US1956489A - Sport shirt - Google Patents

Description

April 24, 1934. F w BRYANT 1,956,489

SPORT SHIRT Filed Aug. 3l,v 1933 ATTO RN EY5 Patented Apr. 24, 1934v IUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to garments, and particularly to mens outer shirts intended for sportswear, for example, while riding or playing tennis or golf.

The shirt which is customarily worn at present while playing tennis or golf or riding horseback is the ordinary coat type of shirt with soft turneddown or folding collar attached. Such shirts are designed to be worn with neckties, but in warm weather the tension of the necktie draws the collar closely about the neck and makes the shirt uncomfortable, so that it is the usual practice to remove the necktie and unbutton the collar button, and sometimes theuppermost shirt button, thereby leaving the neck open. Although a high degree of comfort is secured in this manner, the neat appearance of the garment is decidedly aifected and there are many occasions when the ordinary shirt cannot be worn with the neck 0 open and without a necktie.

The object of the present invention is to provide a shirt which is so constructed that it is as comfortable as the ordinary shirt when worn open at the neck, and at the same time presents a neat and attractive appearance, entirely avoid-v ing the objections of the ordinary shirt in this respect.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shirt which is comfortable at the neck and attrac- 30 tive in appearance for sportswear although Aworn without a necktie, and which can also be quickly and comfortably adjusted for wear with the conventional necktie if desired.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawing and will be understood from the following detailed description taken in connection with this drawing:

In this drawing: Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of my im- 40 proved shirt with the front and back portions of the shirt collapsed and resting against one another in flat condition, and with the sleeves shown broken away.

Fig. 2 represents a perspective view of the shirt showing the positions of the various parts thereof when in position on the body of the wearer.'

Fig. 3 represents a vertical section taken on a plane indicated by line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3a is similar to Fig. 3, but shows a modified construction.

Fig. 4 re resents a fragmentary and somewhat enlarged viv W similar to Fig. 1, with the parts of the shirt adjusted to receive a conventional neck-A tie, and

^ few sizes too large for the wearer.

-Fig. 5 represents a plan view of the upper portion of the shirt showing the shape of the various parts thereof with the collar unfolded and all parts lying flat in a single horizontal plane.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing, the principal parts of my improved shirt are in general similar to the ordinary shirt in that they include a back portion 1, front sections 2 and 3, and a yoke 4 across the shoulders'. A collar 5 is provided having a neck-band portion 6, a. turneddown or folding portion '7 and buttoning tabs 8 65 and 9. The front portions 2 and 3 overlap one another as is customary with shirts of thev coat type and are fastened together by means of buttons 10 and button-holes 11. The buttoning tabs of the collar are held together by means of a '(0 collar button 12. i

I have found that if instead of making the collar of the shirt to snugly t around the neck as in the case of the ordinary collar-attached soft shirt, the collar is so constructed that it will 'I5 drop down at the front below the Adams apple, ,j the degree of comfort and freedom thus obtained is substantially as great as when the collar button 'of the shirt'is unbuttoned and the upper part of the shirt is worn open. It is diicult, however, to avoid the appearance of a shirt which is merely a The collar must be made to lie against the back or nape Iof the neck and stay in this position, and the front portions of the collar must be made to hug the surface of the body adjacent the base of the neck and not project out into space .away from the body. In order to obtain these necessary results, I construct the line of union 13 between the neckband 6 of the collar and the upper margin of the shirt, as shown in Fig'. 5.

At the center of the collar, midway between its ends, that is, at the center ofthe back of the collar, this line of union. is curved in the reversed direction from the portions 14 and 14a of this line and away from the longitudinal center line of the collar. This causes the collar, when in position on the body of the wearer, to be pushed upwardly in such a way that the upper edge of the folded collar will always remain in position against the wearers neck. The portions 14 and 14a. of the line of union 13 are the points which are closest to the longitudinal center line of the collar and beyond these portions the line of union curves downwardly so as to carry the two ends of the collar over the top of the wearers shoulders and cause the collar to rest upon the surface yof the body adjacent the base of the neck instead of hugging closely about the neck proper as in the construction of the ordinary shirt collar. im

Ity has been heretofore proposed to construct shirts in such a manner that only a Very few sizes of neck-bands would be required to be carried in stock, but the diiculty with such shirts is that, as mentioned before, they are apt to have an illtting appearance which suggests that the wearer merely selected a shirt which is several sizes too large. With the shirt constructed in accordance with my invention as just described, however, this difliculty is eliminated and the collar sits neatly in place, fitting closely the lines of the body around the base of the neck.

In my improved collar the ends of the neckband are buttoned together by means of the button 12 at a point approximatelylof an inch lower than in the ordinary soft collar attached shirt so as to just expose the Adams apple, as illustrated in Fig. 2. By making the buttoning tabs 8 and 9 extend at substantially 45 to the longitudinal center line of the collar when the garment is laid out flat, as shown in Fig. 5, the front of the collar is brought into substantially the desired position with respect to the Adams apple.

