GB2449627A

GB2449627A - Swimsuit

Info

Publication number: GB2449627A
Application number: GB0707891A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Natasha Roy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-04-24
Filing date: 2007-04-24
Publication date: 2008-12-03
Also published as: GB0707891D0

Abstract

A swimsuit made from two or more fabric layers, where the outer layer(s) of the swimsuit maintains its outer appearance when dry and becomes semi transparent when wet, to reveal the inner layer of fabric that is opaque when wet. When the outer layer(s) dries, the inner layer of fabric can no longer be viewed through the outer layer. The inner layer and outer layer(s) may incorporate different printed designs or be different colours thereby altering the appearance of the swimwear when the outer layer(s) become semi transparent when wet. The inner layer and outer layer(s) may also have additional patches of fabric or materials sewn onto the surface to create a design or pattern.

Description

Background.

Swimwear.

This invention seeks to create a garment notably of swimwear which will simplify the conversion of apparel from one appearance to another using a novel fabric layering technique in which the dry opaque outer layer(s) of fabric become semi transparent on contact with water allowing the inner opaque layer of fabric to become visible through the semi transparent wet outer layer(s) of fabric. When the swimwear garment returns to a dry state, the outer layer(s) of fabric will lose its semi transparent appearance and become opaque once more, thus no longer allowing the opaque inner layer of fabric to be viewed until the swimwear garment becomes wet again.

On the market exists swimwear constructed of water-reactive Lycra fabrics which are designed to reveal hidden images on the fabric when the garment becomes wet. The fabrics used in the construction of the water-reactive swimwear has been specifically treated or manufactared to achieve the water-reactive effect unlike the present invention which can be constructed using conventional swimwear manufacturing techniques and using fabrics traditionally used in the manufacturing of swirnwear including though not limited to spandex, spandex nylon blends, cotton elastic blends, fabrics such as those produced by DuPont Corporation and marketed under the trademark TRJCOT, cotton lycra and lycra in order to achieve the proposed effect.

Other existing convertible swimwear requires the wearer to manually adjust the garment in some way to convert the appearance of the garment using additional attachments or fabric or in the case of reversible swimwear, to ftilly remove the garment and reverse it in order to achieve a new appearance. The fabric layering technique proposed greatly simplifies the conversion of the swimwear from one appearance to another as there is no need for the wearer to manually convert the garment using additional attachments or fabric or to the fully remove the garment and reverse it.

Swimwear which has been designed to become transparent in water is also available though such garments differ from the present invention as these garments are unlined and as such are designed to be semi transparent in water in order to reveal the naked body of the wearer making the garment unsuitable for children's wear and general swimwear. Swimwear constructed using the technique in this invention must consist of two or more layers of fabric and as a result, the garment as a whole will also remain opaque whether it is in a wet or dry state. This makes it suitable to be applied in the construction of general swimwear including children's swimwear.

This technique can be applied to the traditional construction of many styles of swimwear including but not limited to children's and adults one piece swimsuits, two piece swimsuits; including bikinis, tankinis and swim trunks.

The examples given are purely for the purpose of illustration and are not limited to said examples. Many different printed fabric or plain coloured fabric combinations may be applied to the technique set out in this invention in order to achieve the proposed result in garments of swimwear or beachwear.

Statement of invention.

The present invention proposes a novel fabric layering technique to be used in the construction of a garment notably of swimwear in which the inner opaque layer of fabric is designed to become visible through the outer layer(s) of fabric when the swimwear becomes wet as the water will cause the outer layer(s) to become semi transparent whilst the inner layer will remain opaque due to the layering of the fabrics.

When the swimwear becomes dry, the opaque inner layer will no longer be visible through the dry opaque outer layer(s) of fabric and the garment will maintain the appearance of the outer layer of dry opaque fabric until the garment becomes wet again.

Introduction to illustrations.

Examples of the invention will now be described by referring to the following drawings: Figure 1: shows a dissected view of a women's one piece swimsuit constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2: shows a dissected view of a women's one piece swimsuit constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 3: illustrates the application of water to a women's one piece swimsuit and then the back to the dry state in accordance with the invention.

Figure 4: illustrates the application of water to a women's one piece swimsuit and then back to the dry state in accordance with the invention.

Description.

