Decorative attachment for lengthening and embellishment of garments
A novel attachment for lengthening garments, the attachment including a first band of material and fasteners carried by the first band of material for grasping the hem of the garment without alteration to the garment. The novel attachment may include a decorative embellishment component which provides the wearer with a customized and/or personalized look.
This application claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Appl. 60/742,442, filed Dec. 5, 2005.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates to a novel attachment system for lengthening garments. In particular, the novel attachment system includes a decorative embellishment component which facilitates lengthening the garment while providing the wearer with a customized and/or personalized look.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONClothing is generally mass produced in a variety of sizes. Most casual clothing can be purchased in a range of sizes and requires no alteration. Although generally acceptable, this system of permanent alteration does not very well address the different contexts in which a pair of slacks are worn. For example, different styles of shoes may be worn that effectively change the desired length of the slacks (i.e., high heels may require longer slack legs than flat shoes). In that case, the slack legs are either made for heels (and therefore are too long for flat shoes), or they are made for flat shoes (and therefore too short for heels). Custom tailoring each pair of slacks for each pair of shoes, while possible, is not very economical.
Furthermore, clothing for children quickly gets outgrown as the child gets older. Alternatively, children's clothing can be purchased with “room to grow” and thus, hemming, altering, or folding up sleeves, pant legs, etc., is often used, but the clothing does not fit properly and the look is shoddy.
Various devices are used in conjunction with clothing. For example, it is known to attach a safety pin to a piece of clothing to hold it up. However, such pins are not very attractive and can be difficult to attach if multiple folds or thick fabric is involved. Also, tie tacks are known, which serve primarily to hold a tie close to the shirt of the wearer. Of course, a wide variety of buttons and pins have been attached to clothing for decoration or identification of the wearer.
Convertible garments are well know in the art. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,402 discloses a convertible jacket where extensions can be secured to a short jacket by zipper-type slide fasteners to lengthen the jacket into a short coat with one extension or a full coat with two extensions. U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,613 discloses shorts which may be converted to trousers by the addition of leg portions. Hook and pile material (hereinafter Velcro®) is used to secure the leg portions to the shorts. U.S. Pat. No. 698,205 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,274,382 both disclose that extensions can be added to skirts or slips, the extensions being secured thereto by passing a ribbon or string through mating loops in adjacent pieces. U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,987 discloses Velcro® for removably attaching various ornamentation to clothing, whereas U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,680 discloses for the same purpose stems which pass through the clothing and female segments which receive the stems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,128 discloses a drop-down cuff for pants legs or sleeves, which cuffs are held in their raised positions by Velcro® pads or by stitching. U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,965 discloses a convertible skirt where the lower portion is provided with crystal beads or buttons which may be secured to an ornamental loop braid at the bottom of the upper portion or short skirt. U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,892 is similar to U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,613, but further discloses that a short sleeve shirt may be converted to a long sleeve shirt by using Velcro® strips. U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,043 discloses a hem holding device for the temporary shortening and raising of a hem line of an article of clothing by the wearer of that clothing. U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,438 discloses an adjustable length garment where the tubular additions may be secured to an adjacent upper portion by a zipper. This patent also discloses that an ornamental strip having braids 48 (which may include beads) may be zippered to the bottom tubular portion. In all of the prior art designs where an upper portion of a garment is lengthened by the addition of a lower tubular portion, both the upper and lower portions have been provided with attachment structure. In the prior art cited above there is a lack of teachings of separate attachments for lengthening a sleeve, skirt, or pants leg, which attachments can be used with any garment.
U.S. 2005/0044610 teaches that a garment may be provided with convertible ornamentation. U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,544 teaches that a badge or name holder may be worn on a shirt or the like, where the badge is provided with a strip of magnetic material, and separate magnets may be used to hold the badge in place.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is the object of the present invention to provide a simplified and safe attachment mechanism for lengthening garments.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lengthening attachment that can be used for garment ornamentation and accessorizing which can be utilized on virtually any article of clothing or garment. The present invention offers real flexibility with virtually unlimited application.
The decorative attachment of the invention comprises a first component, attachment means that securely but removably fastens to the hem of a garment; and a second component, the decorative means, that attaches to the attachment means for providing an ornamental and/or decorative attachment. The decorative attachment of the invention provides a means for lengthening the hem of a garment, while at the same time being ornamental in nature.
The decorative attachment of the invention can be comprised of any known configuration and material that will securely fasten it to a garment without damaging the garment and allow for the attachment of a decorative means. The attachment means and decorative means can be integrated and formed in one single unit or can be comprised of separate units whereby the attachment means is secured to the hem of the garment and the decorative means is secured to the attachment means. In this configuration, a multitude of different ornamental means could be attached to the attachment means depending on the mood of the wearer.
