US20120278972A1

US20120278972A1 - Detachable support and fashion accessory for clothing

Info

Publication number: US20120278972A1
Application number: US13/464,359
Authority: US
Inventors: Marjorie Ann Richardson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-05-05
Filing date: 2012-05-04
Publication date: 2012-11-08

Abstract

A clothing accessory includes a flexible support member having a first end, a second end, and a middle portion corresponding approximately to a midpoint between the first end and the second end. The clothing accessory includes only a single attachment member connected to the middle portion of the flexible support member. The attachment member has a first fastener portion arranged on an upper portion of the attachment member, the first fastener portion configured to fasten the attachment member to the midpoint between the first end and the second end, and a second fastener portion arranged on a lower portion of the attachment member opposite the upper portion, the fastener portion configured to removably fasten the attachment member to a clothing article.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/482,734, filed on May 5, 2011. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a detachable clothing accessory, and more particularly to a clothing accessory for strapless apparel.

BACKGROUND

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventor, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Articles of clothing for the upper body may include strapless apparel such as strapless dresses and shirts (including tube, halter, and bandeau type garments), bikinis and other swimwear, and various undergarments and sleepwear.

SUMMARY

A clothing accessory includes a flexible support member, the support member having a first end, a second end, and a middle portion corresponding approximately to a midpoint between the first end and the second end. Only a single attachment member is connected to the middle portion of the flexible support member, the attachment member having a first fastener portion arranged on an upper portion of the attachment member, the first fastener portion configured to fasten the attachment member to the midpoint between the first end and the second end, and a second fastener portion arranged on a lower portion of the attachment member opposite the upper portion, the fastener portion configured to removably fasten the attachment member to a clothing article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a clothing accessory according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate example uses of the clothing accessory according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example attachment member of the clothing accessory according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5-8 illustrate side views of attachment members according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 9-11 illustrate another example attachment member according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 12-15 illustrate another example attachment member according to the principles of the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 16-19 illustrate another example attachment member according to the principles of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detachable clothing accessory according to the principles of the present disclosure is configured to removably attach to any article of clothing. For example, a wearer of a strapless or other garment may attach a clip of the clothing accessory to a bodice portion of the garment. Conversely, a tie string, strap, or loop portion of the clothing accessory attaches to the wearer. For example, the loop portion may be secured around a neck of the wearer. In this manner, the clothing accessory provides support for the garment.
The clothing accessory keeps strapless and other apparel (including, but not limited to, strapless, tube, halter, bikini, bandeau, undergarment-style upper-body garments, pants, shorts, skirts, dresses, rompers, and convertible cover-ups) secured to the wearer. The clothing accessory may also include decorative elements and function as a fashion accessory. The accessory may also be used to minimize excess material in upper-body and lower-body garments, which is accomplished by gathering excess material together, then clipping material within the clip. The tie string, strap, or loop portion may be secured by any suitable means including, but not limited to, a tie string or strap, hook, snap, magnetic closure, or eye-hook closure. The accessory may be attached to carry items including, but not limited to, handbags, satchels, or any other type of bag, sack, container or object as carry straps or to add visual appeal to the item. The accessory provides improvements over tie/halter straps, which are permanently sewn, hooked or otherwise affixed to clothing items. The accessory described herein may be attached or detached to or from the desired clothing item, keeping strapless or loose-fitting items from slipping, or adding aesthetic appeal using ornamental adornments. One or more smaller clips or fasteners may be attached to multiple material tie strings or straps in a manner to create more diversity for the wearer. Alternately, a clip with no opening for a tie string or strap may function as an ornamental fashion accessory, or the tie string or strap may be removed from the clip for the purpose of being worn as accessory.
Referring now to FIG. 1, an example clothing accessory 100 according to the principles of the present disclosure includes a flexible support member 104 and a single attachment member 108. The support member 104 may include, but is not limited to, a tie string, loop, strap, cord, or chain. The support member 104 may be formed of any material with function, comfort and visual appeal suited for the purpose of attaching to the attachment member 108 and tying or affixing preferably, but not limited to, around the neck of the wearer. The support member 104 is flexible and may be elastomeric. Accordingly, a length of the support member 104 may be sufficient to secure the support member to the wearer. The length of the support member 104 may be adjustable and/or include a one-size-fits-all range. The support member 104 may be adorned with beading, stitching or any other means of decoration or ornamentation. The support member 104 may be tied or secured in any manner using any suitable closures including but not limited to eye-hooks, plastic, rubber or metal buttons, snaps, hooks, or a magnetic closure. The support member 104 may have raw or finished hems or ends. Fashion beads or adornments of any size shape, material and color may be used for but not limited to securing the ends of the support member 104.
The support member 104 is attached to a first fastener portion 112 of the attachment member 108. For example, the first fastener portion 112 may include a hole or loop, and the support member 104 may be tied or fixedly circled or tied through the hole or loop. The support member 104 is attached to the first fastener portion 112 at a middle portion 116 corresponding approximately to a midpoint between a first end 120 and a second end 124 of the support member 104.
The attachment member 108 includes the first fastener portion 112 and a second fastener portion 128 such as a clip. The second fastener portion 128 includes, but is not limited to, interfacing magnets and a clip having ornamental adornment. For example, a front portion 132 of the second fastener portion 128 may include a decorative member configured to be removably attached to the attachment member 108.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the clothing accessory 100 is shown with a strapless dress 140. The wearer attaches the attachment member 108 to the dress 140 and secures the support member 104 around a neck of the wearer. Similarly, the clothing accessory 100 is shown attached to a bikini top 144. Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the examples shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are not limiting, and the clothing accessory 100 may be used with any suitable article of clothing.
