GB2339139A - Brassiere with detachable and interchangeable shoulder straps - Google Patents

Description

2339139 BRASSIERE WITH DETACHABLE SHOULDER STRAPS The present invention

relates to brassi6res and particularly to brassi&res to be worn only with shoulder straps.

A normal brassi&re incorporates two connected breast cups, a back strap and two shoulder straps. The brassiere is usually designed to maximise comfort as well as breast support and visual appearance.

Strapless brassi6res are well known for when the use of shoulder straps would be unsightly or unseemly.

Such "strapless" brassi6res do not benefit from the lifting support of shoulder straps and must rely on additional design features to give sufficient breast support for an equivalent brassi6re. Features providing extra support in a "strapless" brassi&re may include any or all of the following:

- sides and back strap of broader design than for an equivalent normal brassi6re.

- added boning and padding.

- under wiring.

- strips that cling to the skin to help prevent slipping.

- a very snug or tight fit.

- self-supporting cups, especially along the upper edges of the cups.

Because of added features such as these, the of strapless" brassAre is generally not as comfortable a garment to wear as an equivalent normal brassi&re designed and made with shoulder straps.

Attachable shoulder straps are sometimes supplied with !5' i z 2 "strapless" brassi&res, thereby adding to the flexibility of use of the garment, but do not alleviate the discomfort of the "strapless" brassi&res described above. 5 An example of a "strapless" brassi6re of the prior art is shown in figure 1. A front view of the brassi6re is shown in use with optional attachable shoulder straps. The garment consists of two breast cups 1 that have a high top edge to sit high up on the breasts, a broad connecting piece 2 between the cups, and broad side straps 3. Along the inside top edges of the breast cups are strips 4 of a non-slip material to reduce movement of the upper edges of the breast cups. These strips are shown in figure 1 with dashed lines. The bottom and sides of the breast cups are supported by under wiring 5. The broad and supportive nature of the side straps 3 is maintained by vertical boning strips 6. Attachable shoulder straps 7, which are not essential when using the brassi&re, but which may provide additional security, are shown attached to fabric loops 8 on the top edge of the brassi6re using flat plastic hooks 9.

A rear view of a "strapless" brassi6re of the prior art is shown in use in figure 2. The back strap of a "strapless" brassi6re is under more tension than that of an equivalent normal brassi6re, in order to provide a tight, supportive fit. To support the increased tension, a broader back strap 10 is needed, typically more than 2cm broad across the whole width of the back. The left and right sides of the back strap 10 are connected together when the garment is being worn using a conventional arrangement of wire hooks and loops 11. The attachable shoulder straps 7, which are 3 not essential for proper functioning of the brassi8re, are shown attached to fabric loops 12 on the top edge of the back strap using flat plastic hooks 13.

The present invention provides a brassi6re having shoulder straps and being structurally unsuitable to be worn without shoulder straps, characterised in that said shoulder straps are replaceably detachable from the rest of the garment. The invention allows the shoulder straps to be conveniently included as part of the outward appearance of the wearer's clothing by allowing for use of shoulder straps of the same length and construction but of different colours or fabric designs to coordinate with other clothing items without the need for a variety of complete brassigres A brassi6re is considered to be structurally unsuitable for wearing without shoulder straps if its structure would not provide support and maintain cup shape without shoulder straps. In particular, brassi&res which are sold as "strapless" designs do not fall within the scope of this invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which f igure 1 is a front view of a "strapless" brassi&re of the prior art, in use with optional attached shoulder straps, f igure 2 is a rear view of the "strapless" brassi&re of figure 1, figure 3 is a front view of the brassi6re of an embodiment of the present invention, 4 figure 4 is a rear view of the embodiment of the present invention of figure 3, and figure 5 shows one end of one strap of each of two pairs of shoulder straps, each of a different fabric design, suitable for use with the embodiment shown in figures 3 and 4.

Because the embodiment shown in figure 3 is designed for use only with shoulder straps, it need exhibit few or none of the extra support features of the prior art If strapless" design described above, although it will be appreciated that features such as under wiring or boning may be included in conventional brassidres. In is figure 3, the brassi&re of the present embodiment is shown in use and from the front. The garment consists of two breast cups connected together but typically without the need for a broad connecting piece 2 as shown in the "strapless" prior art design of figure 1.

Under wiring and non-slip strips are not generally necessary for adequate breast support and the side straps 20 are less broad than the side straps 3 of the equivalent "strapless" design of the prior art.

Attachable shoulder straps 21, which are essential for proper use of the brassi&re, are shown looped through fabric loops 22 on the top edge of the brassi6re using flat plastic hooks 23.

This brassiare is as comfortable to wear as a normal brassi&re because it does not include the extra support features or require the tight fit of the if strapless" brassi&re of the prior art as discussed above and shown in figures 1 and 2. The shoulder straps are entirely necessary for use of the brassi&re - of the present embodiment. For example, without the shoulder straps, the upper part of the cups which connect to the shoulder straps would not remain in position, but would tend to fall forward.

A rear view of the present embodiment is shown in use in figure 4. The back strap 24 is less broad across the whole width of the back than that of the equivalent "strapless" design of the prior art. The left and right sides of the back strap 24 are connected together when the garment is being worn using a conventional arrangement of wire hooks and loops 25. The attachable shoulder straps 21, which are essential for proper functioning of the brassi&re, are shown attached to fabric loops 25 on the top edge of the back strap using flat plastic hooks 26.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, two or more sets of shoulder straps are provided with the brassi&re, each set of shoulder straps being of the same length and construction, but of a different fabric design or colour. Figure 5 illustrates this embodiment of the invention by showing one end of one strap of each of two pairs of shoulder straps suitable for use with the brassi&re. Each pair of straps is produced using a different fabric design or colour for the purpose of allowing the brassi6re straps to be chosen to coordinate with the other clothing of the wearer.

In another embodiment, only one set of shoulder straps is provided with the brassi6re, but shoulder straps of different fabric design or colour are available for purchase as separate items.

6

Claims (3)

1. A brassi8re having shoulder straps and being structurally unsuitable to be worn without shoulder straps, characterised in that said shoulder straps are replaceably detachable from the rest of the garment.

2. A brassi6re as claimed in claim 1, in combination with at least one replacement pair of shoulder straps of the same length but of different fabric design or colour to said first mentioned shoulder straps

3. A brassi6re having fastening means for detachably fastening the both ends of shoulder straps to the garment, characterised in that the brassi6re is structurally unsuitable to be worn without shoulder straps.