Brassieres

Abstract

An improved brassiere having nonelastic cups with an elastic area in the cup along the underarm side of the cup, an elastic back panel and an elastic, reinforced side panel, said side panel being formed by a section of fabric elastic in one direction and stretchable but nonelastic in the opposite direction superimposed on the fabric of said back panel with the direction of the elasticity of said back panel and said superimposed fabric substantially at right angle to each other.

Description

This invention relates to a brassiere and, more particularly, to a brassiere having an improved cup and side panel construction.

Among the many factors considered, in the design and construction of a brassiere, are fit and comfort. The brassiere must provide the required shape and support and, at the same time, comfort to the wearer. With these objectives in mind, it is the usual practice to design and construct brassieres in a number of body and cup sizes, utilizing in each instance what have been found by experience to be typical, or most commonly encountered, measurements within each cup and body size. There remains, however, some variation in fit and comfort within each cup and body size from one woman to another. In addition, variations, even though relatively small, may exist within a particular cup and body size between one breast and the other. In some women, the right breast may be larger than the left or vice versa. This also affects the fit and comfort of the brassiere. Over and above the foregoing considerations, the breast size of a particular woman may vary during the monthly body cycle. This is particularly true among younger women where, during one period of the monthly cycle, the breasts may enlarge and, later, contract.

Many arrangements and constructions have, heretofore, been provided for accommodating the variations which may occur between women in each cup and body size. Some of these have afforded some degree of fit and comfort but other features have been lost. For example, in one such construction cups of elastic material, or framed in elastic material, have been used. Although expansion and contraction of the cups in such brassieres afford variation for breast size differences, nevertheless such cups do not provide the same shape and support as do nonelastic cups.

The brassiere of the instant invention includes cups which, although of nonelastic material, accommodate variations in breast sizes, within the body and cup size range, without sacrificing the shape and support afforded by the brassiere. This is accomplished by a novel arrangement of elastic and nonelastic materials, set and sewn into the brassiere in a novel configuration so that, in the desired areas, the cups may stretch to accommodate larger size breasts without wrinkling, curling or bulging of the brassiere or cutting, binding or spilling out of the breast.

The arm opening edge of each of the cups of the instant brassiere is provided with a margin area of elastic material fastened to the nonelastic material of the cup and fastened along its edge, away from the cup but along a line substantially in alignment with the arc of the cup, to a second elastic panel in which the elasticity of the second panel is restricted.

Preferably, in the brassiere of the instant invention, the second panel is formed by superimposing one elastic material over another, with the direction of the elasticity of one material at substantially right angle to the direction of elasticity of the other material. Thus there is provided, at the margin of each cup, an elastic band of material, which can expand and contract to conform to the breast size, joined to a panel in which the elasticity is restricted. The restricted elasticity in such joining panel provides an area of force or stretch transition between the cup and panel. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the back panel and marginal edge of the cup is formed from a single piece of elastic material, elastic in the body encircling direction and stretchable, but not elastic, in the opposite, vertical direction. In the underarm area, adjacent to the cup, a second piece of material, elastic in the vertical direction and nonelastic, but stretchable, in the horizontal direction is superimposed with the back panel and cup margin elastic material to form the 2-ply panel of restricted elasticity.

The invention will be more fully understood from the following description and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the brassiere of the instant invention with the brassiere laid open and flat; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2, FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the brassiere has cups, generally designated 2, 4, of inelastic material and may be made of a single piece of inelastic material, moulded to the required cup contour, or of two pieces of inelastic material 6, 8, joined by seam 10, such as by sewing. The cups may be of a single ply or two or more plies laid one over the other and laminated. The outer ply may, if desired, be a decorative fabric such as, for example, lace.

Cups 2, 4 are interconnected to each other, at the center-front of the brassiere, by seam 12 and are connected along an arc at the bottom of the cups by seam 14, 16, respectively, to underbust panel, generally designated 18, which may be of elastic or inelastic material, a single piece of material extending under both cups or, as shown in the drawings, two pieces of material, 20, 22 interconnected and joined, at the center-front of the brassiere, by seam 24.

