EP1741354B1

EP1741354B1 - Foundation garment with improved support

Info

Publication number: EP1741354B1
Application number: EP06253412A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michael c/o MJM International Limited Mone; Michelle c/o MJM International Limited Mone
Original assignee: MJM International Ltd
Current assignee: MJM International Ltd
Priority date: 2005-07-01
Filing date: 2006-06-29
Publication date: 2011-04-20
Anticipated expiration: 2026-06-29
Also published as: ATE505962T1; DE602006021366D1; GB0513466D0; EP1741354A1; US20070054597A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of foundation garments, and in particular, to cleavage enhancing garments such as brassieres, undergarments and swimwear. The foundation garment (10) utilises additional breast uplifting means (12a/12b) within an outer cup (111a/111b) of a breast cup (11a/11b) to provide uplift to the breast independently to the outer cup (111a/111b).

Description

The present invention relates to the field of foundation garments, and in particular, to cleavage enhancing garments such as brassieres, undergarments and swimwear.
Herein the term foundation garment is intended to mean any garment providing breast support, e.g. undergarments such as brassieres (bras), including balcony type, plunge type, front fastening, midi bras, full-cup bras, underwired bras and bra slips; halterneck and multi-way bras, corsets including corselets and panty corselets; basques, bustiers, bodies, or the like and outergarments such as swimsuits, bikini bras, bodices or the like.
Examples of conventional foundation garments known in the art are disclosed in US-A-2003/0092355 , US-A-2002/0022432 and WO-A-02 07547 . These documents disclose the provision of wireless brassieres having a support system which provides the wearer the support and feeling similar to that of an underwire brassiere but which does not provide cleavage enhancing properties.
Cleavage enhancing undergarments or "push-up" bras are commonly used by females to enhance the look of the cleavage. This is generally achieved by providing "uplift" to raise the level of the breasts and/or by including additional padding or cushioning within the garment to give a fulled shape to the breasts.
Within this type of garment, support for the bust is typically provided in the form of underwiring, which is fitted in the base of each cup of the bra and which provides support from underneath the breast. Any uplift provided by the garment is generally brought about by the straps of the brassiere which conventionally attach to the garment at the top outer edge of the cup and can be adjusted to pull the breast upwards.
The appearance of a fuller bust is typically achieved by the inclusion of padded inserts inside the cups of the garment. Such garments are well known.
However, these known "push-up" bras suffer from a number of problems including, for example, the weight of the padding, comfort, reliability, and, crucially, the "overspill" effect which can result from the wearing of such garments and which gives rise to an unsightly and bulging appearance.
Conventional uplift bras are provided with underwiring which gives support to the breast along with straps, which pull the breast from above, in order to give an uplift effect. Padding, when provided, is usually in the form of foam inserts fitted within the cups, although alternative forms of padding such as gel, fluid or air-filled pouches are known. This padding is provided within the cup in a permanent or removable fashion and the breast essentially sits on padding and is raised accordingly.
An inherent problem with the use of such uplift bras is that they tend to cause compression of the breast at the top edge of the bra cup. This arises from the pressure that is exerted by the bra at the base of the cup and the padding which tends to sit against the breast, causing compression of the flesh. The straps of the garment, which are typically attached to the cup at a top outside edge, exert a further pressure on the breast. These forces combine to push the breast up from the bottom, without any further support from the cup, which can cause the breast to spill over the top edge of the bra cup. This results in an unsightly appearance with the breasts bulging over the top of the bra.
In certain garments, which are targeted primarily at women with larger bust sizes it is known to provide elements of additional support to account for the size and weight of the breasts. One known form of additional support uses a web inside the cups in addition to the underwiring. In these garments, the inner web is typically the same size to the outer cup and is contoured and attached to the inner conformation of the cup. In such a garment the internal sling provides additional support to the breast in a similar fashion to that provided by underwiring i.e. by supporting the breasts at their natural height, and does not provide any uplift or pushing together of the breasts.
The present invention identifies the drawbacks of conventional cleavage enhancing garments and proposes a cleavage enhancing garment which mitigates one or more of the limitations previously addressed.
The aims and objects of the invention will become apparent from reading the following description.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foundation garment having two breast cups, each breast cup having an outer cup and an additional breast uplifting means located therewithin, where said additional breast uplifting means is configured to provide uplift to the breast independently to the outer cup.
Essentially, the breast uplifting means is in the form of a sling. Preferably the sling is of a size substantially smaller to the outer cup.
As the sling is undersized in comparison to the outer cup, the breast is supported and lifted within the breast cup such that the breast exerts pressure on the upper edge of the outer cup giving particularly good cleavage and shape.
Preferably the outer cup is moulded to the shape of a breast. Advantageously this ensures that in use, whilst the breast uplifting means provides uplift to the breast, the majority of the breast is held within the breast cup to provide a smooth silhouette.
Preferably, the breast uplifting means is formed of a fabric with little or no elasticity. This is commonly termed a rigid material or fabric within the clothing manufacture field. Use of this type of material ensures the breast support means provides adequate support without sagging under the weight of the breast.
More preferably the breast uplifting means is formed of rigid woven satin.
Even more preferably, the rigid woven satin fabric is cut on the bias as this cut allows the breast uplifting means to yield very slightly under the weight of a breast while still providing adequate support.
Preferably, the breast uplifting means is attached to the breast cup along the lower inside edge of the outer cup and at an additional point at the apex of the outer cup. This attachment is such that the angle of the breast uplifting means provides directional support for the breast directing the breast both upward and inward due to the resulting angle of the breast uplifting means.
Optionally the breast uplifting means is attached continuously along the lower and side edge of the outer cup from the bottom to the apex of the breast cup.
Preferably, the outer cup extends beyond the breast uplifting means to give the appearance of a fuller breast.
Preferably the inner surface of the outer cup and outer surface of the breast uplifting means define a cavity space.
Optionally the foundation garment comprises non-supportive padding within the cavity between the outer cup and the breast uplifting means.
The non-supportive padding does not provide any uplift or directional support to the breast however it prevents the breast cup from deforming by preventing the outer cup from being pushed inwards towards the breast uplifting means if external pressure is supplied.
Optionally, the padding inserts are integrally formed with the outer cup.
Optionally the padding inserts may be removable.
The padding inserts may be formed of foam or a gel.
Optionally, the padding inserts may comprise a fluid or air-filled bag.
Preferably, the outer cups are seam free, that is, have no seam on a outer surface thereof.
Optionally the foundation garment is provided with strap means.
The strap means may comprise two shoulder straps which are provided in a conventional manner or one strap which circumvents the neck in a halter style.
Optionally the strap means comprise two straps which are adjustable with respect to the garment such that they can be adapted in a multi-way manner.
In one embodiment the garment is an undergarment. In another embodiment the cleavage enhancing garment is an outer garment, for example a swimming costume or a bikini brassiere.
A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective front view of the foundation garment according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; and
Figure 2 shows a cutaway back view of the foundation garment showing the inside of the breast cups; and
Figure 3 is a perspective side view of the foundation garment, cutaway to show the layered structure of the garment.

