US2078732A - Protector for suede shoes - Google Patents

Description

April 27, 1937. M PAL ER 2,078,732

PROTECTOR FOR SUEDE SHOES Filed March 14, 1936 fiwen Z07.

I JEZZyOJ/XL atentefl Apr. 27, 1937 STATES PATENT OFFICE.

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a protector for shoes having a nap, and, more particularly, to a protector for suede shoes adapted to be worn under a galosh, or the like.

One feature of this invention is that it pre vents the injurious eflects on a shoe having a nap, such as a suede shoe, resulting from wearing a galosh thereover.

Another feature of this invention is that the protector adheres firmly to the nap of such a shoe and facilitates removal of a galosh therefrom.

Other features and advantages will be apparent from the following specification and the drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a shoe having the protector in place thereon; Fig. 2 is a side view of said protector removed from the shoe and substantially flattened ,out; and Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the shoe and protector shown in Fig. 1, with a portion of the protector broken away to show the napped material beneath it.

Shoes having a nap have always presented a serious problem when outdoor conditions were wet or otherwise unpleasant. If a suede shoe, for example, becomes wet, the shoe is practically ruined, since the nap cannot be restored to its previous condition, nor can the water marks be completely removed. A leather shoe of the usual type can, of course, be polished after a wetting; a suede shoe cannot. On the other hand, if overshoes are worn over a suede shoe, two problems are presented. The overshoe tends to wear an the nap of the suede at por-.

tions of the shoe where friction results between the galosh and the shoe when walking, more particularly over the toe and vamp. Moreover, suede has a tendency, because of its nap, to stick to the overshoes and thus make them diflicult to remove, sometimes bringing the entire shoe off the foot in the process. The wearing effect of galoshes on the nap of the shoe is well known to the shoe trade and to women in general, but heretofore no means have been provided to prevent such wear. The trade has, instead, acquiesced in such wear and has attempted to restore the nap afterwards, the most frequent way being by the use of a steel bristled brush on the shoe.

The present invention comprises forming a protector of resilient fabric and shaping it to conform to the contours of the shoe. The protector is drawn over the suede shoe prior to the placing of the galosh thereover and forms a protecting layer adhering to the nap of the suede, so that any friction which may result from walking takes place between the outer surface of the protector and the inner surface of the galosh, the protector always remaining in place on the suede shoe without shifting. The outer surface of the protector is relatively smooth, having little or no tendency to stick to the rubber or lining of the usual galosh and, therefore, removal of the galosh is greatly facilitated.

In the particular embodiment of this in-. vention illustrated herewith, the reference numeral I indicate:- a pump or shoe having a suede upper portion, with a heel Ii. A protector ll of a resilient material is so shaped as to conform, with a slight stretch, to the major portion of said shoe. It is provided with a body portion l3, an enlarged toe portion l4, and a back portion IS. The body of the fabric has two openings therethrough, an elongated opening I6 in the upper part thereof and a smaller opening I! in the lower part thereof adapted to permit the heel H to project therethrough. The toe portion I4 is enlarged somewhat with respect to the remainder of the fabric body and is designed to completely cover the toe and vamp portion of the shoe ID. The back portion I5 is formed forwardly in the upper part thereof, so that the periphery of the opening I6 is slightly smaller, when in unstretched position, than the periphery of the corresponding opening IS in the shoe H]. The fabric of the protector I2 is thus placed under a certain amount of tension when in position, which increases the effectiveness of the nap in holding the protector in position on the shoe.

The protector is of a resilient fabric preferably knitted with a stocking type of stitch and formed to the desired shape. It may be knitted of any common thread, but it has been found that a fabric having all or a large proportion thereof of cotton gives the best results. A protector of the type described, comprising a fabric with a large cotton content knitted to be somewhat resilient, locks itself on the nap of the shoe, and stays in position even when the galosh is drawn on or removed from the protector-enveloped shoe. The cotton and the nap of the suede seem to form a combination locking the protector in place.

The protector performs a function which is not met by the usual cloth lining within a galosh. Since the lining is a part of the galosh, any friction which exists between surfaces exists between the outer surface of the suede and the inner surface of the lining of the galosh', resulting in the undesirable wearing on the suede. This wearing is very rapid, and two or three occasions on which galoshes are worn can completely ruin 5 a pair of suede shoes. With the protector adhering to the surface of the suede, however, the friction which is inevitable exists between the outer surface of the protector and the galosh. and the locking action of the protectoron the surface of the suede prevents any movement therebetween. It has been found that this looking action is improved if the protector is so designed that its resilient fabric is under slight tension when in place on the shoe. If desired, a light elastic may also be used around the periphery of the upper opening.

The functions of the protector are particularly important with a suede shoe, as described above. The advantageous results are equally secured, however, in connection with any shoe having a body portion of material with a nap. Thus, the invention may be used to advantage, for example, with evening slippers, either entirely composed of velvet or moire, or having ribbed portions of similar material. These latter-named materials are, of course, the equivalents of suede in that they have a nap on the outer surface thereof, particularly subject to wear. The protector may likewise be used advantageously with rubbers, overshoes, or any other equivalent of galoshes.

The fabric of which the protector is composed must have some resilience, and it has been found that the usual stocking type of stitch, machine knitted, provides just about the desired amount of resilience. In addition, fabric knit in this way has ridges and loop portions which cooperate with the fibres of the nap better than ordinary woven material, the nap fibres projecting into the spaces between ribs and into the centers of the loops and locking the protector in place on the outer surface of the shoe. This is an important feature, since in order to be practical the protector, when once drawn on, must remain in place without shifting when the galosh is drawn onto or removed from the shoe.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible, in view of the prior art.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

In combination with a suede shoe provided with a nap, a resilient fabric body shaped to fit the contour of the major portion of said shoe, the body being provided with an upper opening and a lower heel opening, said fabric being interlocked with said nap whereby it adheres to said shoe against removal when the galosh is drawn on or removed from said shoe.

MARIE (i. PALMER.

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