ARTICLE OF CLOTHING WITH SIDE ACCESS
A garment to be worn by a person has a first fabric panel having a first side edge and a second fabric panel having a second side edge. The first and second panels are joined by stitching to form a seam near the first and second side edges. An aperture is formed between the fabric panels by an interruption in the stitching. The aperture may be formed directly on the garment, or may be provided as a set-in that is attached to the garment. The aperture may be positioned on the garment so that it will be located under the arm of a person wearing the garment.
This application claims priority to Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/947,191, filed Jun. 29, 2007, now pending, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates generally to articles of clothing, and more particularly to articles of clothing that provide access to portions of the body beneath the articles of clothing.
BACKGROUNDPeople wear clothing of various types, specifically designed for various purposes ranging from heavy duty work overalls for construction, to light and lacy garments meant to appeal to another and entice them into intimate interaction. If a person successfully entices another, then often the two individuals may wish to engage in intimate touching involving skin to skin contact, but for various reasons they may not wish to remove their clothes. For example, persons engaging in such intimate contact may wish to remain clothed due to the temperature of the surroundings, such as a cold night in a bedroom or outdoors, or the nature of the location, such as an elevator where the period of privacy may be short.
Therefore, there exists a need for a garment that facilitates the entrance of one person's hands through the garment to portions of the wearer's body hidden beneath the garment without drawing attention to the activity. Even if such a garment's features are not used during a particular wearing, it is a desirable garment for two intimate people to have, knowing that it is present to provide for such intimate contact should the occasion arise.
While garments exist that provide such access, for example an evening gown with arm holes that are open all the way to the waist, there is a need for garments having an improved feature, that is more secretive, discreet, and covers more skin thus providing additional warmth. The inventive features of garments in accordance with the present disclosure provide benefits beyond those of currently available garments.
SUMMARYIn one embodiment, a garment to be worn by a person has a first fabric panel having a first side edge and a second fabric panel having a second side edge. The first and second fabric panels are joined by stitching to form a seam near the first and second side edges. An aperture is formed between the fabric panels by an interruption in the stitching. A flap near the aperture extends underneath at least one of the fabric panels and across the seam so that the skin of the person wearing the garment is not readily viewable through the aperture when the aperture is opened.
In another embodiment a set-in for a garment has a first flap and a second flap that contacts the first flap. The flaps define a non-fastenable aperture. A perimeter circumscribes the flaps and is adapted to be sewn into a garment.
In yet another embodiment, a method of manufacturing a garment includes obtaining first and second fabric panels having respective first and second side edges, stitching the first and second panels proximate the first and second side edges to form a seam, interrupting the stitching to form an aperture in the seam between the first and second panels, and providing a flap proximate the aperture and extending underneath at least one of the first or second panels.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
As used herein, the articles “a”, “an”, “the”, and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Moreover, the use of “top” and “bottom”, “front” and “rear”, “above” and “below” and variations of these and other terms of orientation is made for convenience, but does not require any particular orientation of the components.
The descriptions that follow will predominately describe just one side of a symmetric garment. It will be understood that the same features could be manufactured on the other side of the garment, and persons of ordinary skill in the art know how to make the features in the mirror image as necessary. To enhance clarity, it will sometimes be explained whether the illustration provided is under the right arm or the left arm of a person wearing the garment.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 2A-2C, front panel 12 and back panel 14 have rolled edges 34, 36, respectively, to prevent fraying, to provide a finished visually pleasing edge, and to enhance the stiffness and straightness of the garment 10. Stitching may be placed in a manner that eliminates or minimizes visibility on the outside of the garment 10, although this is a matter of style and preference, and visible stitching may alternatively be used. Stitches 38, keep front panel 12 rolled over in the area of aperture 26, and similar stitches (not shown) may be used on the back panel 14 in the area of aperture 26.
The aperture 26 is formed such that one panel, such as the back panel 14, extends under the other panel, such as the front panel 12, to discretely cover the wearer's skin when the aperture 26 is not being used for access as seen in
Referring to
In this embodiment, garment 110 is a women's garment that encompasses the breast area. To provide a more aesthetically pleasing appearance, a dart 59 (
With reference to
Although various embodiments shown and described herein have depicted garments for the upper body, and having the appearance usually associated with garments for females, this disclosure is not limited to female clothing or upper body clothing. The apertures shown and described herein are suitable for use on any type of garment, and may be concealed or not concealed, and can be at a variety of locations and in any quantities on any garment.
