US2406893A - Garment - Google Patents

Description

E. T.,NUNN

Sept. 3, 1946.;-

GARMENT Filed Sept. 15, 1945 2 She ets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

EL IZABE' TH rem-s NUNN A TT'OENEYS Patented Sept. 3, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT Elizabeth Teresa Nunn, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor of one-half to Joseph River, Ohio inc C. Corcoran, Rocky Application September 13, 1943, Serial No. 502,134

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a garment for women and more particularly to what may be called a strapless brassiere on the one hand, or to any garment whether used as an under-garment or an outer garment, in which the strapless brassire forms the whole or a part thereof. That isto say the distinctive construction and mode of operation of my invention lies within the brassiere, whether the same is worn as an undergarment alone or as an outer garment with or without atshown, for example, in th prior United States Patents Nos. 1,871,106, 1,989,303 and 2,239,056, these taking a range of forms and designs variously designated as bandeau, brassire, corselette and the like. All of the prior art devices known to me, however, have fallen short of the ultimatelydesirable accomplishment of supporting and concealing the breasts of the wearer without discomfort on the one hand and with security and freedom of movement on the other hand.

tating it a little differently, brassieres, bandeaux straint upon the wearer, and on the other hand will permit the wearer to indulge in all reasonable manner of bodily movement incident, for example, to dancing, bowling, golfing and houseworkwithout concern that the garment will fail in any of its intended mechanical or aesthetic functions. Other objects include the provision of simplicity in design and. construction and facility in laundering the garment as well as the manufacture thereof, and the ease with which it may be donned and taken off.

and the like which have contrived to stay in place,

have done so at the expense of comfort .or freedom of movement of the wearer, often by a ise-like grip on the wearers breasts and by the garment being supported by the breasts rather than contributing to the support thereof. 0n the other hand, where a measure of freedom from such a grip and encasement has been provided, it has been obtained at the expense of the wearers peace of mind and at the cost of insecurity incident to th probability of the total or partial escape of all or part of one or both breasts from a position of modesty and concealment. Resort to adhesives and other such temporary expedients, while perhaps satisfactory for temporary or stage-like usage does not of course will exert no uncomfortable confinement or re- In carrying out the objects of my invention, I depart from the teachin and practice of the prior art in principle as well as in particulars of structure and mode of operation as will more fully appear in the following description of a preferred form of my invention, but generally speaking at .least one major and radical step of departure is this: whereas the prior art devices were designed to encompass and confin the whole of the breasts and to fit snugly and generally thereabout, my

thought has been to permit those portions of the breasts which tend to move with respect to the garment or parts thereof, as the wearer changes the position of her body to have a freedom of movement within the garment. At least two distinctive advantages result. On the one hand the wearer enjoys a sense of freedom in that neither the breasts nor adjacent flesh are pinched or 30" confined or stretched as a result of her bodily movement, and on the other hand those portions of the breasts which tend to escape the confines of the garment as when the wearer raises her arms over her head are not restrained from reentry back within the confines or outline of the garment as when her arms are lowered.

Proceeding with this fundamental departure from the teaching of the prior art I have carried out the above mentioned objects, and other objects will become more fully apparent from the following description of a preferred form of my invention, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings in Which-Figure l is an elevation of a preferredform of the brassiere or brassiere part of the garment laid out in a flattened condition; Figure 2 shows collectively th general shape of the several portions or parts of the cloth or cloth-like parts of the garment in pattern-like form prior to their assembly as viewed in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side elevation of the garment as associated with the body of the wearer; Figure 4 is a transverse section along the lines 4-4 through the body of the wearer and garment; Figure 5 is a similar sectional view taken along the line 5- 5 of Figure 3; and Figure 6 is a detail 3 of a portion of the garment in position on the wearer showing partially in phantom view and diagram the relative motion and supporting contact effected between different parts of the breast of the wearer and the encompassing and engaging parts of the garment.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings the brassiere portion I of the garment, which as explained above when used alone comprises the whole of the garment, is preferably made up of a plurality of pairs of vertical right and left segments 2, 3 and 4 shown separately in Figure 2. The segments may be conveniently designated back parts '2, side parts 3 and front parts 4, rights and lefts of each being shown and used in the complete garment. The several parts are joined along substantially vertical seams as shown in Figure 1, and vertical stays 5 are preferably attached to the fabric along the seams which join the side and front parts 3 and 4 along the transversely curved vertically extending lines formed by these seams, that is the curved edges 6 of the side parts 3 and edges i of the front parts 4 when joined as by stitching form the curved seams 8, see Figure 3, which when worn substantially overlie the nipples of the breasts as shown diagrammatically in Figure 4.

