US3035586A

US3035586A - Foundation garment

Info

Publication number: US3035586A
Application number: US820265A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bell Mildred
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-06-15
Filing date: 1959-06-15
Publication date: 1962-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 1979-05-22

Description

May 22, 1962 M. BELL FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed June 15, 1959 INVENTOR. M/Lbfic'D BELL ditm...

United States Patent 3,035,586 FOUNDATION GARMENT Mildred Bell, 232 Richmond Ave., Staten Island, N.Y. Filed June 15, 1959, Ser. No. 820,265 9 Claims. (Cl. 128524) This invention relates to foundation garments and more particularly to girdles of the general construction disclosed in my U.S. Patent No. 2,879,771.

As described in said patent, there is provided a foundation garment wherein the predominant lines of tension therein run in a direction in line with or approximating the direction of the muscles of the body of the wearer, particularly that of the long flat muscles that extend along the whole length of the abdomen and named rectus abdominus, that of the oblique external muscles of the abdomen, and that of the gluteus maximus muscles on the back of the body. The girdle is so constructed that the lines of tension approximate the direction of said muscles, thus aiding and complementing the use thereof, and consequently causing the body to be supported in a natural way avoiding pressures on the diaphragm and other parts of the body and thus giving the wearer of said garment a normal, natural, youthful and healthy figure and appearance.

When the wearer of the foundation garment is seated or assumes a bending position, the stretch direction in said garment being complementary to that of the muscles being contracted, there is in addition no resulting riding down of said garment. Likewise, there is no riding up of the leg portions of said garment due to the stretch direction of the garment fabric around the legs.

The girdle of my present invention is constructed in accordance with the above described principles and in addition there are incorporated in complementary parts of the girdle side panels which extend vertically of the girdle in such position that they overlie the iliotibial bands or tracts of the body and extend in the same direction as said bands. Said side panels flatten and prevent or reduce bulging of the underlying parts of the wearers body without detracting from the effectiveness of the construction described and claimed in said patent.

More specifically, the girdle of this invention comp-rises a body encircling and compressive girdle adapted to overlie the wearers abdomen, hips and buttocks and thighs, said girdle being formed of complementary parts stitched to each other along vertical, front and rear medial lines, said girdle comprising elastic compressive material and having upper front and side portions which extend rearwardly from said front medial line of the girdle and over the region corresponding to that of the hips of the wearer when said garment is on the wearer and portions which are continuous with said upper side portions and which extend to said rear medial line of the girdle downwardly over the region corresponding to that of buttocks of the wearer, said girdle having lower front and side portions below said first mentioned side portions, said upper front and side portions having a greater compressive elasticity laterally of the wearer than said lower side portions of the girdle and coacting with said buttock portions to provide an upwardly acting resilient support for the wearers buttocks, said girdle comprising two sections secured to each other by vertical seams at said front and rear vertical lines, and side panels are inserted as portions of said comp ementary parts of the girdle and overlie the iliotibial tracts. Said inserted panels in said complementary parts of the girdle are preferably formed in single layers, respectively, of one-Way stretch elastic fabric, e.g., satin Lastex, and are arranged in the girdle so that the stretch is in a vertical direction. Further, the inserted side panels are relatively narrow in the upper portions thereof, i.e., in the region of the waist line of the garment and are relatively wide in the lower portions, i.e., in the region of the wearers hips and thighs, whereby to obtain the optimum eflect of the intended function of said panels.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the girdle is so designed that the part at the waist line extends in contoured fashion around the wearer along a line substantially coincident with the wearers natural bend line at the waist line of the body.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a girdle embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, on the line 22 of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the girdle; and

.FIG. 4 is a sectionm view, on a larger scale, on the line 44 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, the girdle comprises the complementary parts It} and 12 which are stitched to each other along vertical front and rear

medial lines

14 and 16, respectively. Each of said complementary parts It) and 12 comprises front and rear upper panel parts which include inner and outer layers indicated at 18 and 20, respectively, in the cases of part 10, and at 22 and 24, respectively, in the case of part 12. As indicated by the horizontal and vertical arrows the inner and outer layers of each of

parts

10 and 12 are made of elastic fabric of diflerential stretch characteristics and in the case of a panty-girdle, the outer layer is continuous with the

leg parts

26 and 28, respectively, as described in my above mentioned patent. Also, in the panty-girdle, the outer fabric layers have an easier stretch laterally than vertically while the superposed inner layers have an easier stretch vertically than laterally. The upper and lower edges of the

inner layers

18 and 22 are stitched to the outer layers by the lines of zig-zag stitching indicated at 30 and 32, respectively.

