GB2376171A

GB2376171A - Brassiere with transparent straps

Info

Publication number: GB2376171A
Application number: GB0212322A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jennifer Black
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-06-08
Filing date: 2002-05-29
Publication date: 2002-12-11
Also published as: GB0212322D0; GB0113976D0

Abstract

A brassiere for use with a backless, strapless or halter-neck dress has cups B held together by a clasp C at the front and a back strap D which is of transparent material, e.g. an elastomeric polyurethane. Shoulder straps A may also be transparent and may be detachable. The cups B may also be transparent. The clasp C may comprise a male member with a stud (24, Fig 5B) insertable at an inclination into a female member (19, Fig 5A) of partly cut-away cylindrical form and secured together by rotation.

Description

TITLE: Improvements in or relating to bras.

This invention relates to bras and is particularly concerned with bras for use with the backless, strapless and halter-neck dresses and tops which are currently on the market.

Strapless and backless dresses and tops are in demand both for day wear and evening wear. A problem arises when the wearer wishes to use with such dresses and tops a conventional bra provided with shoulder and back straps as the straps are then highly visible and their use detracts from the overall appearance of the dress or top.

Various solutions have been proposed to solve this problem in the art.

For example, bras have been proposed which are themselves strapless and conform to the shape and outline of the dress or top so as to be totally masked by the latter when in use. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to make such a strapless bra which will stay in position and also give sufficient support to the wearer's bust. The strapless bra is also not very complimentary to the wearer's shape whether the wearer is smallbreasted or large-breasted. In a worst case, the strapless bra may slip down causing embarrassment. Experiments have also been made with stick-on bras, or wearers have resorted to expedients such as attempting to secure a strapless bra to the wearer by adhesive tape or like means.

Such expedients are however generally uncomfortable and in worst cases may cause soreness or skin allergies.

Another solution proposed is to build the bra into the dress or top itself.

Tests with this proposal have shown however that it has several disadvantages. First, it is difficult to provide such a built-in bra which gives sufficient support. A practical disadvantage is also the resulting lack of flexibility. The wearer would normally wish, for example, frequently to wash the bra or simply to replace it. The dress or top, on the other hand, may require dry cleaning.

A yet further solution to the problem posed by the backless and strapless dresses and tops in commerce today is not to wear a bra at all. Many women find, however, that they feel uncomfortable without any kind of bra. Further, a well made bra has the characteristics of both giving the support required and giving an attractive shape which enhances the appearance of the dress or top and the outline of the wearer. In other words, the bra helps the user to wear a strapless and/or backless dress or top in comfort, whilst keeping her shape level with the cut of the dress or

top. Accordingly, in general, the omission of a bra altogether is not a satisfactory solution.

I have devised a solution to the problem discussed above which is both simple and effective.

My solution to the problem of providing support by means of a bra i. o Lhe wearer of a backless and/or strapless dress or top or a halter neck dress is a front-fastening bra provided with transparent back strapping and with transparent shoulder strapping where the latter is either provided or needed.

According to my present invention, therefore, I provide a bra for use with a backless and/or strapless dress or top or a halter neck dress, comprising cups composed of a natural and/or synthetic fabric material having a front opening clasp and provided with a back strap composed of a transparent material.

The front opening clasp may comprise a pair of mating male and female members which are attached to the cups. The male member has, integral with one another, a ring part for attachment to one bra cup and a protruding stud part to be received in use within the female member. The latter is provided, integral with one another, with a ring part for attachment to the other bra cup and a partly cut away cylindrical part for receiving the stud part of the male member. The two members of the clasp are fastened to one another by presenting the male member to the female member with the planes of the two members inclined to one another, entering the stud part of the male member into the cylindrical part of the female member at an open end of the cylindrical part and sliding the stud part into the said cylindrical part to rest against the closed other end thereof. The two members are locked together when the male member is rotated relative to the female member so that the planes of the two members merge into a common plane. The clasp is unlocked by rotating the male member in the opposite direction relative to the female member so that the planes of the two members are again inclined to one another, whereby the male member is released and can be slid out of the female member at the open end thereof, thereby opening the clasp.