The stays 5 as shown in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 3 extend throughout the full height of the garment and throughout the full length of the curved seams 8 which are necessarily of somewhat greater length than the height of the garment when the same is worn. The stays may be formed of suitable material well known in the art such as has been variously employed in socalled corset stays, and while various kinds of material are available, I prefer for convenience the more modern kind of stay, which while having the desired characteristics of resiliency and flexibility, is preferably somewhat pliable and may be stitched directly to the fabric of the garment since its character is such as to permit the passage of needle and thread therethrough. Preferably also are the stays covered by an appropriate patch on the back side of the seam to keep the stay as such out of direct contact with the skin of the wearer. If as this description proceeds I refer for convenience to a relation of contact between the stays and the breast or other part of the wearers body, it will be understood that I have in mind the interposition of an appropriate interior fabric cover for the stay both for the sake of comfort and appearance. When the material of the stay permits direct stitching of the fabric of the garment thereto that readily permits the stays and the fabric adjacent the seams B to be joined substantially throughout at common length as I prefer it. Where the stays do not permit direct stitching, I prefer that this effect of complete juncture be simulated as nearly as practicable. As will be understood b those skilled in the art the stays 5 lie with their minimum dimension transversely of the fabric so as to yield transversely as induced by the shape thereof and the shape of the body and breasts of the wearer. In speaking of pliability I have in mind that the stays may be given a preforming to the curves substantially as shown in Figure 3, retaining a limited resiliency thereafter, or may in the course of use adapt themselves to considerable degree to the shape of the wearers body, saving the resilience to accommodate movement thereof from normal attitudes.

The front parts 4 of the garment are joined along a vertical seam 9, and as S o n in the drawings the bottom edge of these parts is substantially horizontal while the top edges dip appropriately from the upper ends of the seams 8 to the upper end of the seam 9 more or less as the aesthetics of the situation demand to follow more or less the fashion of the V-necks. Since, however, the whole of the upper edge ill of the completed garment will be in a state of limited tension when worn, I prefer that the V formed by the upper edges of the parts 4 lie at an obtuse angle substantially as shown so that no great tension is transmitted to the seam 9 when the garment is in use. Preferably the seam 9 is sewn on the straight of the material.

The parts 2 and 3 are joined along seams II which seams underlie the arms of the wearer when the garment is in use. The edges of the parts 3 which enter into the seams H are preferably cut on the straight of the material, whereas the edges of the parts 2 are preferably cut on the bias to accommodate the reater peripheral length of the upper edge if) of the garment as compared with the lower edge l2 since the lower edge l2 will encircle the waist of the wearer and the upper edge IE! will encompass a greater dimension, see Figure 3. Similarly, the lower edge of the back parts 2 of the garment may be cut on a slight outwardly and downward curve and the upper edge especially of the parts 2 may be curved slightly substantially as shown to carry out the same thought in respect to the shape of the wearers body. The extreme ends of parts 2 may be provided with appropriate attaching means l3, hooks and eyes, zippers, buttons and button holes and the like as may be convenient.

Especially in instances where the wearer has a surplus of fleshy tissue in the zone between her arm pits and her waist band, I provide secondary stays Id shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 along the seams ll positioning and attaching the stays in the same way that the stays 5 are attached adjacent the seams 8, For normally slender women, however, I prefer not to employ the stays M as the same are not necessary under such conditions and of course add to the expense and detract somewhat from the pliability and comfort of the garment as a whole.

The full effective height of the attaching means I3 is preferably equal in height to the height of the outer-most ends of the parts 2, i. e., so that when the garment i worn the whole peripheral length thereof of width or height substantially equaling the height of the outer end edges l5 of the parts 2 can be to a uniform state of tension and snugness about the wearer. This lower portion of the whole garment below the dotted line [6, see Figures 1 and 3, I designate the waist band part of the garment and when the same is worn thi waist band part of the garment is snugly fitted to the wearer and lies entirely below the wearers breasts; the lower edge l2 preferably substantially coinciding with the wearers waist or waist line i. e. the smallest horizontal dimension of her torso. Thus the waist band portion of the garment between the lines l2 and [6 assumes a relatively fixed relation to the body of the wearer when the same is Worn, and regardless of her bodily movement, remains in place at and in a relatively narrow band around and above her waist. Within the wide variations in form and shape of the female torso. the waist band part of the garment as measured for example by the height of the edges [5 and the attaching means I3 is less than one half the height and often extends no more than about one third the height or length of the seams 8 and the stays 5. I have found it quite advantageous to keep the height of the edges I5 and corresponding height of the waist band'part small, i. e. not exceeding the distance from the line to just below the breasts or the wearer because by so doing I reduce and substantially eliminate relative torsional motion between the upper edge if] of the garment and the lower edge l2 thereof when the same is in use and when the torso of the wearer is twisted in normal bodily twisting motion.

