US3826266A - Brassiere - Google Patents

Abstract

An adjustable brassiere incorporating a halter including a back, sides and straps and separate cups adapted to be releasably attached to one another and to the sides and straps of the halter. The back and sides of the halter or portions thereof may be fully or partially elasticized and may be provided with midback or side fastening means. The cups are formed in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles to permit the wearer to modify the under-garment to match her individual contours and aesthetic tastes. If desired, the halter, with or without the straps, may be incorporated as an integral part of other wearing apparel.

Description

[111 3,826,266 I July 30, 1974 1 BRASSIERE [76] Inventor: Selma Alpert, 12720 Vose St.,

Hollywood, Calif. 91605 [22] Filed: Dec.26, 1972 21 App1.,No,: 318,248

[52] US. Cl 128/435, 128/456, 128/482,

128/492, 128/481 [51] Int. Cl. A41c 3/00 [58] Field of Search 128/425, 435, 441, 456,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 406,491 7/1889 Williams 128/481 2,654,091 10/1953 Nelson 128/456 X 2,671,218 3/1954 Luhr 128/456 X 2,883,987 4/1959 White [28/462 3,203,424 8/1965 Garutso 128/492 3,311,112 3/1967 Murray 128/425 3,425,420 2/1969 Steinberger... 128/506 X 3,478,739 11/1969 Librande 128/482 X Primary ExaminerWerner l-l. Schroeder [57]. ABSTRACT An adjustable'brassiere incorporating a halter including a back, sides and straps and separate cups adapted to be releasably attached to one another and to the sides and strapsof the halter. The back and sides of the halter or portions thereof may be fully or partially elasticized and may be provided with mid-back or side fastening means. The cups are formed in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles to permit the wearer to modify the under-garment to match her individual contours and aesthetic tastes. If desired, the halter, with or without the straps, may be incorporated as an integral part of other wearing apparel.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures BRASSIERE BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The fashion worlds renunciation of the de rigeur approval to style, and the recent introduction of new materials and construction techniques have created a need for the clothes-conscious'woman to include among her under-thinga a variety of brassieres to match her wardrobe. The cost of acquiring and adding to such a collection has become a matter of no small concern both to the industry and to the purchasing public. One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of a brassiere having a basic halterand a selection of easily replaceable cups. Instead of buying a complete garment to wear with each new outfit, one now need only purchase a relatively inexpensive set of cups of the desired style, color, fabric and construction.

Young women whose figures are changing and developing unevenly have always had difficulty in selecting a brassiere to fit satisfactorily. Another object of this invention is the provision of a brassiere for which the youthful wearer can select cups of different sizes to accommodate her contours perfectly. With its novel construction as her growth continues, she can maintain this perfect fit by merely replacing one or both of the cups without having to purchase a whole new brassiere.

In mature women often one breast is somewhat larger than the other. For such women the subject invention affords an effective and inexpensive alternative to the custom-made brassiere. To even out their contours they can now use a slightly padded cup with an unpadded one, while being assured of the correct cup size for each breast. Likewise, dieters and women whose weight and size change from time to time, due to pregnancy or, alas, for other reasons, do not have to discard their favorite bras, but instead can simply substitute smaller or larger cups. Of course special nursing cups may be provided for nursing mothers. Should the halter become worn or stretched, it alone need be replaced.

Increasing numbers of women have undergone the traumatic experience of masectomy. Then they have been confronted with costly fittings for specially made prosthetic brassieres. The subject invention provides these women with practical and for more economical means for satisfying their imperative and uniquely personal needs.

Finally, many of the current fashions while requiring a proper fit do not lend themselves to the wearing of separate under-garments. As will be noted, the subject invention is particularly well suited in such cases to be incorporated as an integral part of the outer garment itself.

In its preferred embodiment this invention contemplates a brassiere incorporating a halter having a back, sides and straps and separate cups adapted to be releasably attached to one another and to the sides and straps of the halter. The back and sides of the halter or portions thereof maybe fully or partially elasticized and may be provided with mid-back or side fastening means. The cups are formed in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles to permit the wearer to modify the undergarment to match her individual contours and aesthetic tastes. If desired, the halter, with or without the straps,

may be incorporated as an integral partof other wearing apparel.

IN THE DRAWINGS The construction and use of the invention will be more fully understood from the detailed description of several'of its alternative embodiments which follows, when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial front view of a model wearing a brassiere embodying the subject inventions;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the halter of the brassiere il Iustrated in'FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is 'a front view of a typical cup of the subjection invention;

FIG. 4 is arear view of the cup illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of a bra-slip incorporating the subject invention; and

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the cups of the brassiere illustrated in FIG. 5.

