WO2005094621A1

WO2005094621A1 - A clothing accessory

Info

Publication number: WO2005094621A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/001278
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alex Ajoy Kumar Sahu
Original assignee: Alex Ajoy Kumar Sahu
Priority date: 2004-04-03
Filing date: 2005-04-04
Publication date: 2005-10-13
Also published as: GB2428179A; GB0621652D0; GB0407686D0; GB2428179B

Abstract

A clothing accessory comprises a loop (10) of an elastic material, in the form of an anklet for loose fitting around the ankle (26) of a wearer. A generally U-shaped clip (11) is coupled to the loop (10) and has arms (14, 15) between which the lower hem region (22) of a trouser leg may be located and gripped by the clip (11). In this way, the lower hem region (22) is held clear of the ground, when the accessory is in use.

Description

A CLOTHING ACCESSORY This invention relates to a clothing accessory and in particular to a clothing accessory for use with a pair of trousers. The invention also relates to a method of using such a clothing accessory. A well known problem with long trousers (in the United States, pants) is that the lower hem region of each trouser leg (that is, the lower end of the trouser leg) tends to wear fairly rapidly. In an attempt to reduce that wear, it is a common practice to sew a binding tape around the inside of the trouser leg, at the lower end thereof. However, particularly in the case of ladies' trousers, the problem is exacerbated if the trouser legs are sufficiently long to wear with high heeled shoes and then that pair of trousers is worn with shoes having lower heels. The lower edge of the trouser legs trails on the ground and so becomes dirty and possibly wet. Further, the lower edges of the legs may wear and fray, and there is a tendency for the inside rear hem to become caught between the bottom of the shoe heel and the ground, leading to rapid wear and fraying of this area. This makes the trousers unsightly and so essentially unwearable. The present invention aims at addressing this problem, particularly for women who wish to wear one pair of trousers both with high heels and with relatively low heels, without the trousers appearing too short when worn with high heels. According to the present invention, there is provided a clothing accessory comprising an anklet adapted to fit loosely around the ankle of a wearer and a clip coupled to the anklet which clip is configured for releasable attachment to the lower hem region of a trouser leg. It will be appreciated that so long as the length of the anklet is appropriate for the wearer, the clip coupled to the anklet will be disposed in the region of the wearer's heel, irrespective of the height of heel of the shoes being worn. Then, by attaching the clip of the accessory to the rear region of the lower hem of the trouser leg, that lower hem also will be held in the region of the wearer's heel and so will be held off the ground, irrespective of the height of the shoe heel being worn. However, though the rear region of the hem will not be damaged through trailing on the ground, the remainder of the trouser leg will look appropriate for the height of heel being worn, so long as the length of the trouser leg was sufficient, in the first place. In the case of especially long trousers and relatively low heels, it would also be possible to turn inwardly or outwardly the region of the lower hem of the trouser leg, before attaching the clip thereto. In this way, at least the region to which the clip is attached may effectively be shortened, so minimising the likelihood of localised wear, on the trouser leg. Preferably, the clip is generally of U-shaped form, with a pair of arms connected by a base section. The arms of such a clip should normally be disposed close together but are resiliently separable to permit the entry therebetween of the lower hem of a trouser leg. Such a clip may conveniently be manufactured of a plastics material, though it could be made for example of a corrosion-resistant metal. Further, the external surface of at least one arm may be decorated in an attractive manner. In order to assist the retention of the clip to the lower hem region of a trouser leg, the clip may have gripping teeth or other formations provided on at least on one of the confronting surfaces of the clip. In a preferred embodiment, where the clip is of generally U-shaped form with a pair of arms connected by a base section, the free end region of one of the arms may be provided with a coupling for the anklet. Such a coupling may comprise a tubular portion through which the anklet extends. Preferably, the anklet comprises an elongate elastic member formed into a loop. The elastic member may have its two ends joined together with a connecting piece which itself may be decorative and conceal the two ends of the elastic member. This invention extends to a method of minimising wear of the lower hem region of the legs of a pair of trousers, which method comprises, for each trouser leg, furnishing a loosely fitting anklet around the respective ankle of a wearer of the trousers, each anklet having a clip coupled thereto, and releasably attaching the clip to the lower hem region of the trouser leg whereby the lower hem is held by the clip and anklet clear of the ground. By way of example only, one specific embodiment of a clothing accessory of this invention and a method of using that accessory will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the embodiment of clothing accessory; Figure 2 is a side view of the clip shown in Figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a rear view of the clip of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view from the rear and one side of the clip; Figure 5 is a perspective view from the front and one side of the clip; and Figures 6A to 6C illustrate respectively a frayed or wet trouser hem, the fitting of the clothing accessory to the ankle of a wearer and the clothing accessory in use to hold the lower hem of a trouser leg clear of the ground. Referring initially to Figures 1 to 5, there is shown the embodiment of clothing accessory which comprises a continuous loop 10 of an elastic cord and carrying a generally U-shaped clip 11. The two ends of the cord are concealed within a tab 12, for example comprising a strip of leather folded over and sewn together and to the cord, so as both to join the ends of the cord and to conceal those ends. The strip of leather may be decorated, for example with a logo of a designer brand. The cord itself may comprise a core of a natural or synthetic rubber material provided with an external braided sheath of an attractive colour. The clip 11 has a pair of arms 14,15 joined together by a base section 16. One arm 14 is provided at its free end with a tube 17 through which the loop 10 extends, such that the clip is trapped on the loop 10. The external surface of the tube 17 which confronts the other arm 15 is provided with gripping teeth 18. The clip is moulded from a plastics material and has sufficient resilience to allow the two arms 14,15 to be sprung apart by several millimetres, whereby the lower hem of a trouser leg may be inserted between the arms, but when the arms are released, they spring together so as to grip the cloth therebetween, whereby the clip remains attached to the lower hem of a trouser leg. As shown in Figure 3, the outwardly directed face 19 of the clip (the rear face when in use) presents a surface which may be decorated in an attractive manner. For example, that surface may carry the logo of a designer brand, or may have attractive colouring or support imitation jewels. Figures 6A to 6C show the use of the clothing accessory. Figure 6A illustrates the problem of wearing long trousers perhaps intended for use with high heeled shoes and so having relatively long legs 21 , resulting in the lower hem region 22 of the trouser leg being damaged when the trousers are worn with relatively low heeled shoes 23. Such damage may comprise fraying of the lower hem, and also the trouser leg becoming wet when worn during inclement conditions. Figure 6B shows the clothing accessory 25 of this invention being pulled over a shoe by stretching the loop 10, until the loop is positioned around the wearer's ankle with the clip 11 to the rear of the foot, adjacent the wearer's heel. The lower hem region 22 of the trouser leg is then inserted between the arms 14,15 of the clip 11 , such that the lower hem is held clear of the ground by the action of the clip 11 and the loop 10 extending around the wearer's ankle. In this way, further damage to the hem is prevented.

