Stretchable wig

Abstract

A fully stretchable wig is provided. The wig comprises an inner portion that includes a plurality of wefts with hair attached thereto and connecting, stretchable cross-strips. A stretchable band extends about the circumference of the inner portion, having a variable width which forms a contoured lower edge that creates a realistic hairline. The stretchable band includes stretchable wefts attached to forward and rear portions of the band to allow the band to be stretched along its entire circumference to provide a comfortable and precise fit. Adjustment straps are attached at first ends to the stretchable band and are selectively attachable at second ends to one of a plurality of locations along the band to precisely adjust the size of the wig. Attachments are provided on second ends of the adjustment straps for attaching the second ends of the straps to the band.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/018,936 filed Dec. 20, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to wigs. More specifically, the present invention relates to an adjustable wig having a fully stretchable inner portion and a stretchable band having stretchable wefts of hair.

2. Related Art

Wigs of various designs are well known in the art, and provide numerous hair styles and colors. Some wigs are custom-fit to accommodate a particular wearer's head size. Other wigs have pre-set sizes, which can be varied with adjustment straps. The adjustment straps are attached at one end to the head band of the wig, and the other end is attachable to the band at one of a plurality of locations. This helps to provide, but does not ensure, a good fit.

Still other wigs include stretchable bands about the perimeter of the bottom of the wig to accommodate various head sizes. However, none are fully stretchable to accommodate various head sizes and to provide a snug fit for the wearer. Rather, existing wig designs only allow a portion of the wig to be stretched, often resulting in an ill-fitting wig. Additionally, existing wigs that incorporate stretchable features do not include a stretchable band that is shaped to create a realistic hairline and includes stretchable wefts of hair for providing a precise fit. As such, presently available wigs often do not provide a satisfactory fit for the wearer, nor do they sufficiently accommodate various head sizes.

Accordingly, what would be desirable, but has not heretofore been provided, is a fully stretchable wig having a stretchable band extending about the circumference of the wig and shaped to create a realistic hairline, and which includes stretchable wefts of hair to provide a comfortable and precise fit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fully stretchable wig. The wig comprises a plurality of wefts interconnected with a plurality of stretchable cross-strips, the wefts having hair attached thereto; a stretchable band interconnected with the plurality of stretchable cross-strips; and stretchable wefts attached to forward and rear portions of the stretchable band, the wefts stretchable along the length of attachment to the band to allow the band to stretch along the entire circumference of the band. Adjustment straps are attached at first ends to the stretchable band and are selectively attachable at second ends to one of a plurality of locations along the band to precisely adjust the size of the wig. Attachments are provided on second ends of the adjustment straps for attaching the second ends of the straps to the band. Ear tabs can be provided on the band with wefts of hair extending in front of a wearer's ears.

The present invention also provides a method for fitting a wig to a wearer's head. The method comprises the steps of providing a fully stretchable wig having wefts with hair attached thereto, connecting cross-strips, and a stretchable band with stretchable wefts and adjustment straps attached at first ends to the band and selectively attachable at second ends to the band; determining an approximate size of the wearer's head; attaching the second ends of the adjustment straps to the band at desired locations on the bottom of the strip; checking the size by trying the wig on a wearer; and, if the wig does not fit, removing the wig; adjusting the adjustment bands to provide a precise fit; and allowing the wearer to wear the wig.