In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a decorative attachment which is intended primarily for lengthening garments. Every parent has had the experience of buying clothes for their children only to find that their child's pants are too short only a few month later. In addition, many long legged girls have difficulty finding slacks which are long enough. Thus, adding length to a garment that is too short is desirable to increase the useful length of a garment. In addition, adding length to a garment may also add a decorative element and style to the garment. The attachment of this invention will serve the purpose of adding length to pants or any other garment where length is an issue. The present invention can consist of a decorative attachment and any other element that assists the attachment in attaching or adhering to the garment without any type of permanent alteration to the garment.
The decorative attachment can comprise many different elements and/or shapes and still be within the spirit of the present invention. The attachment can comprise a series of hook/clip type fasteners or a support strip that attach to the hem of a garment without alteration to the garment. The attachment can include an elastic material that attaches to the hem of a garment. The attachment can include magnetic strips for securing the attachment to the hem of a garment without alteration to the garment. The attachment can include individual clips or any other means which can be devised for securing the attachment to the hem of a garment without alteration to the garment.
While the primary use of the decorative attachment is for lengthening a garment, the attachment has multiple uses, for example it can comprise a long strip for attachment to material objects such as a house, lamp, etc. for securing decorative items.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
With reference first to
As shown in
As can be seen from
While a uniform first band 14 of material is illustrated, it can be in sections, which sections may be of different materials. The band 14 can be made of any type of material including not only fabric, but also fur, beading, leather, lace, feathers, etc.
The decorative attachment can be applied to a hem to lengthen any type of garment or any other item where fasteners can be safely and firmly attached, even if the item in question does not need the attachment for function. The decorative attachment will be offered in different forms and styles. Differences in style or design can be attributed to age group and sex.
Therefore, it should be clear that the decorative attachment of the present invention provides a simple, safe and secure mechanism for lengthening and decoration clothing. It is within the scope of the present invention for the attachment to take any shape and comprise any material so long as it securely attaches to the hem of a garment. The ornamentation 20 can take any shape and size and can be comprised of any known material.
While a preferred form of this invention has been described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that applicant does not intend to be limited to the particular details described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but intends to be limited only to the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. In this regard, the term “means for” as used in the claims is intended to include not only the designs illustrated in the drawings of this application and the equivalent designs discussed in the text, but it is also intended to cover other equivalents now known to those skilled in the art, or those equivalents which may become known to those skilled in the art in the future.
Claims
1. An attachment which may be used for decorative purposes and/or for lengthening a garment, which garment has a conventional lower edge or hem, the attachment including
- a first band of material; and
- fastener means carried by the first band of material for grasping the hem of the garment and securing the first band of material thereto without alteration to the garment.
2. An attachment which may be used for decorative purposes and/or for lengthening a garment, which garment has a conventional lower edge or hem, the attachment including:
- a first band of elongated material;
- a plurality of fasteners secured to the band, the fasteners having integral spaced apart portions, which fasteners may releasably grasp the lower hem of a garment between the spaced apart portions to secure the band of material thereto.
3. The attachment as set forth in claim 2 wherein the band is provided with ornamental features
4. The attachment as set forth in claim 3 wherein the ornamental features are strings of beads secured at their upper ends to the band of elongated material.
5. The attachment as set forth in claim 4 further including a second band of narrow material which serves to cover the upper ends of the strings of beads.
6. The attachment as set forth in claim 2 wherein each of the fasteners is generally j-shaped having long and short generally parallel portions, the longer portion being secured to the first band of elongated material.
7. The attachment as set forth in claim 6 where the shorter leg of the J-shaped fastener is provided with a barb to engage the lower edge or hem of the garment.
8. The attachment as set forth in claim 6 wherein the fasteners are made of resilient material which will permit the long and short portions to be resiliently spread apart so that the lower hem of the garment may be received between the two portions, the resiliency of the fastener causing the portions to grasp the material between the long an short portions.
9. The attachment as set forth in claim 8 wherein the fasteners are made of a resilient plastic.
10. The attachment as set forth in claim 6 wherein the upper end of the long portion of the fastener is provided with spaced apart apertures to receive means for securing the fastener to the first band.
11. An attachment which may be used for decorative purposes and/or for lengthening a garment, which garment has a conventional lower edge or hem, the attachment including:
- a first band of elongated material;
- fastener means in the form of one or more magnetic strips, and cooperating magnets, either the one or more magnetic strips or the cooperating magnets being carried by the elongated material and the other being adapted to being placed to the other side of the garment for securing the elongated material to the hem of a garment without alteration to the garment.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 5, 2006
Publication Date: Nov 29, 2007
Inventors: Rhonda McCrary (Seattle, WA), Diane Hall (Keller, TX)
Application Number: 11/634,341
International Classification: A41D 27/08 (20060101);