In accordance with the present invention,

side panels

34 and 36 are inserted in the

parts

10 and 12, respectively, in positions in which each of said panels overlies the fascial layer of the iliotibial tract at the corresponding side of the wearers body. Each of said panels preferably consists of a single layer of elastic fabric which is stretchable vertically and non-stretchable laterally as disposed in the garment. Panel 34 is stitched in part 10 by the lines of

stitching

38 and 40 which can stretch vertically, and panel 36 is similarly stitched in part 12 by the lines of

stitching

42 and 44 which are vertically stretchable. The inserted

panels

34 and 36 in the two sections or

complementary parts

10 and 12, respectively,

although formed of single layers of fabric, are continuous with the laterally adjacent portions of the sections in which front and side portions which extend rearwardly from said front medial line of the girdle and over the region corresponding to that of the hips of the wearer when said garment is on the wearer and portions which are continuous with said upper side portions and which extend to said rear medial line of the girdle downwardly over the region corresponding to that of the buttocks of the wearer, said girdle having lower front and side portions below said first mentioned side portions, said upper front and side portions having a greater compressive elasticity laterally of the wearer than said lower side portions of the girdle and coacting with said buttock portions to provide an upwardly acting resilient support for the wearers buttocks. As indicated above

panels

34 and 36 are preferably made of satin Lastex fabric. It will be observed that the upper part 46 of each panel near the waist line is relatively narrow and that the panel is of substantially increased width in the regions of the hips and thighs so as to provide the desired flattening effect in said last mentioned regions without excessive constriction in the region of the waistline.

The waist line region of the girdle is contoured, as previously stated herein, so that it corresponds to the natural bend line of the body. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, for example, the upper edge of the girdle is lower at its front medial part 47 than at the upper side edge portions 48 and that the back medial edge portion 54) is lower than said side edge portions 48 but somewhat higher than the front medial portion 47. It will be understood, however, that the waist line contour of this character is provided along a corresponding curve of gradual variation, as illustrated, as distinguished from abrupt changes in contouring of the waist line region of the garment.

When the garment is a panty-girdle, the outer two-way stretch fabric which includes the

layers

26 and 24 is preferably of the indicated stretch characteristics relative to the above indicated stretch characteristics of the

inner layers

18 and 22, but in a girdle which does not hav legencircling parts, outer layers may have a less easier lateral stretch than the inner layers. Also, in the case of a pantygirdle provided with the laterally non-elastic fabric of the

side panels

34 and 36, the lateral stretch of the outer fabric layers of the two sections and 12 is preferably easier than in a girdle which is devoid of leg-encircling portions, so as to avoid excessive constrictive pressure circumferentially of the wearers thighs.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise than as herein specifically illustrated or described, and that certain changes in the form and arrangement of parts and in the specific manner of practicing the invention may be made without departing from the underlying idea or principles of this invention within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A foundation garment comprising, a main body encircling and compressive member made of elastic material and having greater stretching ability circumferentially thereof than vertically thereof, and a panel having greater stretching ability vertically thereof than circumferentially thereof extending circumferentially of said body member in the region corresponding to that of the abdomen, hips and buttocks when said garment is on the wearer and having greater resistance to stretch circumferentially than said main body member and having a configuration such that the combined effect of said body member and panel provide said foundation garment with lines of tension and stretch running in a direction approximating the direction of action of the wearers muscles on said regions of the body, said main body encircling member and said panel comprising two sections, each of said sections having a vertically extending side panel overlying the fascial layer of the iliotibial tract of the wearers body when the garment is worn, said sections extending in opposite directions from a central vertical line at the front of the garment to one side of said side panel and from the opposite side of said side panel to a central vertical line at the back of the garment, said two sections being stitched to each other by front and rear central vertical lines of stitching at said front and rear vertical lines, respectively, of the garment, said side panels being secured in each of said sections by laterally spaced vertical lines of stitching.

