WO2001060188A1 - Skirt - Google Patents

Abstract

A skirt formed from two separate pieces of material (1, 2) such as a fabric, and including fastening means (6) operative to fasten opposite ends of one of each of the pieces of material to the other piece of material in an overlapping manner. The fastening means may be operative to fasten the pieces of material together adjacent to an edge of each piece of material to form a waistband.

Description

SKIRT

The present invention relates to a skirt, being an item of clothing.

Conventional skirts comprise a tube of fabric which is worn hanging

from the waist. One known type, known as a wrap around skirt, comprises

a single piece of fabric which is wrapped around the wearer's waist so that

opposite ends of the fabric overlap. The overlapping regions fasten together

adjacent their top edges to form a waistband.

The present invention seeks to improve over known skirts.

According to the present invention there is provided a skirt

comprising two separate pieces of material and fastening means operative

to fasten opposite ends of each of the pieces to the other piece of material

in an overlapping manner.

Provision of two separate pieces of material conveys numerous

advantages over conventional skirts. In particular, it allows for considerable

variation in the style and size of a particular garment.

The fastening means are preferably operative to fasten the two pieces

of material together adjacent to an edge of each piece of material to form

a waistband. More preferably the fastening means enable the two pieces

of material to be fastened together only at the waistband. The fastening

means may comprise two engageable components disposed respectively on

each of the two pieces of material. Suitable such fastening means include

hooks and eyes and pile and hook fasteners, such as that sold under the trade mark Velcro.

The fastening means is preferably releasable.

The fastening means preferably enables the degree of overlap of the

two pieces of material to be varied . This allows both the size and style of

the skirt to be altered. To achieve this, the fastening means may comprise

a plurality of fasteners disposed at different locations on one or both pieces

of material. For example, a tape including a plurality of spaced apart

apertures or eyes may be fastened, for example by sewing, along an edge

of one or both of the pieces of material and a hook or hooks arranged to

engage with the apertures or eyes provided on the other or each piece of

material. By engaging the hook or hooks with one or more of the plurality

of apertures or eyes the degree of overlap of the pieces of material may be

varied. Any alternative suitable fastening means could, however, be used,

for example Velcro (RTM). A combination of fastening means could also be

used, for example both hooks and eyes and Velcro (RTM).

Alternatively or additionally the fastening means may comprise a clip

operative to hold two pieces of overlapping material together. Such a clip

may be resiliently biassed and may be decorative.

The two pieces of material need only overlap at one point. In such

an arrangement the opposite sides of each piece to those which overlap

could be joined abutting one another. This may be achieved by providing

a zip fastener or the like operative to fasten abutting edges of the two pieces of material together.

In one embodiment each piece of fabric includes one or more of two

engageable components of a fastening means operative to fasten one end

of each piece of fabric to the inside of the other piece of fabric when worn

by a wearer and two resiliently biassed clips are provided to secure the

opposite end of each piece of fabric to the outside of the other piece of

fabric when worn by the wearer. The resilient clip is positioned to the

outside of the skirt and will be visible. The two component fastening is

positioned on the inside of the skirt towards the wearer's body and will not

be visible.

In another embodiment straps are provided to fasten the free, facing

edges of one piece of material together when wrapped around the wearer

in a spaced apart manner, revealing the other piece of material beneath.

In a still further embodiment one of the pieces of material includes

one or more slits through which part of the other piece of material may be

fed and subsequently tied to fasten the two pieces of material together.