In one embodiment of the invention, (see Figure 1), the front solid coloured outer layer of fabric 1 is attached to the front inner print layer of opaque fabric 2. The process is repeated for the back of the swimsuit, the back solid coloured outer layer of fabric 4 is attached to the back inner print layer of opaque fabric 3. This example creates a swimwear garment which is fully lined front and back which in some cases many require one or more outer layers of fabric of solid colour appearance and an inner layer or fabric with a print appearance. The swimsuit will maintain the appearance of the outer layer of fabric when it is dry as the outer layer will remain opaque whilst it is dry.

When the swimsuit becomes wet, the print on the inner layer of fabric will become visible through the outer layer which will become semi transparent upon contact with water, thus changing the overall outer appearance of the garment. The inner layer of fabric will maintain an opaque effect whether the swimwear garment is wet or dry.

Once the swimsuit becomes dry, it will again maintain the appearance of the dry opaque outer layer of fabric and the inner print layer will not be visible until the garment is wet again.

In another embodiment of this invention (Figure 2), the front print outer layer of fabric is attached to the opaque front inner layer of print fabric 6 and process is repeated for the back of the swimsuit. The back outer print layer of fabric 8 is attached to the opaque back inner print layer of fabric 7. This example creates a swimwear garment that is lined fully front and back which in some case may require one or more outer layers of fabric with a print appearance on the surface and an opaque inner layer of fabric with a complimenting print appearance. When the swimsuit becomes wet, the water will cause the Outer layer of fabric to become semi transparent whilst allowing the print on the semi transparent outer layer of fabric to still be clearly seen. As a result of the wet semi transparent outer layer of fabric, the print on the inner layer of fabric will become visible through the wet semi transparent outer layer which will have the effect of combining the print on the outer layer of fabric and the print on the inner layer of fabric to create a complete image or design. As in all embodiments of this invention, once the swimsuit becomes dry, it will again maintain the appearance of the dry opaque outer layer of fabric and the inner print layer will not be visible until the garment is wet again.

In Figure 3, features 9 through 12 illustrate the transition of an example of a complete embodiment of the invention from dry to wet state. Feature 9 shows a dry version of a female's one piece swimsuit which has been constructed using normal methods of swimwear manufacturing whilst incorporating the fabric layering technique set out in the invention. Feature 9 has a solid colour outer layer of fabric and a print opaque inner layer of fabric. As the swimsuit in feature 9 is in a dry state, the inner print layer would not be visible. Whilst the swimsuit 9 is in a dry state, it will maintain the opaque solid colour appearance of the outer layer of fabric. Feature 11 illustrates the application of water to the swimsuit 10. Feature 12 illustrates the drying effect of heat which will allow the swimsuit to return to its dry state appearance 9. Feature 10 shows a wet version of feature 9 constructed as set out above. As illustrated in feature 10, once the swimsuit becomes wet, the outer layer of fabric will become semi transparent and allow the opaque inner layer to be viewed thus giving the swimsuit an overall different appearance to that of when it is in a dry state.

In Figure 4, features 13 through 16 illustrate the transition of a further example of a complete embodiment of the invention from dry to wet state. Feature 13 shows a dry version of a female's one piece swimsuit which has been constructed using normal methods of swimwear manufacturing whilst incorporating the fabric layering technique set out in the invention. Feature 13 has a print outer layer of fabric and a print inner layer of fabric. As the swimsuit in feature 13 is in a dry state, the inner print layer of fabric would not be visible. Whilst the swimsuit 13 is in a dry state, it will maintain the opaque print appearance of the outer layer of fabric. Feature 15 illustrates the application of water to the swimsuit 14. Feature 16 illustrates the drying effect of heat which will allow the swimsuit to return to its dry state appearance 13. Feature 14 shows a wet version of feature 13 constructed as set out above. As illustrated in Feature 14, once the swimsuit becomes wet, the application of water to the garment will allow the outer layer of fabric to become semi transparent with the print on the surface of the outer layer of fabric remaining clearly visible. At the same time, the opaque inner layer of fabric will become visible through the wet semi transparent outer layer of fabric thus creating the effect of a whole image on the swimsuit and giving the swimsuit a different appearance to that of when it is in a dry state.