In order to give the shirt a finished appearance and at the same time avoid the application of tension to the neck-band 6, as would be produced by the use of the ordinary necktie, or by necktie parts attached to the shirt collar as has been heretofore proposed, I provide the panel member or dickey 15. The panel member is so shaped as to substantially fill the space between the points of the collar 16 when the shirt is in position on the body of the wearer, as shown in Fig. 2. It is preferably formed with a widened body portion as shown and with a comparatively narrow upper or attachment portion '1'7 which extends upwardly over the edges of the buttoning tabs 8 and 9 and is secured to the inner surface of one of these or to the shirt. This attachment portion 17 is preferably of sucient width to prevent the panel 15 from getting out of place during the wear of the garment because of twisting or turning, and it is arranged to fill the space between the throat portions 18 of the collar. In this way the panel extends in a smooth fold 19 (see Fig. 3) over the uper edges of the buttoning tabs 8 and 9 and provides a smooth rounded surface at the front of the neck just beneath the Adams apple which prevents the irritation of the neck by the sharp edges of the buttoningtabs 8 and 9 and increases to a remarkable degree the comfort of the shirt.

The appearance of the shirt is enhanced by the use of the panel 15 also because of the fact that the panel conceals the buttoning tabs and collar button 12. Although the attachment portion 17 of the panel is preferably of substantial width and the buttoning tabs 8 and 9. are somewhat longer than the usual collar thereby Aseparating the throat portions 18 to a greater extent 'than customary so as to provide a substantial width to the fold 19, it .will be understood that these parts may be made as narrow as desired. It will be understood that the shape of the lower or body portion of the panel may be varied to suit the taste of the designer, but the panel preferably extends in length to about the second shirt button 10 from the top, since a panel of this length is sufficient to provide a nish forthe space between the collar point 16 and at the same time is not unwieldy so as to cause annoyance.

The panel 15, as shown in Fig. 3, is preferably constructed in substantially the same manner as the shirt collar 5. That is to say, it is provided with inner and outer covering portions 20 and 21 between which is placed a filler portion 22 so as to give about the same stiffness or body to the panel as is possessed by the collar. Preferably the inner covering portion 20 is provided with a button hole 23 which is adapted to be secured to the second shirt button 10 from the top so as to hold the panel in position closely adjacent the front of the shirt and thereby prevent any annoyance or interference with the wearer which might distract his attention.

The attachment portion 17 of the panel is preferably secured to the shirt by the same line of stitching 24 by means of which the buttoning tab 9 of the collar is secured to the front section 3 of the shirt. It may, however, be secured directly to the buttoning tab 9 if desired, as shown in Fig. 3a. It may also be secured to the front section 2 of the shirt or to the buttoning tab 8, but that arrangement is not so desirable as that shown in Fig. 3 where the soft fold 19 is arranged to cover the upper edges of both buttoning tabs 8 and 9.

As shown in Fig. 4, when desired, after finishing a game of tennis or golf, the panel 15 may be turned inside of the shirt to thev position shown in dotted lines where it will be concealed from view without affecting the comfort of the wearer, and an ordinary necktie may be worn beneath the turned-down collar 5. As shown in Fig. 2, the shirt is provided with short sleeves reaching lnot quite to the elbows but it will be understood that the sleeves may be of wrist length and provided with cuffs in the usual manner if desired.

By means of my invention a sport shirt of unusual comfort and extremely attractive appearance has been provided, and thisresult has been obtained to a large degree by the use of the folding panel 15 which renders the shirt neat in appearance while at the same time avoiding the use of any tightly encircling band, such as a necktie, about the neck. The provision of the collar of the particular construction above described so that the rear of the collar will stay in position at theback of the neck and/so that the front of the collar will assume a position just below the Adams apple, also adds greatly to the comfort of the shirt. The use of the panel 15, however, with a shirt having a collar of substantially the customary shape and t produces a remarkable degree of comfort.

It will be understood that the above merely is an exemplifying disclosure of my invention and that changes may be made in the shape and proportion of the various parts, and also in other ways without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A garment comprising a shirt having an upper portion including a turned-down or folding collar, and a panel member attached to the said upper portion to swing vertically and hang centrally between the points of the collar against the front of the shirt and to ll substantially the space between the points of the collar.

2. A garment lcomprising a shirt having its front portions adapted to overlap and button together along the vertical center line thereof, a foldingVV collar the neck-band portion of which is attached to the shirt and provided with buttoning tabs, and a panel member attached to the inner surface of the innermost of said overlapping shirt front portions and adapted to be folded vertically and outwardly over the top edges of said overlapping buttoning tabs and hang centrally between the points of the collar against the front of the shirt.

3. A garment comprising a shirt having an upper portion including a turned-down or folding collar, and a panel member lying against the shirt'l front and having a body portion widened laterally to occupy a substantial part of the area between the points of the collar, said panel member being provided with a narrowed portion extending in a soft curve or fold over the top edge of the shirt between the throat portions of the collar and attached to the inner surface of said upper 4portion of the shirt.

4. A garment comprising a shirt having an upper portion including a collar adapted to t loosely about the neck, and a panel member attached to the inner surface of said upper portion of the shirt and adapted to swing vertically and form a soft fold over the upper edge of said collar and hang centrally between the points of the collar against the front of the shirt.

5. In combination with a shirt having its front portions adapted to overlap and button together along the vertical center line thereof and having an upper portion including a folding collar, the neck-band portion of which is attached to the shirt; a panel member attached to the said upper portion of the shirt to swing and hang centrally between the ends of the collar against the front of the shirt and to ll substantially the space over one of the buttons on the front of the shirt.

7. In combination with a shirt having its front portions adapted to overlap and button together along the vertical center line thereof said portions including a folding collar, the neck-band portion of which is attached to the shirt; a panel member attached to the innermost of said overlapping front portions and adapted to extend over the top of the outermost of said overlapping front portions and hang centrally between the points of the collar against thefront of the shirt.

FREDRIC W. BRYANT.

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