With reference to Figure 1, there is shown a foundation garment generally depicted at 10. The garment comprises a pair of laterally positioned breast cups, 11a and 11b. The garment further comprises a back strap 15, and shoulder straps 16 as are conventional. The outer appearance is therefore that of a standard brassiere.
Referring now to Figure 2, it can be seen that each of the cups 11a and 11b is made up of an outer cup 111a and 111b and a breast sling 12a and 12b. Each breast sling 12a, 12b is positioned within one of the respective outer cups 111a, 111b. The breast slings 12a, 12b are of a smaller size to outer cups 111a, 111b such that they are wholly contained within outer cups 111a and 111b, and are neither visible in use, nor extend as far as the outer cup 111a, 111b, as is clearly visible in Figure 3. The breast slings 12a, 12b provide a smaller support area in comparison to outer cups 111a and 111b and it is in these smaller breast slings 12a and 12b that the breast sits in use. Essentially the sling acts as a cup within a cup, where the majority of the breast is held and supported by the inner sling 12a, 12b, as opposed to the outer cup 111a, 111b.
In the depicted embodiment, the two breast cups 11a, 11b are joined by a central front bar 13 which serves to separate the breasts. However, it will be appreciated that the breast cups 11a, 11b can be integrally joined together or linked by alternative means such as zippers, ties or fasteners.
In the preferred embodiment, an underwire 14 is provided at the base of each of the breast cups 11a, 11b. Each breast sling 12a, 12b is attached to the respective outer cup 111a, 111b along the lower edge of the outer cup 111a, 111b and at an additional point 20 at the apex of the cup in the proximity of the point of attachment of the strap means 16. In the depicted embodiment the means of attachment of the breast sling 12a, 12b to the outer cup 111a, 111b is stitching 18, which is provided continuously along the edges of the outer cup 111a, 111b from the bottom edge to the apex. However, it will be appreciated that it is not necessary for attachment to be provided continuously along this length. In the depicted and preferred embodiment the attachment means is double stitching which confers an additional level of security to the garment although single stitching or alternative means of attachment may be used. As is most clearly depicted in Figure 3, each of the breast slings 12a, 12b is positioned between the outer cup 111a, 111b and the underwire 14. The positioning of each of the breast slings 12a, 12b between the outer cup 111a, 111b and the underwire 14 provides a higher level of security to hold the breast sling 12a, 12b in position although it is not essential to the working of the invention.
The breast slings 12a, 12b are formed of a material with a low level of elasticity, typically termed a "rigid material" in the field of clothing manufacture, which in the depicted embodiment is a rigid woven satin. In this embodiment, the fabric has been cut on the bias, as is clearly evident in Figure 2. Bias cut fabric is utilised as, although the material has little or no natural elasticity, this cut allows the fabric to yield slightly under the weight of the breast, thus increasing the level of comfort to the wearer. The fabric employed for the construction of the sling must be rigid enough to support the breast without relying on any additional support from a padding insert.
The top inner edge 112a, 112b of the breast sling 12a, 12b, which is an open edge, is folded over itself to give a smooth edge both to provide improved comfort and appearance.
In the preferred embodiment, and as depicted in Figure 3, a padding insert 17 is provided in the space between each of the outer cups 111a, 111b and the inner breast slings 12a, 12b.
In the preferred embodiment, this padding insert 17 is a foam, which is integrally moulded with the outer cup 111a, 111b. Optionally, any other known padding material such as gel, fluid or air filled pouches can be used to form the padding insert. The padding insert is non-supporting as all of the requisite support for the breast will be provided by the breast slings 12a, 12b. This prevents a situation where the padding is pushing the breast upwards from a single point resulting in unsightly overspill. As the breast will be cradled within a breast sling 12a, 12b which will lift the breast up within the breast cup 11a, 11b this will give a more natural cleavage and shape. Additionally, it is not essential that the padding insert is integral with the outer breast cups. The padding insert can be provided as a removable pouch which can be inserted in the space between the breast slings 12a, 12b and the outer cups 111a, 111b or alternatively can be provided integral with the breast slings 12a, 12b. The space between the breast slings 12a, 12b and the outer cups 111a, 111b serves to create the appearance of a fuller bust, and, as such, a padding insert is not essential to maintain the appearance of a fuller bust. However, an advantage of incorporating a padding insert is that it can prevent decompression of the cups 11a, 11b under external forces, e.g. to avoid deflation of the space between the outer cup 111a, 111b and the breast slings 12a, 12b, for example by compression due to tight clothing.
In the preferred and depicted embodiment, the angle of the breast slings 12a, 12b serve to provide both upward and inward directional support to the breast. In alternative embodiments, however, the breast slings 12a, 12b could be angled to provide a different type of support, e.g. to provide more uplift and less inward directional support.
As full support is provided to the breast by the breast slings 12a, 12b, there will advantageously be less pull on the breast from the weight of the padding insert.
Additionally, as the breast sling provides support directly to the breast, the reliability of the garment is increased and the risk that the breasts of the wearer would become dislodged from the garment, for example when leaning forward, is decreased.
It will be evident that various modifications and improvements could be made to the above-described garment within the scope of the invention. For example, the above description is written in the context of push up brassiere, however it could equally apply to another style wherein the inward directional breast support is reduced relative to the upward breast support, as controlled by the angle of the breast slings within the outer breast cups.
The present invention in one of its aspects provides an improved cleavage enhancing garment which provides directional support to the breast along with the appearance of an increased breast size, which overcomes some of the limitations previously addressed.
As the uplift is provided by the breast sling, more directional support can be provided to the breast for example by attaching the breast sling at a point within the outer cup at the upper outside edge. Advantagously, this results in a more contoured appearance to the bust, and decreases the appearance of unsightly bulges which can arise from conventional cleavage enhancing garments.
Further modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention herein intended.

