. 5 is a front view of a woman wearing the garment of this invention;
FIG. 6 is a side view of a woman wearing the garment;
FIG. 7 is a front plan view of the garment turned inside out; and,
FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail view of the garment interior.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
As can be seen by reference to the drawings and in particular to
FIG. 1 the camisole underwire bra-garment that forms the basis
of the present invention is designated generally by reference numeral
(10). The garment (10) comprises in general a camisole unit (11)
and an underwire bra unit (12). These units will now be described
in seriatim fashion.
Prior to embarking upon a description of the preferred embodiment
of the garment (10) of this invention, it should be noted that a
prior art typical camisole construction (100) is depicted in FIGS.
3 and 4 and labeled accordingly. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the
prior art camisole construction (100) comprises a generally loose
fitting sleeveless tubular covering (101) fabricated from a single
layer of material (102) and having a generally scooped neck (103)
and a plurality of strap elements (104) for supporting and suspending
the tubular covering (103) from a woman's shoulders.
As can be seen by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 the camisole unit
(11) of this invention shares many structural features in common
with the typical prior art camisole constructions in that the camisole
unit (11) is fabricated from a single layer of material (102) and
is also provided with a generally scooped neck (103) and a plurality
of camisole strap elements (104) for supporting and suspending the
camisole unit (11) from a woman's shoulders.
However, as can best be seen by reference to FIG. 2 the primary
difference between the standard camisole construction (100) and
the camisole unit (11) of the present invention involves an elongated
slit (13) formed in the back panel (14) of the camisole unit (11).
The purpose and function of this slit tubular construction will
be explained in greater detail further on in the specification.
As shown in FIGS. 1 2 7 and 8 the underwire bra unit (12) of
this invention comprises an underwire bra member (15) including
a pair of underwire bra cup elements (16) operatively connected
to one another by an intermediate bra segment (17), wherein each
of the bra cup elements (16) are provided with elasticized torso
encircling bra strap members (18) provided with cooperating securing
means (19) to snugly engage the underwire bra member (15) around
a woman's upper torso.
As can best be seen by reference to FIGS. 2 7 and 8 the contour
of the upper portion (12') of the underwire bra unit (12) is configured
to conform to the contour of the upper portion (11') of the camisole,
such that the camisole unit (11) will be operatively secured to
the underwire bra unit (12) such as by stitching (20) along their
common upper portions (11')(12'), wherein the underwire bra unit
(12) will essentially be suspended along its upper edge from the
camisole unit (11).
As mentioned previously in the specification, the bra strap members
(18) are elasticized, wherein the upper and lower edges of each
bra strap is provided with a strip (21) of elastic material. In
addition, the strips (21) of elastic material on the upper edges
of the bra strap members (18) project beyond the strap members (18)
and extend along the tops of both bra cup elements (16) to the point
where the bra cups (16) are operatively attached to the camisole
strap members (104).
Since the camisole unit (11) is attached to the upper elasticized
strips (21) of the underwire bra unit (12) the upper portion of
the camisole unit (11) will be slightly bunched by the physical
attachment to the elastic material prior to the garment (10). However,
once a woman places the garment (10) on her body and engages the
bra strap securing means (19) in a well recognized fashion, the
bunching of the camisole material will disappear. In addition, the
opposed edges of camisole slit (13) will be brought into close proximity
to one another such that the rear panel of the camisole unit (11)
will closely approximate the appearance of the prior art camisole
depicted in FIG. 4.
As can best be appreciated by reference to FIGS. 3 thru 6 since
the prior art camisole construction (100) offers a woman absolutely
no support, the woman's breasts will spread and sag to their natural
unfettered position as indicated in phantom in FIGS. 3 5 and 6.
However, when a woman is wearing the camisole garment (10) of the
present invention, the underwire bra unit (12) will lift and support
the woman's breasts in a well recognized manner to noticeably improve
her appearance.
It should also be noted at this juncture that while the woman will
actually be wearing the camisole garment (10) of this invention,
she will appear to be wearing a prior art camisole construction
(100) since the camisole material (102) will be hanging loosely
around her torso, and the underwire bra unit (12) will not be visible
nor apparent even upon close scrutiny by someone other than the
woman wearing the garment.
Having thereby described the subject matter of this invention it
should be apparent that many substitutions, modifications, and variations
of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It
is therefore to be understood that the invention as taught and described
herein is only to be limited to the extent of the breadth and scope
of the appended claims.
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