The apertures presented above have generally been described as being partially closed such as by flaps, extensions, or panels passing under other panels, but have not utilized closure mechanisms. It will be appreciated that closure structure of various types, for example zippers, buttons, or VELCRO, may be included to securely latch the apertures in a closed position when desired.
While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of one or more embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, they are not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Various features shown and described herein may be used alone or in any combination. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the general inventive concept.
Claims
1. A garment to be worn by a person, comprising:
- a first fabric panel having a first side edge;
- a second fabric panel having a second side edge;
- said first and second panels joined proximate said first and second side edges by stitching to form a seam;
- an aperture formed between said first and second fabric panels and adjacent said seam by an interruption in said stitching; and
- a flap proximate said aperture and extending underneath at least one of said first or second panels and across said seam such that the person's skin is not readily viewable through said aperture when said aperture is opened.
2. The garment of claim 1, wherein said flap is formed by extending a portion of said second panel beneath said first panel.
3. The garment of claim 1, wherein said aperture is positioned so as to be approximately under an arm of the person wearing the garment.
4. The garment of claim 1, further comprising an aligning stitch below said aperture and through said first fabric panel and said second fabric panel.
5. The garment of claim 1, wherein said flap comprises a third panel joined to said first panel or said second panel, or to both said first and second panels.
6. The garment of claim 5, further comprising an inner trim panel above said aperture, wherein an upper portion of said third panel is sewn to a lower portion of said inner trim panel.
7. The garment of claim 5, further comprising:
- an aft inner trim panel above said aperture; and
- a forward inner trim panel above said aperture;
- wherein an upper portion of said third panel is sewn to a lower portion of said forward inner trim panel and a lower portion of said aft inner trim panel.
8. The garment of claim 7, wherein said aperture is positioned so as to be approximately under the arm of the person wearing the garment.
9. A set-in for a garment, comprising:
- a first flap;
- a second flap that contacts said first flap;
- said first and second flaps defining a non-fastenable aperture; and
- a perimeter circumscribing said first and second flaps and adapted to be sewn into the garment.
10. The garment set-in of claim 9, wherein the first flap abuts the second flap.
11. The garment set-in of claim 9, wherein the first flap extends under the second flap.
12. The garment set-in of claim 9, wherein at least one of said first flap or said second flap has fabric trim along the contact with the other said flap.
13. A garment, comprising:
- at least one panel covering the skin of a person wearing the garment;
- a set-in joined to said panel, said set-in comprising:
- a non-fastenable aperture in said set-in,
- a first flap on said set-in,
- a second flap that contacts said first flap, and
- a perimeter circumscribing said first and second flaps and joining said set-in to said panel.
14. The garment of claim 13, wherein said first flap abuts said second flap.
15. The garment of claim 13, wherein said first flap extends under said second flap.
16. The garment of claim 13, wherein at least one of said first flap or said second flap has fabric trim along the contact with the other of said first flap or said second flap.
17. The garment of claim 13, wherein said set-in is positioned so as to be approximately located under an arm of a person wearing the garment.
18. A method of manufacturing a garment to be worn by a person comprising:
- obtaining a first fabric panel having a first side edge;
- obtaining a second fabric panel having a second side edge;
- stitching the first and second panels proximate the first and second side edges to form a seam;
- interrupting the stitching to form an aperture in the seam between the first and second panels; and
- providing a flap proximate the aperture and extending underneath at least one of the first or second panels and across the seam, such that the skin of the person wearing the garment is not readily viewable through the aperture when the aperture is opened.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein providing a flap further comprises:
- stitching a third panel into the garment.
20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:
- positioning the aperture to be approximately under the arm of the person wearing the garment.
21. The method of claim 18, further comprising sewing a top trim along at least one of the first side edge or the second side edge proximate the aperture.
22. A method of manufacturing a garment with provisions for intimate contact comprising:
- obtaining at least one panel covering the skin of a person wearing the garment;
- obtaining a set-in comprising:
- a non-fastenable aperture,
- a first flap,
- a second flap that contacts the first flap,
- a perimeter circumscribing the first and second flaps; and
- joining the set-in to the panel.
23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:
- positioning the aperture to be approximately under the arm of the person wearing the garment.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 15, 2007
Publication Date: Jan 1, 2009
Applicant: SAMANTHARAND, L.L.C. (Bloomfield Hills, MI)
Inventor: Steven L. Mitchell (Bloomfield Hills, MI)
Application Number: 11/839,019
International Classification: A41D 1/00 (20060101); A41D 27/00 (20060101); A41D 27/24 (20060101);