Shirt with an Elastic Lower Portion and a Lower Protruding Band
A shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band combines an upper shirt portion made of traditional shirt material with an elastic lower shirt portion made of elastic or stretchy material. The upper shirt portion and the elastic lower shirt portion are attached by a fabric interface. The upper shirt portion covers the majority of the wearer's torso, and the fabric interface is at or near waist level, so that the majority of the elastic lower shirt portion is at or below the wearer's waist level. A lower protruding band encircles the lower edge of the elastic lower shirt portion, which serves as an anchor for the shirt within a pair of trousers while the elastic lower shirt stretches to allow the wearer to comfortably perform movements that would otherwise untuck the shirt from the wearer's trousers.
The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 61/605,329 filed on Mar. 1, 2012.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to clothing. More particularly, the present invention relates to a shirt that remains firmly tucked in to a pair of trousers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA shirt is a cloth garment worn on the upper body. A shirt was originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, but in American English, the word shirt has become a catch-all term for almost any upper body garment other than outerwear such as sweaters, coats, and jackets, or undergarments such as bras, vests or base layers.
One's appearance often affects how others perceive them, and the type of shirt worn has a large effect on being perceived as either disorderly or refined. There are several different styles of shirts, ranging from t-shirts, which are generally worn in casual settings, to polo shirts, which have a collar and are seen as slightly more proper, to dress shirts, which are buttoned down the front and are generally worn in more formal circumstances. Many occasions call for varying degrees of formal dress appearance, such as many professional settings, weddings, church services, and formal dinners, and in such situations a person, particularly men, is expected to tuck the lower end of their shirt into their trousers in order to foster a more proper appearance.
It is often a problem in formal attire that clothing may become dislodged. In regards to shirts, a person may accidentally cause their shirt to become untucked from their trousers by any number of movements which pull on the shirt such as reaching to a high shelf, bending over to tie their shoe or to pick something off the ground, or another similar movement that induces the shirt to move relative to their trousers. Generally, the lower end of the shirt is loosely held in place by the waistband of the person's trousers in combination with a belt, but friction alone is rarely sufficient to keep a shirt tucked in against forces that act to untuck the shirt. Particularly, if one has an expansive stomach, the shirt is more likely to become untucked due to pressure on the shirt by the stomach. In service professions where employees are constantly moving around and reaching for and placing items, such as serving tables or tending bar, the employee's shirt is particularly susceptible to becoming untucked.
In the past, inventions have been disclosed to keep a shirt tucked into trousers, pants, skirts, shorts, sweatpants, or other types of pant-like clothes. These inventions have included snaps, zippers, and hook and loop fasteners, in addition to attaching weights to shirts or using hold down straps attached to the wearer's body or another article of clothing. In general, any sort of permanent attachment to a special harness or attachment method about the body is uncomfortable for the wearer, and inconvenient to use.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a shirt with a lower elastic portion that allows the shirt to stretch when subjected to a force instead of being untucked, and a lower protruding band that serves to anchor the shirt within a pair of trousers or other pant-like garment without uncomfortable special harnesses or attachment means.
All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
The present invention is a shirt that solves the problem of keeping a shirt tucked within a pair of trousers or other lower body garments without an uncomfortable or inconvenient apparatus by incorporating an elastic material and an anchor in a shirt at the lower portion of the shirt. The present invention allows a user to move freely without accidentally pulling the shirt from within their trousers or other lower body garment. The elastic material allows the shirt to stretch more than most normal shirt fabrics, dissipating any upward force applied to the shirt by standard motions of the user. As the user moves about or reaches in the air or toward the ground, the material stretches and retracts back into place once the user returns to a normal posture.
The present invention is a shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower anchoring band. The present invention is primarily intended for shirts utilized in service industries, such as button-down shirts, polo shirts, dress shirts, and t-shirts, though any type of shirt may be comprised in the present invention, such as, but not limited to, the aforementioned shirts, a dinner shirt, a rugby shirt, a camp shirt, a poet shirt, a sweatshirt, or a tunic.
Referring to
The upper shirt portion 1 and the elastic lower shirt portion 2 comprise the entirety of the present invention, with the exception of the lower protruding band 4. The upper shirt portion 1, the elastic lower shirt portion 2, and the fabric interface 3 are positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane 5. The upper shirt portion 1 is positioned adjacent to the elastic lower shirt portion 2, and is perimetrically attached to the elastic lower shirt portion 2 by the fabric interface 3. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper shirt portion 1 and the elastic lower shirt portion 2 are the same color and the fabrics for each look similar, in order to prevent a mismatched appearance between the upper shirt portion 1 and the elastic lower shirt portion 2.