In the instant brassiere, the back panels 30, 32, are of elastic material, elastic in the horizontal direction and nonelastic, but stretchable in the vertical direction, all as shown by the arrows, FIG. 1. Adjustable fastening tape 34, having three pairs of spaced hook-eyes 36, 38, 40, is connected such as, for example, by seam 42, to the free end of back panel 32 and the free end of back panel 30 is provided with a pair of hooks, not shown. On the wearer, the hooks on back panel 30 are engaged in the selected pair of hook-eyes 36, 38, 40, forming a body encircling band around the wearer.

The horizontally elastic, vertically nonelastic but stretchable panels 30, 32, of the brassiere of the instant invention extend from the back of the wearer forwardly under the wearer's arms and are joined such as, for example, by seaming, to cups 2, 4, and under bust panel 18, along seams 44, 46, respectively. Seams 44, 46 extending upwardly, and arcuately inwardly toward the center-front of the brassiere, from the bottom of the underbust panel, for reasons more apparent hereinafter.

Panels 48, 50, of material elastic in the vertical direction and nonelastic, but stretchable in the horizontal direction, are laid onto panel 30, 32, respectively, in the underarm area and are fastened to panels 30, 32, respectively, such as by seaming, around the periphery of panels 48, 50. In the underarm area, panels 48, 50 are joined to the respective panels 30, 32 by substantially vertical seams 52, 54 and, adjacent the cups, by arcuate seams 56, 58, in substantial alignment with and continuation of arcuate seams 14, 16. Panels 48, 50 may be seamed to the front side of panels 30, 32 or to the back but for overall appearance of the brassiere are, preferably, seamed to the back.

The portions of the horizontally elastic, vertically nonelastic, but stretchable, material of the back panels joined to the cups by the seams 44, 46 and to panels 48, 50 by arcuate seams 56, 58, respectively, form at the underarm side of each of the cups a horizontally stretchable and elastic and vertically stretchable and nonelastic area. The tops of the cups 2, 4, respectively, are connected to shoulder straps 60, 62, having conventional adjustment buckles 64, 66, and shoulder straps 60, 62 are connected, such as by seaming along the respective edges to back panels 30, 32, respectively.

The horizontally stretchable and elastic and vertically stretchable and nonelastic area at the underarm side of each of the cups of the brassiere of the instant invention, afford an adjustment in the volume of each cup, independent of the other cup, which adjustment accommodates for variations in bust sizes without sacrificing the shaping and supporting afforded by the remaining nonelastic portion of the cups. Thus, where the bust is slightly large or because of the body cycle of the wearer is slightly enlarged, the volume of the cup increases and adjusts without loss of support or apparent change in shape. The increase in volume is relatively small and, because of the elastic and stretchable characteristics of the material, is distributed over the underarm side of the cup.

The expansion and contraction at the underarm side of the cups of the instant invention are restricted by the over laid underarm panels. These panels, by restricting the cups along the arcuate cup edge, avoid spill out and cup distortion and, without sacrifice to support or shape, allow the cups to adjust to the requirements of the wearer. At the same time, the cooperating elastic forces in the under laid panels, which are at substantially right angle to each other, provide a force transition area between the back panels and cups which, without reinforcing ribs, seam, bones or the like, prevent puckering, ridging, gathering and the like in the underarm area.

Rather than laying one material over the other, in the underarm area, with the elasticity of one panel substantially at right angle to the other, different materials could, of course, be used or the horizontally elastic back panel material could be treated to reinforce or stiffen the material in the underarm area.

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

Claims

I claim:

1. A brassiere having cups, an underbust panel and back panels interconnected and joined to form a body encircling band, said cups having a portion madeup of inelastic material interconnected and joined at the center-front of the brassiere and an area of elastic material at the underarm side of the cup, said elastic material being joined to said inelastic cup material along an arcuate line extending upwardly from the bottom of said brassiere and inwardly toward the center-front of said cups, and a reinforcing panel in each of said back panels adjacent said cups, each of said back panels being elastic in a horizontal direction and nonelastic in a vertical direction and being joined to said inelastic cup material along an arcuate line extending upwardly from the bottom of said brassiere and inwardly toward the center-front of said cups, each said reinforcing panel underlying and being joined to its back panel around the periphery of said reinforcing panel, and each of said cups being joined to said underbust panel and the adjacent reinforcing panel in a continuous arcuate path.