ATTACHMENT OF A HOOD TO A GARMENT

Abstract

An attachment system to attach a hood to a garment wherein the hood has a first portion to be attached adjacent an upper portion of a wearer's torso on a right side and a second portion to be attached adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso on a left side. The attachment system includes a first right side connector attached to the first portion of the hood and a second right side connector attached to the garment adjacent in use the first right side connector. The attachment system also includes a first left side connector attached to the second portion of the hood and a second left side connector attached to the garment adjacent in use the first left side connector. The first right and left connectors are attachable to the second right and left connectors by magnetism.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for attachment of a hood to a garment. The invention relates particularly, but not exclusively, to a system for the attachment of an academic hood to a graduation gown.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Many educational institutions and other groups utilise gowns with hoods at formal ceremonies. It is common, for example, for graduates at universities to wear such gowns at graduation ceremonies.

As the attendees at such ceremonies will often have hoods of different colours to designate their standing in the institution, it is usual to provide a single uniform gown to which a hood of the appropriate colour or insignia can be attached. One common form of attachment for a hood and gown is a simple safety pin. Such an arrangement has disadvantages in the ease of attachment. Safety pins have a sharp end point which can easily catch on the silk or other fine fabric of which parts of the hoods are usually made. In addition, safety pins can leave rust marks or stain the fabrics to which they are attached especially if they are left in position for any length of time.

Another common form of attaching two parts of clothing together is the use of a hook and loop fastener such as Velcro. However, the silk or fabric of which part of a graduation hood is made can be damaged by contact with the hook material of a Velcro fastener, pulling threads of the silk in a way which is not easy to repair.

The present invention relates to a system for attaching a hood to a garment aimed at overcoming, at least in part, the abovementioned problems.

References to prior art in this specification are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not to be taken as an admission that such prior art is part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an attachment system for attaching a hood to a garment wherein the hood has a first portion to be attached adjacent an upper portion of a wearer's torso on a right side and a second portion to be attached adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso on a left side, the attachment system comprising:

a first right side connector attached to the first portion of the hood;
a second right side connector attached to the garment adjacent in use the first right side connector;
a first left side connector attached to the second portion of the hood; and
a second left side connector attached to the garment adjacent in use the first left side connector;
wherein the first right and left connectors are attachable to the second right and left connectors respectively by magnetism.

In one embodiment, the first and second portions comprise elongate portions of material extending from a main body of the hood downwardly from adjacent the right and left shoulders of the wearer in use. Preferably, the first right and left connectors and second right and left connectors are provided adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso below the respective shoulder. Alternatively, the first right and left connectors and second right and left connectors are provided adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso on each respective shoulder region.

Preferably, the first right and left connectors are provided in a pocket stitched into the hood. Further the second right and left connectors are preferably provided in a pocket stitched into the garment.

In one embodiment, the second right and left connectors comprise a strip having one or more magnets mounted thereon and the first right and left connectors comprise a portion of magnetic material such that the portions of magnetic material are securable to the magnets.

Typically the garment is a graduation gown.

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers. Likewise the word “preferably” or variations such as “preferred”, will be understood to imply that a stated integer or group of integers is desirable but not essential to the working of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The nature of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of several specific embodiments of an attachment system, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a garment;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a hood of a first embodiment for attachment to the garment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of the hood of FIG. 2 attached to the garment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a close up view of a connector of the hood attaching to a connector on the garment;

FIG. 5 is a close up view of a connector of the hood attached to a connector on the garment;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a garment;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a hood of a second embodiment for attachment to the garment of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view of the hood of FIG. 7 attached to the garment of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a hood of a third embodiment for attachment to a garment; and

FIG. 10 is a view of the hood of FIG. 9 shown attached to a garment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A first preferred embodiment of the attachment system 10 in accordance with the invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, is provided for attaching a hood 12 to a garment 14. In the embodiment shown in these Figures, the garment 14 and hood 12 comprises a typical ceremonial gown and hood of the type that may be used at a graduation ceremony.

The hood 12 includes a main body 16 which is shown as it would be worn off the head of the wearer, extending between the shoulders and behind the head. The hood 12 also includes a first portion 18 extending in use from the right side of the main body 16 of the hood and a second portion 20 extending in use from the left side of the main body 16 of the hood 12.

The first and second portions 18 and 20 each comprise an elongate portion of material. The first portion 18 extends generally downwardly from adjacent the right shoulder in front of the wearer and the second portion 20 extends generally downwardly from adjacent the left shoulder in front of the wearer, as shown in FIG. 3.

The first portion 18 of the hood 12 includes a first right connector 22 which is arranged in use to be connected to a second right connector 24 on the right hand side of the garment 14. The first and second right connectors 22 and 24 are both arranged adjacent an upper portion of the wearer's torso below the right shoulder.