The bra may be additionally provided with shoulder straps composed of a transparent material. The shoulder straps are generally detachably secured to the bra cups to allow the bra to be used without shoulder straps if desired or convenient. The back strap itself may also be detachably secured to the bra cups to allow for its removal for example if the bra is to

be dry cleaned and it is thought undesirable to subject the material of the back strap to the dry cleaning process. Although the cups themselves are normally composed of conventional non-transparent fabric material, it may be convenient in some cases to make the cups also of a transparent material so that the entire bra is not readily detectable. As an alternative, or in addition, the bra cups may be partly cut away so as to be even less readily visible. In general, the back strap and, where applicable, the shoulder straps and the cups themselves may be composed of a transparent plastics material, preferably, an elastomeric plastics material of which the most suitable at present appears to be a transparent elastomeric polyurethane material.

My invention is based on the unexpected and surprising observation that a bra of this kind is scarcely visible when worn with the kind of dress or top for which the bra has been devised. Thus, by suitable choice of transparent material, it is possible to arrange for the straps to blend into the colour of the wearer's skin so successfully that they are scarcely visible and are wholly unobtrusive.

In general, the transparent material used for the straps is a transparent plastics material, i. e. , a transparent synthetic polymer or resin, of which a wide variety are available in the market place. In many cases, it will be necessary or desirable to use a transparent elastomeric material for the shoulder straps and the back strap, specifically, an elastomeric plastics material. A transparent elastomeric polyurethane is a preferred such material, as stated above.

Further, both sets of straps will normally require means for adjusting their lengths to comply with the dimensions of the wearer. Examples of plastics which may be used are polythenes, polyvinyl chlorides and polyurethanes, but polyurethane is preferred. It is only necessary that the fabric used for the straps should be essentially transparent although light tinting may sometimes be appropriate. Preferred plastics materials may themselves be stretchable. Alternatively, composite fabrics including natural or synthetic elastomers may be used provided the fabric is essentially transparent to satisfy the needs of the invention. One example of transparent stretchable material on the market is that sold under the trade mark Lycra . The same applies to the material of the cups when these also are composed of transparent material. It will be understood, of course, that any materials chosen must be suitable for wear, so that any materials which might cause discomfort, e. g. , to sensitive skin, should be avoided.

Various adjusting means are preferably employed on the shoulder straps and back strap, so that the lengths of the straps may be adjusted as required. Detachable securing means, such as hooks may also be used, to allow either the shoulder straps, if used, or the back strap to be removed, e. g. , for washing. Further, if shoulder straps are normally used, and are of transparent plastics material, e. g. , transparent polyurethane, to satisfy the requirements of the invention, they may be removed when aesired Lo allow the bra to be used with the back strap only.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig 1 is a general perspective view of one embodiment of bra according to my invention; Fig IA is a perspective view corresponding to Fig 1 of part only of the bra of Fig 1; Fig 2 is a plan view of a detail of the bra; Fig 3 is a plan view of part of the detail of Fig 2 ; Figs 4 and 4A are plan views of another detail of the bra; Figs 5A and 5B are plan views of parts of a further detail of the bra; and Fig 5C is an underplan view corresponding to Fig 5A.

The illustrated bra comprises conventional non-transparent cups B held together by means of a front-opening clasp C. The cups B are provided with shoulder straps A composed of a transparent plastics material. A transparent back strap D is composed of the same or a similar transparent plastics material. Both the shoulder straps A and the back strap D are provided with hooks E for attachment of the straps to the bra cups B. The hooks E are of a conventional nature and are readily obtainable in the market place but are more fully described below.

Fig 1A shows a ring 13 attached to a fabric loop 14A provided at the apex 8 of a triangle 7 of fabric joined to a cup B at 31. The back strap D may be fixedly attached to the cup B via the ring 13 but, preferably, the back strap D is detachably secured to the ring 13 by a hook E (not shown) or, more preferably, directly to the fabric loop 14A itself, the ring 13 shown in Fig 1A being then omitted. Thus, the back strap D shown in Fig 2 is provided with hooks E which can be detachably secured to the fabric loops 14A themselves (see Fig 2). The hook E shown alone in Fig 3 has, integral with one another, a ring part I and a c-shaped hook part 2. The ring part 1 is designed to receive a loop formed in the back strap D as described below. The same hooks E are used at the ends of the shoulder straps A so as detachably to secure the shoulder straps to fabric loops 14B, 14C (see Fig 1).

straps A so as detachably to secure the shoulder straps to fabric loops 14B, 14C (see Fig 1).