Claims

A foundation garment (10) having breast cups (11a/11b), each breast cup (11 a/11 b) has an outer cup (111a/111b) and a breast uplifting means (12a/12b) located therewithin, characterised in that an inner surface of the outer cup (111a/111b) and an outer surface of the breast uplifting means (12a/12b) define a cavity space and said breast uplifting means (12a/12b) comprises an open top inner edge (112a/112b), said breast uplifting means (12a/12b) is formed of a fabric with little or no elasticity and said breast uplifting means (12a/12b) is configured to provide a smaller support area in comparison to the outer cup (111a/111b) adapted to hold and support the majority of a breast within the breast cup (11a/11b) independently of the outer cup (111a/111b).
A foundation garment (10) as in Claim 1 wherein the breast uplifting means (12a/12b) is in the form of a sling (12a/12b).
A foundation garment (10) as in Claim 2 wherein the sling (12a/12b) is of a size substantially smaller than the outer cup (111a/111b).
A foundation garment (10) as in any of the previous Claims wherein the outer cup (111a/111b) is moulded to the shape of a breast.
A foundation garment (10) as in any of the previous Claims wherein the breast uplifting means (12a/12b) is attached to the breast cup (11a/11b) along the lower inside edge of the outer cup (111a/111b) and at an additional point at the apex of the outer cup.
A foundation garment (10) as in any of the previous Claims wherein the breast uplifting means (12a/12b) is attached continuously along the lower and side edge of the outer cup (111a/111b) from the bottom to the apex of the breast cup (11a/11b).
A foundation garment (10) as in any of the previous Claims wherein the outer cup (111a/111b) extends beyond the breast uplifting means (12a/12b) to give the appearance of a fuller breast.
A foundation garment (10) as in any of the previous Claims wherein the foundation garment (10) comprises non-supportive padding (17) within the cavity between the outer cup (111a/111b) and the breast uplifting means (12a/12b).
A foundation garment (10) as in Claim 8 wherein the padding (17) is integrally formed with the outer cup (111a/111b).
A foundation garment (10) as in Claim 8 wherein the padding (17) is removable.
A foundation garment (10) as in any of Claims 8 to 10 wherein the padding (17) is formed of a foam, gel or a fluid or air-filled bag.