Through intensive investigation using different layering techniques with different fabrics traditionally used in swimwear manufacturing though not limited to said fabrics, and different colours and prints of fabrics it has been found that one or two outer layers of fabric may be required for this technique depending of the colour and thickness of the fabrics. For example if the fabric is fine, it may be necessary to have two outer layers in order to maintain its opaque appearance and not allow the inner layer to be visible when the garment is dry. This does not apply to the density of the colour of the fabric however. To clarify, if the fabric is denser in nature, it is not necessary for the colour of the outer layer to be dark in order for the print on the inner layer to remain unseen when the garment is dry. If the fabric is denser in nature, then only one outer layer of fabric may be needed to achieve the technique as Set out in the invention. The proposed layering technique can be applied to the swimsuit partially or to the whole swimsuit depending on the desired effect. It may be required that only the front portion of the swimsuit is layered to create the wet semi transparent outer layer which reveals a hidden design on the inner layer whilst the back of the swimsuit is lined in the traditional way so as to maintain the same appearance whether wet or dry. The surface of the outer or inner material layers of fabric may also have additional patches of fabric or materials sewn onto the surface to create a design or pattern which can then be used as part or whole of the construction of a piece of swimwear manufactured in accordance with the invention.

It can be advantageous to use selected colours within the print on the inner layer of fabric in order to achieve the desired effect which is for the print on the inner layer of fabric to remain unseen whilst the garment is dry. For example, the colour black can be substituted for brown within the print on the inner layer of fabric as brown is lighter in colour, though when wet will appear almost black. The advantage of this is that the lighter colour is more readily hidden under the outer layer(s) of fabric, especially if the top layers(s) are of a light solid colour or print. The overall effect is that lighter substitution colour will remain unseen under a light coloured top layer of fabric(s) but will appear to become darker when the garment is wet, thus allowing the print to be clearly seen through the now transparentlsemi transparent outer layer(s) of fabric. This rule can be applied to many colours and is not limited to the above example.

Swimwear is traditionally constructed from stretch or elasticised fabrics so as to be tight fitting to the body of the wearer. This has found to be an advantageous though not essential feature in the invention of the present technique as the effect of the layered fabric pulled taught combined with the application of water to further hold the fabric against the body of the wearer will assist in creating a clear effect when the swimwear comes into contact with water and the top layer(s) of fabric become semi transparent and reveal the opaque inner layer of print or solid coloured fabric. This feature is not essential however as the effect given by the technique set out in the present invention can be viewed clearly whether the garment is being worn or not. To clarify, the application of water to swimwear constructed using the technique set out in the present invention will create the effect described whether the garment is being held taught against a body or not.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to a particular embodiment thereof, this is for the purposes of illustration rather then limitation, and other variations and modifications of the specific embodiment herein shown and described will be apparent to those skilled in the art all within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the patent is not to be limited in scope and effect to the specific embodiment herein shown and described nor in any other way that is inconsistent with the extent to which the progress in the art has been advanced by this invention.

Claims

Claims: I. A water changeable article of swimwear constructed of two or

more layers of fabric, said swimwear having an outer material member consisting of one or more layers of fabric; and an inner material member; wherein said swimwear maintains the outward appearance of the outward member material(s) when the garment is dry; and when the garment becomes wet, the inner material member becomes visible through the outer member material(s) which will become semi transparent due to the effect of the water on said fabric, wherein the garment returns to the appearance of the outer member material(s) when said garment becomes dry.
2. The article of swimwear of claim 1 wherein the fabric used the construct said garment is taken from a group including but not limited to spandex, spandex nylon blends, cotton elastic blends, fabrics such as those produced by DuPont Corporation and marketed wider the trademark TRICOT, cotton lycra and lycra.
3. The article of swimwear of claim 2, wherein said outer and inner material members have substantially different outward appearances.
4. The article of swimwear of claim 2, wherein said outer and inner material members have substantially similar outward appearances.
5. The article of swimwear of claim 3, wherein said outer material member(s) has a solid colour appearance; and wherein said inner material member has a print appearance.
6. The article of swimwear of claim 4, wherein said outer material member(s) has a print appearance; and wherein said inner material member has a print appearance.
7. The article of swimwear of claim 3, wherein said outer material member(s) has a solid colour appearance with partial print or motif; and wherein the inner member material has a complimenting or contrasting solid colour appearance with partial print or motif, which is designed to create a whole image when said garment becomes wet.
8. The article of swimwear of claim 4, wherein the outer material member(s) has a solid colour appearance with partial print or motif; and where the inner member material has a solid colour appearance with partial print or motif.
9. The article of swimwear of claim 2, wherein said garment is partially constructed of two or more layers of fabric.
10. The article of swimwear of claim 2, wherein said garment is wholly constructed of two or more layers of fabric.
11. A swimsuit substantially as described and illustrated herein with reference to any one of figures 1 through 16.