The back strap D and shoulder straps A are provided with conventional slides F (see Fig 1 where a slide F is shown on the back strap D), for adjusting the lengths of the straps, also in conventional manner. The slides F are also of conventional nature and readily obtainable in the market place, but are described more fully below. For simplicity, the slides F are omitted from the shoulder straps shown in the bra of Fig 1 but are normally present on the shoulder straps A for adjustment of strap length in precisely the same way as is described in connection with the back strap D. The slide F comprises, integral with one another, two ring parts 3, a central stem part 4 being common to both ring parts. A loop 5 is formed at one end 6 of the strap D, and is attached to the stem part 4 of the slide F as shown in Fig 4A. The free part 10 of the attached strap D passes up through one ring part 3 of the slide F over the loop 5 and down through the other ring part 3, to form an adjustable loop 9 (see Figs 2,4A). The loop 9 carries a hook E (see the lower end of the strap of Fig 2). The upper end 11 of the strap D, as shown in Fig 2, has a further loop 5 which is fixedly secured to a hook E at 12. The hooks E of the back strap D can be detachably secured to the rings 13 referred to above (see Fig 1A) or, preferably, directly secured to the fabric loops 14A at the apices 8 of the fabric triangles 7, the rings 13 being then omitted.

The shoulder straps A are also detachably secured at their ends by hooks E to fabric loops 14B formed on the fabric triangles 7 adjacent to the loops 14A and to loops 14C formed on the cups B themselves at 20 (see Fig 1A). The shoulder straps A are provided with adjusting slides F (not shown in Fig 1) similarly to the back strap D.

The front clasp C (Figs 1, 1A) is shown in greater detail in Fig 5 (Figs 5A-5C). The clasp comprises a female member 15 shown in Figs 5A and 5C and in Fig 1A and a male member 16 shown in Fig 5B. The female member 15 is constituted by two parts, integral with one another, a ring part 17 for attachment to a fabric loop 14D at a corner 32 of the cup B (see Fig 1A) and a cylindrical part 18, which is partly cut away to provide an open end 19 with a tongue 21 and a closed end 22. The male member 16 has, integral with one another, a ring part 23 and a protruding stud part 24. The mating members 15,16 are designed so that, in order for the member 16 to enter the member 15 at its open end 19, the member 16 must be presented with its plane at an inclined angle to that of the member 15. The stud part 24 is then able to enter the open end 19 of the

recess formed in the cylindrical part 18, and to be slid into position within I

the recess. When the member 16 is rotated relative to the member 15 so as to bring the two planes into a common plane, the two members 15,16 are locked together. To open the clasp, the member 16 is rotated in the opposite direction relative to the member 15, so that the planes of the two members are again inclined to one another, whereby the member 16 is released and can be slid out of the member 15, thereby opening the clasp.

Claims

CLAIMS.

1. A bra for use with a backless and/or strapless dress or top or a halter neck dress, comprising cups composed of a natural and/or synthetic fabric material having a front opening clasp and provided with a back strap composed of a transparent material.

2. A bra according to claim 1, wherein the front opening clasp comprises a pair of mating male and female members attached to the bra cups, the male member having, integral with one another, a ring part attached to one bra cup and a protruding stud part to be received in use within the female member, the female member being provided, integral with one another, with a ring part attached to the other bra cup and a partly cut away cylindrical part for receiving the stud part of the male member, the two members of the clasp being fastened to one another by presenting the male member to the female member with the planes of the two members inclined to one another, entering the stud part of the male member into the cylindrical part of the female member at an open end of said cylindrical part and sliding said stud part into said cylindrical part to rest against the closed other end thereof, the two members being locked together when the male member is rotated relative to the female member so that the planes of the two members merge into a common plane, and the clasp being unlocked by rotating the male member in the opposite direction relative to the female member so that the planes of the two members are again inclined to one another, whereby the male member is released and can be slid out of the female member at the open end thereof, thereby opening the clasp.

3. A bra according to claim 1 or 2, additionally provided with shoulder straps composed of a transparent material.

4. A bra according to claim 3 wherein the ends of the shoulder straps are detachably secured to the bra cups to allow the wearer to dispense with the shoulder straps if desired.

5. A bra according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the ends of the back strap are provided with hook means capable of being attached to corresponding fabric loops provided on the bra cups themselves or on pieces of fabric joined thereto, whereby the back strap can be detachably secured to the bra cups and removed when needed for washing purposes.

6. A bra according to any of claims 1-5, wherein said cups are also made of transparent material, and may be partly cut away so as to be even less readily visible.

7. A bra according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the transparent material of said back strap and, where applicable, of said shoulder straps is a transparent plastics material.

8. A bra according to claim 7, wherein said plastics material is elastomeric.

9. A bra according to claim 8, wherein said transparent material is a transparent elastomeric polyurethane material.