The two pieces of material may be formed from any suitable material,

for example fabric, leather or plastics material. Each piece of material may

be formed from the same or different materials. Each piece of material may

be of a different colour. One piece of material could be partially

transparent.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example with

reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of two pieces of material used to form a skirt

according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of a spring clip;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a skirt according to the invention

being worn on a body;

Figures 4 are plan views of the skirt of Figure 3 showing different

to 7 wearing styles;

Fig.8 is a plan view of another embodiment of a skirt according to

the invention;

Fig.9 is a front view of the skirt of Figure 8;

Fig.10 is a plan view of another embodiment of a skirt according to

the invention;

Fig.1 1 is a front view of the skirt of Figure 10;

Fig.12 is a plan view of another embodiment of a skirt according to

the invention;

Fig.13 is a front view of the skirt of Figure 12;

Fig.14 is a plan view of the insert piece of the skirt of figures 12 and

13; and

Fig.15 shows a cut away view of part of a skirt according to the

invention, showing detail of a fastener. Referring to Figures 1 to 7 a skirt is formed from two separate pieces

of fabric 1 and 2. One of the two pieces of fabric 1 is of greater width than

the other but they are both of a similar length. The wider piece 1 shall be

referred to as the outer piece of fabric and the narrower piece 2 shall be

referred to as the inner piece of fabric, for convenience.

Each piece of fabric has a length of tape 3 sewn along its top edge.

The tape includes a number of spaced apart pairs of apertures 4 along its

length. A pair of hooks 5 is fastened to one end of each piece of fabric in

the region of the tape 3. The hooks 5 are arranged to be engageable with

the apertures 4 in the tape 3.

In use, the hooks 5 of each piece of fabric are engaged with a pair of

apertures 4 formed in the tape 3 of the other piece of fabric. Spring loaded

clips 6 are then employed to secure the free end of each piece of fabric (i.e.

the opposite end of each piece of fabric to that to which the hooks 5 are

fastened) to the other piece of fabric. The skirt therefore has a continuous

waistband formed by the region including the tape 3 of each piece of fabric

1 and 2.

Provision of a plurality of spaced apart pairs of holes 4 in each tape

allows the pieces of fabric 1 and 2 to be fastened together in a number of

different configurations varying the position and amount of overlap of the

two fabrics and size of the waistband of the skirt. Other suitable fastening

means could, however, be employed. The type of spring clip 6 employed is shown in greater detail in Figure

2. It comprises a straight back section 7 intended to be inserted behind the

waistband of a skirt and an outer decorative section 8 intended to be visible

to the outside of a skirt. The inner 7 and outer 8 sections comprise strips

of metal and are urged together by means of a spring 9 connecting the two.

The inner section 7 may include studs or pins arranged to engage with the

apertures 4 on the inside of the waistband of a skirt. The outer section 8

of the clip may include some decorative material.

A number of styles in which the skirt may be worn are shown in

Figures 4 to 7. Each Figure shows a plan view of a skirt as it would be

worn by a wearer oriented with their back, front and hips in the regions

indicated by reference numerals 10, 1 1 and 12 respectively in Figure 5.

With the arrangement illustrated in Figure 4 the inner piece of fabric

2 lies inside the outer fabric 1 to the back of the skirt and wraps over the

outer fabric 1 towards the front of the skirt. This gives the appearance of

a smart wrap around skirt.

With the arrangement illustrated in Figure 5 the inner fabric 2 has

been moved relative to the outer fabric 1 compared to the arrangement of

Figure 4 so as to reduce the amount of overlap of the inner 2 and outer 1

fabrics towards the front of the skirt. This arrangement would be more

likely to reveal the thigh of a wearer whilst walking or crossing their legs.

With the arrangement illustrated in Figure 6 the inner fabric 2 has been moved relative to the outer fabric 1 compared to the arrangement

illustrated in Figure 4 so that a greater amount of the inner fabric 2 is

exposed to the outside at the front of the skirt leaving a reduced overlap

with the outer fabric 1 to the side of the skirt.

With the arrangement illustrated in Figure 7 the inner fabric 2 lies

inside the outer fabric 1 at both the front and back of the skirt where the

two pieces of fabric overlap. This arrangement is particularly suited to

skirts where the two pieces of fabric are different, for example in colour

and/or texture. The skirt appears to include a panel of contrasting colour

or texture.

Figures 8 and 9 show another embodiment of a skirt. This is similar

to that shown in Figures 1 to 7 except for the provision of a zip fastener 13

operative to fasten one side edge of the outer fabric 14 to a side edge of

the inner fabric 1 5. In Figure 8 the inner fabric is shown as a dashed line

to distinguish it from the outer fabric. The zip is arranged to join the two

fabrics when the zipper is moved from the top of the skirt to the bottom, to

allow a variable sized slit to be left at the bottom of the garment. Other

suitable fasteners could be used.