2. A garment of the class described, comprising a body encircling and compressive girdle adapted to overlie the wearers abdomen, hips and buttocks and thighs, said girdle being formed of complementary parts stitched to each other along vertical, front and rear medial lines, said girdle comprising elastic compressive material and having upper front and side portions which extend rearwardly from said front medial line of the girdle and over the region corresponding to that of the hips of the wearer when said garment is on the wearer and portions which are continuous with said upper side portions and which extend to said rear medial line of the girdle downwardly over the region corresponding to that of the buttocks of the wearer, said girdle having lower front and side portions below said upper side portions, said upper front and side portions having a greater compressive elasticity laterally of the wearer than said lower side portions of the girdle and coacting with said buttock portions of the girdle to provide an upwardly acting resilient support for the wearers buttocks, said upper and lower side portions of said body encircling girdle comprising vertically extending side panels inserted in each of said complementary parts in the regions overlying the fascial layer of the iliotibial tract of the wearers body when said garment is worn, and secured in each of said parts by laterally spaced vertical lines of stitching.

3. A garment of the class described, comprising a girdle having a body encircling part comprising front and rear parts each having superimposed layers of fabric overlying the wearers abdomen and buttocks, respectively, one of the layers in each of said parts having an easier stretch vertically than laterally and the other layer in each of said parts having an easier stretch laterally than vertically, and side panels of vertically tretchable elastic fabric disposed in the girdle at each side thereof between said front and rear parts and overlying the iliotibial tract of the wearers body when the garment is worn, saidside panels being secured to said front and rear parts by vertical stretchable lines of stitching, said side panels and said front and rear parts having a configuration such that the combined effect of said side panels and said front and rear parts provide said garment with lines of tension and stretch running in a direction approximating the direction of action of the wearers muscles on said regions of the body.

4. A garment of the class described, comprising a girdle having a body encircling part comprising front and rear parts each having superimposed layers of fabric overlying the wearers abdomen and buttocks, respectively, one of the layers in each of said parts having an easier stretch vertically than laterally and the other layer in each of said parts having an easier stretch laterally than vertically, and side panels of vertically stretchable elastic fabric disposed in the girdle at each side thereof between said front and rear parts overlying the iliotibial tract of the wearers body when the garment is worn, said side panels being secured to said front and rear parts by vertical stretchable lines of stitching, said side panels being substantially wider in the region of the wearers hips and thighs than at the waist line region, said side panels and said front and rear parts having a configuration such that the combined effect of said side panels and said front and rear parts provide said garment with lines of tension and stretch running in a direction approximating the direction of action of the wearers muscles on said regions of the body.

5. A garment of the class described, comprising a girdle having a body encircling part comprising front and rear parts each having superimposed layers of fabric overlying the wearers abdomen and buttocks, respectively, one of the layers in each of said parts having an easier stretch vertically than laterally and the other layer in each of said parts having an easier stretch laterally than vertically, and side panels of vertically stretchable elastic fabric disposed in the girdle at each side thereof between said front and rear parts and overlying the iliotibial tract of the wearers body when the garment is worn, said side panels being secured to said front and rear parts by vertical stretchable lines of stitching, said side panels being composed of one-way stretch fabric, said side panels and said front and rear parts having a configuration such that the combined effect of said side panels and said front and rear parts provide said garment with lines of tension and stretch running in a direction approximating the direction of action of the wearers muscles on said regions of the body.