The fabric interface 3 is a junction between the upper shirt portion 1 and the elastic lower shirt portion 2. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fabric interface 3 is facilitated using existing fabric weaving methods that join the upper shirt portion 1 and the elastic lower shirt portion 2 seamlessly, so that a visible boundary between the upper shirt portion 1 and the elastic lower shirt portion 2 is not discernible to an observer. In addition, the fabric interface 3 should be implemented such that there is no bulge or other anomaly that could be irritating to the user or visible to others. In alternate embodiments of the present invention, the fabric interface 3 may be a standard stitching, or the fabric interface 3 may be an overlap of the upper shirt portion 1 and the elastic lower shirt portion affixed together by stitching or weaving the upper shirt portion 1 and the elastic lower shirt portion 2 together, or by using an adhesive, or by another attachment method. The fabric interface 3 is preferably positioned approximately at a user's waistline 6, so that the majority of the user's torso is covered by the upper shirt portion 1, while the majority of the elastic lower shirt portion 2 is near or below the waistline 6, wherein the waistline 6 refers to the topmost portion of a pair of trousers or another lower body garment. The elastic lower shirt portion 2 should not be entirely below the user's waistline 6 so that the elastic lower shirt portion 2 is held between the waistline 6 and the user's body.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
An alternate embodiment of the present invention does not include the lower protruding band 4, and relies solely on the elasticity of the elastic lower shirt portion 2 to keep the present invention tucked within a pair of trousers.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
Claims
1. A shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band comprises:
- an upper shirt portion;
- an elastic lower shirt portion;
- a fabric interface;
- a lower protruding band;
- a saggital plane, wherein the saggital plane is a vertical plane that passes from front to rear on a human body;
- the upper shirt portion comprises a neck opening and a torso zone; and
- the elastic lower shirt portion comprises a waist zone and a lower shirt edge.
2. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 1 comprises:
- the upper shirt portion, the elastic lower shirt portion, and the fabric interface being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the upper shirt portion being positioned adjacent to the elastic lower shirt portion; and
- the upper shirt portion being perimetrically attached to the elastic lower shirt portion by the fabric interface.
3. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 1 comprises:
- the neck opening and the torso zone being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the torso zone being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the neck opening; and
- the fabric interface being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the torso zone opposite the neck opening along the upper shirt portion.
4. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 1 comprises:
- the lower shirt edge and the waist zone being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the lower shirt edge being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the waist zone; and
- the fabric interface being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the waist zone opposite the lower shirt edge along the elastic lower shirt portion.
5. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 1 comprises:
- the lower protruding band being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the lower protruding band being positioned adjacent to the lower shirt edge; and
- the lower protruding band being perimetrically attached to the lower shirt edge.
6. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fabric interface is positioned approximately at a user's waistline.
7. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower protruding band prevents the lower shirt edge from being accidentally withdrawn from within a pair of pants or other lower body garment.
8. A shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band comprises:
- an upper shirt portion;
- an elastic lower shirt portion;
- a fabric interface;
- a lower protruding band;
- a saggital plane, wherein the saggital plane is a vertical plane that passes from front to rear on a human body;
- the upper shirt portion comprises a neck opening and a torso zone;
- the elastic lower shirt portion comprises a waist zone and a lower shirt edge;
- the upper shirt portion, the elastic lower shirt portion, and the fabric interface being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the upper shirt portion being positioned adjacent to the elastic lower shirt portion;
- the upper shirt portion being perimetrically attached to the elastic lower shirt portion by the fabric interface;
- the lower protruding band being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the lower protruding band being positioned adjacent to the lower shirt edge; and
- the lower protruding band being perimetrically attached to the lower shirt edge.
9. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 8 comprises:
- the neck opening and the torso zone being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the torso zone being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the neck opening; and
- the fabric interface being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the torso zone opposite the neck opening along the upper shirt portion.
10. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 8 comprises:
- the lower shirt edge and the waist zone being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the lower shirt edge being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the waist zone; and
- the fabric interface being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the waist zone opposite the lower shirt edge along the elastic lower shirt portion.
11. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 8, wherein the fabric interface is positioned approximately at a user's waistline.
12. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 8, wherein the lower protruding band prevents the lower shirt edge from being accidentally withdrawn from within a pair of pants or other lower body garment.
13. A shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band comprises:
- an upper shirt portion;
- an elastic lower shirt portion;
- a fabric interface;
- a lower protruding band;
- a saggital plane, wherein the saggital plane is a vertical plane that passes from front to rear on a human body;
- the upper shirt portion comprises a neck opening and a torso zone;
- the elastic lower shirt portion comprises a waist zone and a lower shirt edge;
- the upper shirt portion, the elastic lower shirt portion, and the fabric interface being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the upper shirt portion being positioned adjacent to the elastic lower shirt portion;
- the upper shirt portion being perimetrically attached to the elastic lower shirt portion by the fabric interface;
- the neck opening and the torso zone being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the torso zone being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the neck opening;
- the fabric interface being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the torso zone opposite the neck opening along the upper shirt portion;
- the lower shirt edge and the waist zone being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the lower shirt edge being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the waist zone; and
- the fabric interface being positioned perimetrically adjacent to the waist zone opposite the lower shirt edge along the elastic lower shirt portion.
14. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 13 comprises:
- the lower protruding band being positioned symmetrically about the saggital plane;
- the lower protruding band being positioned adjacent to the lower shirt edge; and
- the lower protruding band being perimetrically attached to the lower shirt edge.
15. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 13, wherein the fabric interface is positioned approximately at a user's waistline.
16. The shirt with an elastic lower portion and a lower protruding band as claimed in claim 13, wherein the lower protruding band prevents the lower shirt edge from being accidentally withdrawn from within a pair of pants or other lower body garment.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 19, 2013
Publication Date: Sep 5, 2013
Inventor: Daniel L. DONEY (East Syracuse, NY)
Application Number: 13/770,408