Figures 10 and 1 1 show another embodiment. Opposite sides of the

outer fabric 1 6 are fastened together by straps 1 7, leaving a gap between

the sides through which the inner fabric 1 8 is visible. The straps can be

formed from any suitable material, for example fabric, leather or chain. It will, of course, be appreciated that when straps are employed the inner fabric 17 must remain inside the outer fabric 18.

Figures 12 to 14 show a still further embodiment. The outer fabric

19 includes slits 20 forming apertures in its waistband 21 . The inner fabric

22 includes an extended waistband 23. The inner fabric 22 is fastened to

the outer fabric by feeding a length of extended waistband 23 through a slit

and tying a knot or bow in the free end to stop it passing back. The

waistband of outer fabric 19 could include a number of slits to allow the

inner fabric to be fastened at different points and hence vary the size of the

garment.

Figure 15 shows how a fastener similar to a treasury tag can be used

to fasten the waistband of the outer fabric 24 of a skirt when the inner

fabric 25 is being worn entirely within the outer fabric. The fastener

comprises a length of cord 26 with cross pieces 27 on either end which can

be fed through slits 28 in the waistband and then oriented so that they will

not pull back through those slits 28.

Skirts according to the invention have a number of advantages over

conventional skirts. Easy adjustability allows the wearer to choose to wear

the skirt with minimum overlap at either the hip or the front of the thigh for

different occasions, for example formal or informal occasions. By replacing

only one of the two pieces forming the skirt it is possible to change the

character and appearance of the skirt. The wearer's wardrobe can be refreshed or re-coordinated without having to buy a new skirt. Likewise,

the style and position of the spring clips can be changed again changing the

appearance of the skirt without having to replace the entire garment. As

the size of the waistband is adjustable the skirt can accommodate changes

in the wearer's waist size in a way which is not possible with conventional

skirts. Sizing can be simplified as a smaller range of sizes can be used to

accommodate a larger variation in size of wearer than with conventional

skirts. Forming the skirt from two separate pieces allows for greater

freedom of movement and in particular that walking in a more fitted style

of skirt is not constrained to short paces.

Skirts may be formed from more than two separate pieces of fabric.

The above embodiments are described by way of example only.

Many variations are possible without departing from the invention.

Claims

1 . A skirt comprising two separate pieces of material and fastening

means operative to fasten opposite ends of each of the pieces to the

other piece of material in an overlapping manner.

2. A skirt as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fastening means are

operative to fasten the two pieces of material together adjacent to an

edge of each piece of material to form a waistband.

3. A skirt as claimed in either claim 1 or 2, wherein the fastening means

comprises two engageable components disposed respectively on each

of the two pieces of material.

4. A skirt as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fastening

means is releasable.

5. A skirt as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fastening

means enables the degree of overlap of the two pieces of material to

be varied.

6. A skirt as claimed in claim 5, wherein the fastening means comprises

a plurality of fasteners disposed at different locations on one or both

pieces of material.

7. A skirt as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fastening

means comprises a clip operative to hold two pieces of overlapping

material together.

8. A skirt as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising a fastening means, operative to fasten abutting edges of the two

pieces of material together.

9. A skirt as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each piece of fabric includes

one or more of two engageable components of a fastening means

operative to fasten one end of each piece of fabric to the inside of

the other piece of fabric when worn by a wearer and two resiliently

biassed clips are provided to secure the opposite end of each piece

of fabric to the outside of the other piece of fabric when worn by the

wearer.

10. A skirt as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising straps

operative to fasten the free, facing edges of one piece of material

together when wrapped around a wearer in a spaced apart manner.

1 1 . A skirt as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fastening

means comprises one or more slits formed in one piece of the pieces

of material through which part of the other piece of material may be

fed and subsequently tied to fasten the two pieces of material

together.