Wherever practicable the same numeral will be used to designate the same or substantially equivalent elements in the several figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 4, the subject invention consists of a halter 11, a pair of cups l2, and means for releasably attaching the cups 12 to one another and to the halter 11 to form a'more or less conventional appearing brassiere 13.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention halter 11 has a back portion 15, sides 16, and a pair of straps 17 attached securely to the upper edge of back 15. The halter may be made in any desired width and in any of the well known styles. The materials used and the details of its construction are matters of wide choice, but preferably it is made in conventional small, medium, large and extra-large sizes, and at least a portion of the back 15 or sides 16 is elasticized to insure proper fitting.

Cups 12 are formed separately in a variety of shapes and styles, such as decollete, sport, wired, unwired, padded, unpadded, etc., using any of the well known fabrics, textures, colors, decorations and construction techniques. Naturally, they are made in different sizes, such as the conventional AA, A, B, C, D, etc., to accommodate even the most difficult to fit figures. Dropcups for nursing mothers and filled cups for surgical patients are likewise available.

The sides 16, cups l2, straps 17 are provided with releasable attachment means, such as sliding hooks 21 and loops 22, snaps 23,'zippers, hooks and eyes, selfadhering pads, or the like, to enable the user quickly and easily to attach the cups 12 to one another and to the sides 16 of halter 11 and the straps 17 to the upper edges of cups 12.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2-4 the halter 11 is of one-piece construction and the brassiere is secured at the front by means of hooks 25 and eyes 26 in the adjacent edges of cups 12. For women who prefer the back or side attachment style, similar conventional attachment means (not shown) may be provided in the back 15 or sides 16 of halter 11.

From the foregoing description of one of its embodiments some of the many and varied applications and advantages of the subject invention should be readily apparent. FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate another embodiment of the invention.

Here the halter 11 is shown incorporated as an integral part of another piece of wearing apparel, typified by a bra-slip. It will be understood that a similar arrangement is adaptable to practically any other type of garment.

In this connection it might be pointed out that with some garments, such as elasticized swimwear, form fitting dresses, and the like, the back and sides of the garment itself may be adapted to serve as the halter 11 by the placement of attachment means inside the garment, one set at either side of the bodice and others above the center of each cup 12..ln some garments the support furnished by the garment may be sufficient to allow the straps 17 to be dispensed with. In others, such as low-cut gowns, the strap may be attached to the upper edge of the bodice, rather than to the cups 12. As before, the versatility and ease of use of the invention should be apparent without further explanation.

Having thus described several embodiments of my improved brassiere, I claim as my invention:

1. A brassiere comprising:

a halter encircling a wearers back and having side terminal edges,

shoulder straps attached at one of their ends to rearward portions of said halter,

a pair of breast cups, each separably attached to respective sides of said terminal edges of said halter and separably attached to each other to form a front portion of said brassiere, said pair of breast cups having been selected from a plurality of other cups of different sizes so as to fit varying contours of the body of the wearer, the other ends of said shoulder straps being separably fastened to the top of said cups.

2. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 wherein said pair of breast cups are of sizes different from each other.

3. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 wherein said halter is resilient.

4. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

said halter is made of resilient material, and

said breast cups are attached to said halter, each other, and said shoulder straps by fastening means including cooperating sets of hooks and eyes.

5. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

said halter is made of resilient material, and

said breast cups are fastened to said halter, each other, and said shoulder straps by fastening means including interacting snap fasteners.

6. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 wherein said halter is an integral part of a piece of wearing apparel.

7. A brassiere in accordance with claim 6 wherein said breast cups are positioned inside said piece of wearing apparel subjacent the bodice portion thereof.

8. A brassiere in accordance with claim 7 wherein:

the tops of said breast cups are attached to the bodice portion of said piece of wearing apparel, and

said other ends of said straps are attached to the bodice portion of said piece of wearing apparel and are thereby fastened to the tops of said breast cups.

Claims (8)

1. A brassiere comprising: a halter encircling a wearer''s back and having side terminal edges, shoulder straps attached at one of their ends to rearward portions of said halter, a pair of breast cups, each separably attached to respective sides of said terminal edges of said halter and separably attached to each other to form a front portion of said brassiere, said pair of breast cups having been selected from a plurality of other cups of different sizes so as to fit varying contours of the body of the wearer, the other ends of said shoulder straps being separably fastened to the top of said cups.

2. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 wherein said pair of breast cups are of sizes different from each other.

3. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 wherein said halter is resilient.

4. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 wherein: said halter is made of resilient material, and said breast cups are attached to said halter, each other, and said shoulder straps by fastening means including cooperating sets of hooks and eyes.

5. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 wherein: said halter is made of resilient material, and said breast cups are fastened to said halter, each other, and said shoulder straps by fastening means including interacting snap fasteners.

6. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 wherein said halter is an integral part of a piece of wearing apparel.

7. A brassiere in accordance with claim 6 wherein said breast cups are positioned inside said piece of wearing apparel subjacent the bodice portion thereof.

8. A brassiere in accordance with claim 7 wherein: the tops of said breast cups are attached to the bodice portion of said piece of wearing apparel, and said other ends of said straps are attached to the bodice portion of said piece of wearing apparel and are thereby fastened to the tops of said breast cups.

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