The stretchable can vary in width along the circumference of the band to define a contoured lower edge that provides a precise fit with a wearer's head and a hairline that is realistic in appearance. The band is stretchable along the entire circumference thereof. Wefts of hair could be attached to the band at desired locations thereof or along the entire band. Stretchable threads could be used to attach the wefts of hair to the band so that the wefts are also stretchable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other important objects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following Detailed Description of the Invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the wig of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the wig shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wig of the present invention, taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective of a contoured wig band of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the wig band shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a wig with the band shown in FIGS. 4-5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fully stretchable wig comprising an inner portion that includes a plurality of wefts with hair attached thereto and connecting, stretchable cross-strips. A stretchable band extends about the circumference of the inner portion. The stretchable band includes stretchable wefts attached to forward and rear portions of the band to allow the band to be stretched along its entire circumference to provide a comfortable and precise fit. Adjustment straps are attached at first ends to the stretchable band and are selectively attachable at second ends to one of a plurality of locations along the band to precisely adjust the size of the wig. Attachments are provided on second ends of the adjustment straps for attaching the second ends of the straps to the band.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the wig of the present invention, indicated generally as 10. The wig 10 includes hair 20 and an inner portion 30. The hair 20 could be of any desired style or type of hair, and could be real hair or artificial hair. The inner portion 30 is fully stretchable to accommodate various sizes and to provide a comfortable fit. The inner portion 30 allows a wearer's hair to be passed therethrough. The inner portion 30 comprises a plurality of wefts of hair 38 interconnected by stretchable cross-strips 36. The cross-strips 36 allow the wefts 38 to be stretched along the lengths of the cross-strips 36. A stretchable band 40 is provided along the circumference of the bottom of the wig 10. The band 40 could be manufactured from any suitable material, such as elastic and the like.

The band 40 includes forward and rear portions 45 and 41. In the forward and rear portions 45 and 41, wefts are attached circumferentially along the band 40. In other areas, the wefts are attached and extend perpendicularly to the band 40. The wefts in the forward and rear portions 45 and 41 are stretchable and are attached by stretchable thread 43 to the band 40 to allow the band 40 to be fully stretchable. The rear portion 41 extends along a segment of the band 40 that is positioned during use along the back of a wearer's head. The stretchable wefts attached to the band 40 allow the band to fully stretch along its entire length. Adjustment straps 42 are attached at ends to the band 40, preferably near a wearer's ears. Opposite ends of the straps 42 include hooks 44 that are selectively engageable with loops 46 on the band 40. The straps 42 can be connected with different loops to provide a precise fit, and can be adjusted as desired to accommodate various sizes.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the wig 10. The forward portion 45 of the wig 10 includes a generally hemispherically-shaped portion 31 that, in use, is positioned at the forehead of a wearer, as is known in the art. The hemispherically-shaped portion 31 includes a plurality of wefts 32 having hair attached thereto, and stretchable cross-strips 34 interconnecting the wefts 32. The cross-strips 36 radiate from the hemispherically-shaped portion 31 and interconnect the plurality of wefts 38. The cross-strips 34 allow the wefts 32 to be stretched apart along the lengths of the cross-strips 34. Similar to the cross-strips 36, the cross-strips 34 could be manufactured from any suitable stretchable material, such as elastic and the like.

Stretchable wefts are attached to the forward portion 45 of the stretchable band 40, generally extending along the distance of the span of the hemispherically-shaped portion 31. The stretchable threads 43 allow wefts of hair attached to the forward portion 45 of the band to stretch along the length of the forward portion 45. It is the stretchable wefts, attached with the stretchable threads 43 to the stretchable band 40 along the forward and rear portions of the band, that allow the band 40 to be fully stretchable. It should be noted that conventional wefts can be used elsewhere, for example, at side portions, because the wefts are positioned perpendicular to the cross-strips 38 at the other locations, and do not interfere with the stretching of the band. The configuration of the wefts and the cross-strips of the present invention need not be limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 2, and any desired configuration could be provided without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wig of the present invention, taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 2. As mentioned earlier, hooks 44 of the adjustment straps 42 can be selectively engaged with one of a plurality of loops 46 on the band 40 to provide a precise fit for a wearer. It should be noted that the hooks 44 and loops 46 could be substituted with any other suitable attachment, such as buttons, etc. Optionally, ear tabs 48 could be attached to the band 40, and can include wefts of hair that could extend in front of a wearer's ears. The ear tabs 48 could be manufactured from the same material as the band 40, or any other suitable material. As mentioned earlier, the stretchable wefts of the forward portion 45 and rear portion 41 allow the stretchable band 40 to be stretched long its entire circumference to provide a comfortable fit.

The wig of the present invention can be fitted to a wearer's head by determining an approximate size of the wearer's head; attaching the second ends of the adjustment straps to the band at desired locations on the bottom of the strip; checking the size by trying the wig on a wearer; and, if the wig does not fit, removing the wig; adjusting the adjustment bands to provide a precise fit; and allowing the wearer to wear the wig.