That portion of the garment lying above the line Hi, I conveniently designate the breast part of the garment since it covers the breasts of the wearer in the front and front-side portions thereof. As will be seen particularly from consideration of Figures 2 and 3 the lower part of the breast part being integrally joined with and directly adjacent to the upper part of the waist band part will have similar snugnes along and directly above the line l6 which snugness taken with the fullness afforded by the curves of the seams 8 will snugly support the lower-most parts of the breast of the wearer. The fullness of the parts of the garment covering the breasts however is such that the snugness decreases upwardly of the breast part of the garment with the result that when the wearer is standing normally upright the snugness of the fit will ubstantially terminate at the level of the nipples of the breasts, i. e. at about the level of the line 4-4 as viewed in Figure 3 so that the breasts will be I waistline the lower surface portions of her breast lifted somewhat and will tend to rest in the lower will turn outwardly and upwardly curving under the lower portion of the breast and rising to overlie the nipples thereof as shown in Figure a. The upper portion of the breast part i. e. that part'generally above the nipple of the breasts and generally above the line 4-4 of Figure 3 will preferably merely lie adjacent to the upper surface of the breast and adjacent flesh of the wearer and will serve essentially to curve the stays 5 rearwardly and inwardly to conform to the contour of the wearer without bearing snugly or tightly thereupon, as shown with some little exaggeration in Figure 5. While the wearer is standing or sitting in a normally upright position the upper seam or edge id of thegarment, while preferably having some snugness at the back incident to its merging to the waist band portion of the garment and some snugnes on the rising curved line around the back and rear sides of the wearer, may have no direct or taut contact with the chest or upper breast part of the wearer, albeit in this position the edge It) will preferably be closely adjacent thereto.

In Figure 6 I have sought to illustrate diagrammatically the mode of operation resulting from this construction in the fragmentary and diagramm-atical view of the garment adjacent one of the seams 8 and one of the stays 5 when the garment is in use. Since the waist band portion of the garment is snugly fitted, the point a on the wearers skin under the seam 8 will move with the garment whilst the wearers body moves as by bending, stretching, twisting, or otherwise. Similarly the point I) on the wearers skin at the surface of the lower part of her may move with the garment without discomfort. Similarly the point 0 of the surface of the breast of the wearer, which may be substantially at the nipple, may have substantially continuous fixed contact with the garment, and because of the increased thickness of the breast at this point the wearers chest or rib structure can move with respect to the garment while the nipple of her breast remains in substantially fixed contact with the garment without discomfort or inconvenience on the part of the wearer. At the point 11 however, taken for example midway between the top of the breast and nipple I have illustrated by small arrows 20 and 2| how I permit this portion of the wearers breast to move laterally with respect to the garment as the body of the wearer has torsional movement. In this way, the upper breast structure is permitted to move within and behind the upper breast part of the garment with reat freedom and comfort to the wearer, so that whatever themotion of the wearers body the breasts will return to a normal condition of repose and concealment within the garment even though the upper parts thereof tend to be partially exposed by movements of the wearer. Similarly I have sought to indicate by laterally offset vertical arrows 22 and 23 that downward bending or upward stretching movement of the wearer accompanied by corresponding movement of the ribs, pectoral muscles and the upper portions of the breasts relative to the waist of the wearer, and the Waist band portion of the garment, are permitted without discomfort to the wearer and without the hazard of pinching or binding the breasts. Similarly as these portions of the body are free to move relative to the garment, there is no tendency to move the garment from its desired position on the body of the wearer. What has been said especially about the point :2 Will follow in correspondingly greater degree by a point 6 taken thereabove higher on the breast or chest of the wearer, and in lesser degree with respect to other points at and above the point 0. Because as mentioned above the point c is at the thickest part of the breast it will be least induced to move relative to its point of contact with the garment during bodily movement of the wearer. In describing the relative movement between such points a-e in reference to Figure 6 those skilled in the art will of course be mindful of the differences between mature and immature breasts and bodies and the differences resulting from and incident to the degree of lift or uplift which the garment is desired to impart to the breasts, and the adaptation of the shape of the garment to these varying conditions Within the teaching hereof.

