Garment Stay-Up Tab

Abstract

The Garment Stay-Up Tab is a flat, flexible, tape device that keeps garments such as stockings and long gloves fastened in their intended positions by means of a sanitary, hypo-allergenic adhesive substrate, with its externally visible tab being colored or cut in a decorative design or having a decorative applique applied to it.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Women wearing high socks or stockings find that they require some fastening in order to remain in place in spite of the stresses of gravity and the garments' elasticity. They usually wear a garter belt or apply glue to the skin and garment to keep the garments in place. The same applies to arm sleeves and long gloves, and even, traditionally, men's socks. Garter belts are not to everyone's tastes or comfort and can be an inconvenience and added complication to dressing, and liquid adhesive can be messy or unpleasant to apply or to wear, and simple double-sided adhesive tape does not have the same gripping surface to retain heavier garments.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to means of holding up stockings, socks, and other items of clothing often held in place by friction but also subject to sagging due to gravity, elasticity, and wear. This invention distinguishes itself by being sanitary and by being convenient to apply and remove, in contrast to solutions such as garters and glues, and in a greater holding power over simple double-sided adhesive tape, as well as by the aesthetic aspect of the exposed tab.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of this invention is to provide a convenient, tidy, and non-irritant means of holding garments such as socks, stockings, sleeves, and gloves in place. The convenience will come in the form of an adhesive tab sized appropriately to hold such garments in place. The sanitary aspect is addressed by the fact that the cloth tab is pre-cut and packaged in such a way that it will be as easy to apply as a prepackaged, adhesive bandage. Using a material with hypo-allergenic adhesive will allow the product not to cause irritation to most users' skin. This also proves as comfortable to wear and as easy to remove as an adhesive bandage. To apply the tab, the wearer will first remove the protective strip from the wearer-facing surface and apply the adhesive to the skin, and then continue by unfolding the tape, removing the protective strip, and applying the adhesive facing of surfaces that were inside the fold to inner and outer sides of the garment hem, folding the tape along its original crease to grip the garment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts the facing of the tab external to the form it takes when worn.

• • The tab will be folded over the hem of the garment to be held in place along the fold line (a).
  • The lower half (b) of the tab bears a hypo-allergenic adhesive, and it is intended to be pressed against the skin of the leg or arm (or wherever the edge of the garment is intended to be held in place), providing an anchor to the wearer's body.
  • The upper half (c) of the tab is cut and/or printed in a decorative manner or has a decoration applied, as it will be visible on the outside of the garment that it holds in place.

FIG. 2 depicts the facing of the tab internal to the form it takes when worn

• • The tab will be folded over the hem of the garment along the fold line (a),
  • allowing the garment to be gripped by two adhesive faces (b).

FIG. 3 depicts the tab (a) as it would appear when holding a stocking in place.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Currently on the market, solutions are garter belts, glues, and simple double-sided tapes. Garter belts introduce some complexity and inconvenience for dressing. Glues also introduce inconvenience and potential mess and might prove unsanitary, be absorbed in the garment and cause damage, or act as an irritant to the wearer. The double-sided tape solutions reviewed had fewer adhesive surfaces and were therefore not useful for heavier or higher-elasticity garments such as stockings or wool socks.

Prior art includes multiple garter-type implementations from the CPC Scheme A41F 11/04, 11/08, 11/14, 11/16, 11/18, and 13/00:

U.S. Pat. No. 701998, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,557,410, 5,353,441, 1,772,274, 1,781,673, 1,851,787, 10,383,383

Claims

1. The Garment Stay-Up Tab is a device to keep clothing such as leg and arm wear from sliding down, fastening them in their intended positions with the convenience of an adhesive bandage, comprising:

Element 1: one adhesive patch adhering to the wearer's skin;

Element 2: a second adhesive patch adhering to the inner side of the item of clothing;

Element 3: a third adhesive patch adhering to the outer side of the item of clothing;

Element 4: and any decorative surface, shape, or applique on the outside, visible patch.