The second portion 20 of the hood 12 includes a first left connector 26 which is arranged in use to be connected to a second left connector 28 on the left hand side of the garment 14. The first and second left connectors 26 and 28 are both arranged adjacent an portion part of the wearer's torso below the left shoulder.

The first and second right connectors 22 and 24 are connectable together by magnetism. Also, the first and second left connectors 26 and 28 are connectable together by magnetism. The second right and left connectors 24 and 28 may comprise a strip 30 having one or more magnets 32 connected to the strip and the first right and left connectors 22 and 26 may comprise a portion of a magnetic material 34 attracted to the magnets 32. Alternatively, magnets 32 may be provided only in the first right and left connectors 22 and 26 or in both the first and second connectors 22, 24, 26 and 28.

Each of the first and second connectors 22, 24, 26 and 28 are preferably provided in a pocket 34 stitched into the respective portion of the hood 12 or garment 14.

As will be appreciated, the style of a hood may vary depending on the particular institution or academic faculty. The hood 12 is shown in one common style but other styles of hood such as hood 42 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are also suitable for use with attachment system of the invention. In this embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the hood 42 is attached to the garment 44 in a similar way to that previously shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, by means of first right and first left connectors 46 and 48 and second right and left connectors 50 and 51, and will not be described in further detail. A third embodiment, hood 52, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, is of similar style to hood 42 except that in the former case the respective first right and first left connectors 58 and 60 (and corresponding second right and second left connectors, not shown in the drawings) are provided adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso on each respective shoulder region 56.

It will be appreciated that the arrangement of the embodiments allows for easy connection and detachment of the hood and garment. Further, the use of magnetic connectors provided stitched into pockets in the hood and garment reduces the likelihood of damage occurring to the garment that may result from other known attachment methods. The magnetic connectors in the pockets are formed integral to the garment which means that there are no sharp edges, or rough portions which may damage the fabric of the hood or garment. The magnetic connectors are unobtrusive and allow the hood to be placed securely on the gown with no unsightly attachment means being visible. The magnetic connectors may remain in position indefinitely and be reused as necessary.

The arrangement of the invention also allows for the hood to be held in place in correct symmetrical alignment on the garment, as can easily be seen in FIG. 10 for example. The attachment system of the invention provides a convenient way of securing together two items of clothing, in particular where one is intended to be positioned over the other.

It will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the relevant arts that various modifications and improvements may be made to the foregoing embodiments, in addition to those already described, without departing from the basic inventive concepts of the present invention. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described.

Claims

1. A garment with a hood attached to the garment by an attachment system, wherein the hood has a first portion to be attached adjacent an upper portion of a wearer's torso on a right side and a second portion to be attached adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso on a left side, the attachment system comprising:

a first right side connector attached to the first portion of the hood;

a second right side connector attached to the garment adjacent in use the first right side connector;

a first left side connector attached to the second portion of the hood; and

a second left side connector attached to the garment adjacent in use the first left side connector;

wherein the first right and left connectors are attachable to the second right and left connectors respectively by magnetism.

2. A garment with a hood attached to the garment according to claim 1, wherein the first and second portions comprise elongate portions of material extending from a main body of the hood downwardly from adjacent the right and left shoulders of the wearer in use.

3. A garment with a hood attached to the garment according to claim 1, wherein the first right and left connectors and second right and left connectors are provided adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso below the respective shoulder.

4. A garment with a hood attached to the garment according to claim 1, wherein the first right and left connectors and second right and left connectors are provided adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso on each respective shoulder region.

5. A garment with a hood attached to the garment according to claim 1, wherein the first right and left connectors are provided in a pocket stitched into the hood.

6. A garment with a hood attached to the garment according to claim 1, wherein the second right and left connectors are provided in a pocket stitched into the garment.

7. A garment with a hood attached to the garment according to claim 1, wherein the second right and left connectors comprise a strip having one or more magnets mounted thereon and the first right and left connectors comprise a portion of magnetic material securable to the magnets.

8. A garment with a hood attached to the garment according to claim 1, wherein the garment is a graduation gown.

9. An attachment system for attaching a hood to a garment, the attachment system comprising:

wherein the hood has a first portion to be attached adjacent an upper portion of a wearer's torso on a right side and a second portion to be attached adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso on a left side, the attachment system comprising:

a first right side connector adapted to be attached to a first portion of the hood, which first portion of the hood is adapted to be adjacent a right side of an upper portion of a torso of a person wearing the garment;

a second right side connector adapted to be attached to the garment and be adjacent the first right side connector;

a first left side connector adapted to be attached to a second portion of the hood, which second portion of the hood is adapted to be adjacent a left side of the upper portion of the torso, wherein at least one of the first left side connector and the second right side connector includes a magnet which attaches by magnetism to the other of the second right side connector and the first left side connector. and

a second left side connector adapted to be attached to the garment and be adjacent the first left side connector, wherein at least one of the second left side connector and the first right side connector includes a magnet which attaches by magnetism to the other of the first right side connector and the second left side connector.