By carrying the stays 5 the full length of the seams 8 and throughout the full height of the waist band portion of the garment as above described I am able to eliminate wrinkling of the waist band portion of the garment particularly when the wearer bends forward and in this manner I prevent the garment as a whole from losing its essential position with respect to the torso respect to' the wearers waist, sin-ce if the line l6 were permitted to fall with respect to the breasts of the wearer so would the upper edge I!) of the garment fall or be drawn downwardly and thus expose more of the breasts than intended as well as bind or tend to be carried by the upper parts of the breasts. By placing the stays 5 as far apart as the nipples of the breasts and having them he substantially in the vertical planes of the axes x of the nipples, see Fig. 4 it will be seen that these stays will be relatively widely spaced at the front of the wearers waist whereby to permit and assure great comfort especially when the wearer bends or leans forward since these stays under such conditions do not aim, in the direction of the navel but rather tend at their lower ends to splay outwardly right and left as the wearer bends forward particularly if. the lower end of the stays have or acquire in use a slight outward flare at the bottom as. shown in Figure 3. With the stays overlying thev nipples of. the breasts and lying and flexing in the 'vertical planes of the axes thereof, i. e, the axis of generation of the surface of the breasts, assuming the breast to be hemi-spherical, I avoid the discomfort of the sawing or shearing action of the stays or other relatively unyielding member that lie at the line of junction of the breasts and the wall of the chest especially at and above the level of the nipples, since relative movement between the chest and such stays or members transversely of the direction of flex thereof. tends to shear off or pinch the breasts. much to the wearers discomfort. According to my invention, however, such relative motion is permitted wherever the bulk of the breast does not provide its own rolling or anti-friction support and I obtain both support and concealment on the one hand with all desirable freedom of movement and comfort on the other hand.

While I have not felt it necessary to illustrate While I have illustrated and described the pre ferred form of my invention and what I believe the best manner in which it may be performed and practiced, changes, improvements and modifications therein will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the essential teaching and precepts thereof and I do not care. to be. lirnited to the details and particulars of the preferred form thereof nor in any manner other than, by the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A garment of the strapless, brassiere type comprising a, waist band part adapted to snugly fit the wearer with a lower portion substantially at the wearers waist line and an upper portion adjacent to and below the wearersbreasts, and a breast part of maximum height in thefront of the garment and adapted to rise above the breasts when worn and diminishing in height. to the upper portion of the waist band part at the back of the garment, transverselylflexible stayssecured to the fabric of both said parts and extending from substantially the lower portion of the waist band part to substantially thetopof said breast part at substantially right angles to vsai cl waist band part and being spaced in, saidcgarment, .17

be substantially aligned with the nipples of the wearers breasts, the said breast part having a front fullness adjacent said stays with the fullness restricted from the bottom edge of the breast part to about the middle height of the breasts, whereby to draw the lower portion of said breast part and adjacent portions of said stays snugly against the lower parts, of the breasts with decreasing snugness at increasing heights, and with the said fullness increased thereabove to permit substantial freedom of movement between the surfaces of the upper parts of the breasts and the inner surface of the fabric of the upper portion of said breast part of the garment, the upper edge of said breast part being in a state of tension opposing the tendency of said stays to stand away from the curved surface of the upper parts of the breasts and drawing the upper parts of said stays and adjacent fabric of the breast part of the garment back to substantially no more than free sliding contact with the surfacesof the upper parts of the breasts.

2. A garment of the strapless brassiere type comprising a waist band part adapted to fit the wearer with its lower edge not substantially above the wearers waist line and its upper edge below the wearers breasts, and a breast part of maximum, height at the front of the garment and adapted to cover the wearers breasts, said breast part decreasing in, height from front to back and merging with the upper edge of the Waist band part at the back, stays extending upwardly from said waist band part of said garment into said breast part thereof, and spaced apart and secured in the front part of said garment whereby to be aligned respectively with the nipples of the wearers breasts when said garment is worn, the said breast part having a front fullness restricted from the bottom edge of the breast part to about the middle height of the breasts, whereby to draw the lower portion of said breast part and adjacent portions of said stays snugly against the lower parts of the breasts with decreasing snugness at increasing heights and with the said fullness increased from about the middle height of the breasts upwardly to permit substantial freedom of movement between the surfaces of the upper parts of the breasts and adjacent flesh and the inner surfaces of the upper portion of said breast part and adjacent stays of the garment, the upper edge portion of the garment holding the upper parts of said stays and the adjacent fabric of the breast part of the garment back to substantially novmore than free sliding contact with the surfaces of the upper parts of the breasts, the said breast and waist band parts comprising vertically extending integral pieces of fabric joined on vertically extending seams cut to achieve the said fullness and to otherwise conform to the contour of thewearer, and the fabric of at least the said breast part being devoid of substantial tendency to contract or stretch while being worn.