Referring to FIGS. 4-5, there is shown a contoured wig band for the wigs of the present invention, indicated generally as 140. The band 140 is stretchable along its entire circumference to provide a comfortable and snug fit. The band 140 varies in width along the circumference thereof and includes a contoured lower edge 154 that provides a hairline that is realistic in appearance when the band 140 is incorporated into a wig and hair is attached to the band 140. Indeed, the band 140 approximates a natural hairline. The variable width of the band 140 also provides a better fit than a conventional band. The band 140 includes a stretchable thick forward portion 145, stretchable narrow portions 150, stretchable ear tabs 148a, 148b, stretchable narrow portions 152, and a stretchable thick rear portion 141. The ear tabs 148a, 148b may be formed integrally with the band 140, thereby eliminating the need to separately attach ear tabs to the band. Wefts of hair are attachable to any desired locations on the band 140, and could be attached using stretchable thread so that the wefts of hair are also stretchable. The band 140 could be incorporated with any desired wig, such as the wig 10 shown in FIGS. 1-3, and could be manufactured from any suitable, stretchable material. It has been found that a number of materials can be woven together to form the band 140, including nylon filament yarn, spandex yarn, nylon stretch yarn, covering yarn, and nylon mono yarn. The band 140 could be formed as a continuous band of material, or from a strip of material wherein ends of the strip are joined to form the band.

It should be noted that the adjustment straps 42 discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-3 could be used with a wig incorporating the band 140, so as to selectively limit the degree to which the band 140 stretches. For example, the first ends of the adjustment straps (not shown) could be permanently attached to the band 140, and the opposite ends of the adjustment straps could be removeably attachable to one or more locations along the band 140 (e.g., using hooks and loops or other suitable attachments) to limit stretching of the band.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a wig with the band 140 of FIGS. 4-5. The contoured lower edge 154 creates a realistic hairline to provide a realistic appearance and a comfortable fit. The band 140 is stretchable along the entire circumference of the band, and wefts of hair could be attached to the band 140 using stretchable thread, at any desired portion of the band 140, such as the ear tabs 148a (not shown) and 148b.

Having thus described the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is not intended to limit the spirit and scope thereof. What is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A stretchable wig comprising:

a plurality of wefts interconnected with a plurality of stretchable cross-strips, the wefts having hair attached thereto; and

a stretchable band interconnected with the plurality of stretchable cross-strips, the stretchable band varying in width along the circumference of the band to define a contoured lower edge of the band that creates a realistic hairline when the stretchable wig is worn.

2. The stretchable wig of claim 1, wherein the stretchable band is stretchable along a circumference of the band.

3. The stretchable wig of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of wefts of hair interconnected with the stretchable band.

4. The stretchable wig of claim 3, further comprising stretchable thread for interconnecting the plurality of wefts of hair to the stretchable band.

5. The stretchable wig of claim 1, further comprising adjustment straps for limiting stretching of the stretchable band.

6. The stretchable wig of claim 5, wherein the adjustment straps are attached at first ends to the stretchable band.

7. The stretchable wig of claim 6, wherein opposite ends of the adjustment straps are releasably attachable to the stretchable band.

8. The stretchable wig of claim 7, further comprising hooks on the opposite ends of the adjustment straps and loops on the stretchable band, wherein the hooks are selectively engageable with the loops to limit stretching of the stretchable band.

9. A fully stretchable band for a wig, comprising:

a stretchable thick forward portion;

a stretchable thick rear portion;

a pair of stretchable narrow regions interconnecting the stretchable thick forward portion and the stretchable thick rear portion; and

a pair of stretchable ear tabs formed on the stretchable narrow regions;

wherein the stretchable band varies in width along a circumference of the band to define a contoured lower edge of the band that creates a realistic hairline when the stretchable band is worn.

10. The stretchable band of claim 9, wherein the pair of stretchable ear tabs are formed integrally with the stretchable narrow regions.

11. The stretchable band of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of wefts of hair interconnected with the stretchable band by stretchable thread.