6. A garment of the CilSS described, comprising a girdie having a body encircling part comprising front and rear parts each having superimposed layers of fabric overlying the wearers abdomen and buttocks, respectively, one of the layers in each of said parts having an easier stretch vertically than laterally and the other layer in each of said parts having an easier stretch laterally than vertically, and side panels of vertically stretchable elastic fabric disposed in the girdle at each side thereof between said front and rear parts and overlying the iliotibial tract of the wearers body when the garment is worn, said side panels being secured to said front and rear parts by vertical stretchable lines of stitching, said side panels being composed of one-way stretch fabric, said side panels being substantially wider in the region of the wearers hips and thighs than at the waist line region, said side panels and said front and rear parts having a configuration such that the combined effect of said side panels and said front and rear parts provide said garment with lines of tension and stretch running in a direction approximating the direction of action of the wearers muscles on said regions of the body.

7. A foundation garment comprising, a main body encircling and compressive member made of elastic material and having greater stretching ability circumferentially thereof than vertically thereof, and a panel having greater stretching ability vertically thereof than circumferentially thereof extending circumferentially of said body member in the region corresponding to that of the abdomen, hips and buttocks when said garment is on the wearer and having greater resistance to stretch circumferentially than said main body member and having a configuration such that the combined effect of said body member and panel provide said foundation garment with lines of tension and stretch running in a direction approximating the direction of action of the Wearers muscles on said regions of the body, said main body encircling member and said panel comprising two sections, each of said sections having a vertically extending side panel overlying the fascial layer of the iliotibial tract of the wearers body when the garment is Worn, said sections extending in opposite directions from a central vertical line at the front of the garment to one side of said side panel and from the opposite side of said side panel to a central vertical line at the back of the garment, said two sections being stitched to each other by front and rear central vertical lines of stitching at said front and rear vertical lines, respectively, of the garment, said side panels being secured in each of said sections by laterally spaced vertical lines of stitching, and said vertically extending side panels and said last mentioned vertical lines of stitching being stretchable in a vertical direction.

8. A foundation garment comprising, a main body encircling and compressive member made of elastic material and having greater stretching ability circumferentially thereof than vertically thereof, and a panel having greater stretching'ability vertically thereof than circumerentially thereof extending circumferentially of said body member in the region corresponding to that of the abdomen, hips and buttocks when said garment is on the wearer and having greater resistance to stretch circumferentially than said main body member and having a configuration such that the combined effect of said body member and panel provide said foundation garment with lines of tension and stretch running in a direction ap proximating the direction of action of the wearers muscles on said regions of the body, said main body encircling member and said panel comprising two sections, each of said sections having a vertically extending side panel overlying the fascial layer of the iliotibial tract of the wearers body when the garment is worn, said sections extending in opposite directions from a central vertical line at the front of the garment to one side of said side panel and from the opposite side of said side panel to a central vertical line at the back of the garment, said two sec tions being stitched to each other by front and rear central vertical lines of stitching at said front and rear vertical lines, respectively, of the garment, said side panels being secured in each of said sections by laterally spaced vertical lines of stitching, and said vertically extending side panels being substantially wider in the region of the wearers hips and thighs than at the waist line region.

9. A foundation garment comprising, a main body encircling and compressive member made of elastic material and having greater stretching ability circumferentially thereof than vertically thereof, and a panel having greater stretching ability vertically thereof than circumferentially thereof extending circumferentially of said body member in the region corresponding to that of the abdomen, hips and buttocks when said garment is on the wearer and having greater resistance to stretch circumferentially than said main body member and having a configuration such that the combined etfcct of said body member and panel provide said foundation garment with lines of tension and stretch running in a direction approximating the direction of action of the wearers muscles on said regions of the body, said main body encircling member and said panel comprising two sections extending in opposite directions from a central vertical line at the front of the garment to one side of said side panel and from the opposite side of said side panel to a central vertical line at the back of the garment, said two sections being stitched to each other by front and rear central vertical lines of stitching at said front and rear vertical lines, respectively, of the garment, said side panels being secured in each of said sections by laterally spaced vertical lines of stitching, and a waist encircling elastic region conforming in complete circumferential contour to the natural bend line of the female figure at the front, sides and back thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,488,773 Anchorstar Apr. 1, 1924 2,634,417 Kaplan Aug. 14, 1953 2,732,556 Erteszek Jan. 31, 1956 2,872,927 Erteszek Feb. 10, 1959 2,879,771 Bell Mar, 31, 1959 2,899,963 Spitzer Aug. 18, 1959