Claims

1. A clothing accessory comprising an anklet adapted to fit loosely around the ankle of a wearer and a clip coupled to the anklet which clip is configured for releasable attachment to the lower hem region of a trouser leg.

2. A clothing accessory as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the clip is of generally U-shaped form with a pair of arms connected by a base section.

3. A clothing accessory as claimed in claim 2, wherein the arms of the clip are normally close together but are resiliently separable to permit the entry therebetween of the lower hem of a trouser leg .

4. A clothing accessory as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a surface of one of the arms and which confronts the other arm is provided with formations to enhance the grip of the clip to a fabric.

5. A clothing accessory as claimed in claim 4, wherein said formations comprise one or more gripping teeth projecting towards the corresponding surface of the other arm .

6. A clothing accessory as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the clip has a tubular portion through which the anklet extends.

7. A clothing accessory as claimed in claim 6 and in which the clip is of generally U-shaped form with a pair of arms connected by a base section, wherein the free end region of one of the arms is provided with the tubular portion.

8. A clothing accessory as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the anklet comprises an elongate elastically-extensible member formed into a loop.

9. A clothing accessory as claimed in claim 8, wherein the elongate elastically extensible member has two ends joined together by a connecting piece.

10. A clothing accessory as claimed in claim 9, wherein the connecting piece is decorative and the two ends of the elongate elastically-extensible member are concealed within the connecting piece.

11. A method of minimising wear of the lower hem regions of the legs of trousers, comprising, for each trouser leg, furnishing a loosely-fitting anklet around the respective ankle of a wearer of the trousers, each anklet having a clip coupled thereto, and releasably attaching the clip to the lower hem region of the trouser leg whereby the lower hem is held by the clip and anklet above the ground.

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