3. A garment Of the strapless brassiere type comprising a waist band part adapted to snugly fit the wearer with its lower edge substantially at the wearers waist line and its upper edge terminatingsubstantially in aplane adjacent to and below thewearersbreasts, and abreast part of maximum height at points adapted to be above the wearers breasts and diminishing in height to substantial merger with the upper edge of the waist band part at the back of the. garment, transversely pliable and resilient vertically disposed, stays associated with both said partsand extending from the lower edge of said waist band part to the points of maximum height of said breast part and disposed in said garment to substantially overlie the nipples of the wearers breasts when the garment is worn, the said breast part having a front fullness adapted to be disposed adjacent the breasts of the wearer with the fullness restricted from the bottom edge of the breast part to about the wearers middle height of the breasts, whereby to support the lower parts of the breasts, and with the said fullness increased thereabove to permit substantial freedom of movement between the surfaces of the upper parts of the breasts and the inner surface of the upper portion of said breast part of the garment, the upper edge of the garment merging with the upper edge of the said waist band part at the back and being in a state of tension drawing the upper parts of said stays and the adjacent fabric of the breast part of the garment back to substantially no more than free sliding contact with the surfaces of the upper parts of the wearers breasts, the snugness of the waist band part constraining said stays to support the wearers lower parts of the breasts and curve thereunder, and the lower parts of said stays preventing wrinkling of the adjacent fabric of waist band part of the garment, said garment being devoid of stays adjacent theline of junction between the upper and side portions of the wearers breasts and chest.

4. A garment of the strapless brassiere type comprising a waist band part snugly fitting the wearer with its lower edge substantially at the wearers waist line and its upper edge terminating substantially in a horizontal plane adjacent to and below the wearers breasts, and a breast part of maximum height at points adapted to lie above the breasts respectively and diminishing in height to substantial merger with the upper edge of the waist band part at the back of the wearer, flexible resilient vertically disposed stays secured to the fabric throughout both said parts and extending from the lower-most edge of said waist band part to the points of maximum height of said breast part and adapted to substantially overlie the nipples of the wearers breasts, the said breast part having a front fullness adjacent said stays with the fullness restricted from the bottom edge of the breast part to about the middle height of the breasts, whereby to draw the lower portion of said breast part snugly against the lower parts of the breasts with decreasing snugness at increasin heights to support particularly the lower parts of the breasts, and with the said fullness increased thereabove to permit substantial freedom of movement between the surfaces of the upper parts of the breasts and adjacent flesh and the inner surface of the upper portion of said breast part of the garment, the upper edge of said breast part merging with the upper edge of the said waist band part at the back and being in a state of tension opposing the tendency of said stays to stand away from the curved surface of the upper parts of the breasts and drawing void of substantial tendency to contract or stretch while being worn, the snugness of the waist band part constraining said stays to support the lower parts of the breasts and curve thereunder and the lower parts of said stays preventing wrinkling of the adjacent fabric of waist band part of the garment.

5. A strapless brassire adapted to fit the wearer snugly about the waist and under the parts of her breasts below the nipples thereof and more loosely cover the upper parts of her breasts, having resilient stays extending substantially the full height of the garment which stays are spaced in said garment to lie adjabent each breast of the wearer only adjacent the nipples thereof, each stay being disposed in the garment to lie when worn with its curving longitudinal center line substantially in the vertical plane of the axis of generation of the respective adjacent breast of the wearer, and each stay being adapted to flex with said garment in said respective plane and have yielding support with said garment for each breast of the wearer below the nipple thereof.

6. A garment of the strapless brassiere type comprising a lower waist band part adapted to encircle a female torso in and above the waist and below the breasts thereof, a breast part rising from said waist band part to a height at its upper edge at least in the front of said garment sufficient to substantially overlie said breasts when said waist band part so encircles said torso, said breast part having spaced fullnesses adapted to accommodate each of said breasts, transversely yieldable stays spaced apart and secured to said waist band and breast parts of said garment and disposed at substantially right angles to said waist band part thereof and lying in the said fulness of said breast part and extending substantially the full height thereof whereby to uphold the upper edge of the breast part over the wearers breasts, said stays being disposed in said arment and in the said fullnesses thereof to lie when worn with their curving longitudinal axes adjacent the thicker mid-porti0ns of the breasts and away from the thinner side edge portions thereof, said stays being adapted to flex transversely with said garment and give yielding support with said garment for the breasts of the wearer below the height of the nipples thereof, the said upper edge of said garment constraining the upper parts of said stays to curved proximity with the upper parts of said breasts when the garment is worn.

ELIZABETH TERESA NUN N.

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