Referring now to FIG. 4, the attachment member 108 is shown as an example clip 200. The clip 200 may include, but is not limited to, interfacing magnets, and pressure sensitive, tension, alligator, bend-to-open and close clips. The clip 200 may be formed (e.g., stamped or molded) from metal, plastic, or any other suitable material.
Referring now to FIG. 5, a side view of the clip 200 is shown. The clip 200 includes a back portion 204 (i.e., a portion that faces toward the wearer) and a front portion 208 (e.g., a portion that faces away from the wearer). Material of a garment is secured between the back portion 204 and the front portion 208. For example, opposing inner surfaces of the back portion 204 and the front portion may include rubber or another non-slip surface suitable for securing the material to prevent slipping and avoiding damage to the material. A rear surface 216 of the back portion 204 may be a non-slip surface to prevent movement of the clip 200 relative to the skin of the wearer, and/or may be a material that prevents discomfort to the wearer caused by contact with the clip 200. A tension component 220 such as a spring is arranged between the back portion 204 and the front portion 208. The tension component 220 biases the back portion 204 and the front portion 208 into a closed position to secure the material. Conversely, the wearer applies force to the rear portion 204 and/or the front portion 208 to open the clip 200.
The clip 200 includes an ornamental or decorative member 224. The decorative member 224 may be removably attached to the front portion 208 of the clip 200. For example, the decorative member 224 may be attached to the front portion 208 via magnets or a hook-and-loop fastener. Each of the decorative member 224 and the front portion 208 may include magnets, or only one of the decorative member 224 and the front portion 208 may include a magnet while the other includes a magnetic surface (i.e., metal). Accordingly, the decorative member 224 may be interchangeable. In other implementations, the decorative member 224 may be fixedly attached to the front portion 208 (e.g., via adhesives and/or soldering). The decorative member 224 may include ornamental elements including, but not limited to medallions, beads, glass, ceramic, clay, wood, metal, media print, letters, numbers, images, and various finishes. Other example clips 232 and 236 having a removably attachable decorative member 240 are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, respectively.
Referring now to FIG. 8, an example clip 300 includes a back portion 304 having a magnet or magnetic surface 308, and a front portion 312 having the other of a magnet and a magnetic surface (or a second magnet) 316. The magnets 308 and 316 secure a garment between the back portion 304 and the front portion 312. The front portion 312 also functions as a removable decorative member. For example, a front surface 324 of the front portion 312 may include decorative elements. Accordingly, the front portion 312 having the magnet 316 may be removable and interchangeable to provide different decorative appearances.
Referring now to FIGS. 9-11, another example clip 400 is shown. The clip 400 may include a back portion 404 and a front portion 408 contiguously formed or molded as a single piece as shown in FIG. 9, and folded or bent to form the clip 400 as shown in FIG. 10. The back portion 404 and/or the front portion 408 may include a kinked portion 412 to provide a non-slip surface. The front portion 408 may include one or more tension prongs 416 having non-slip ends 420. For example, the ends 420 may be rubber-coated. The tension prongs 416 may be pressure sensitive. For example, the prongs 416 may include a first position biased away from the garment. Conversely, when pressure is applied to the prongs 416, the prongs 416 may snap or flex into a second position biased toward the garment to secure the garment against the back portion 404.
Referring now to FIGS. 12-15, another example clip 500 having flexible pressure sensitive members 504 is shown. The garment is secured between a front portion 508 and a back portion 512 having the pressure sensitive members 504. When pressure is applied to ends of the pressure sensitive members 504, the pressure sensitive members 504 bend and/or snap toward or away from the wearer from a first position as shown in FIG. 13 to a second position as shown in FIG. 14. In the second position, the garment is secured between the pressure sensitive members 504 of the front portion 508 and the back portion 512. The clip 500 may include a removably attachable decorative member 516.
Referring now to FIGS. 16-19, another example clip 600 includes a back portion 604 (as shown in a rear view in FIG. 16) and a front decorative portion 608 (as shown in a front view in FIG. 17). A support member (e.g., a strap) 612 is attached through an opening 616 in the back portion 604.
The clip 600 includes a tension spring 620 to retain the clip 600 in a closed position as shown in FIG. 18. A wearer applies pressure to upper portions of the front decorative portion 608 and/or the back portion 604 to open the clip 600 as shown in FIG. 19. The clip 600 may include friction elements 624 such as pins (or plastic or rubber ridges or teeth) to further secure the garment.
Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.
The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. The broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, the specification, and the following claims. For purposes of clarity, the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C), using a non-exclusive logical OR. It should be understood that one or more steps within a method may be executed in different order (or concurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A clothing accessory, comprising:

a flexible support member, the support member having:

a first end;

a second end; and

a middle portion corresponding approximately to a midpoint between the first end and the second end; and

only a single attachment member connected to the middle portion of the flexible support member, the attachment member having:

a first fastener portion arranged on an upper portion of the attachment member, the first fastener portion configured to fasten the attachment member to the midpoint between the first end and the second end; and

a second fastener portion arranged on a lower portion of the attachment member opposite the upper portion, the fastener portion configured to removably fasten the attachment member to a clothing article.

2. The clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein the first end and the second end are configured to removable attach to each other to form the flexible support member into a loop.

3. The clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein the first fastener portion includes a hole configured to receive the flexible support member.

4. The clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein the first fastener portion is tied to the middle portion of the flexible support member.

5. The clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein the second fastener portion includes a clip.

6. The clothing accessory of claim 5, further comprising a decorative member removably attached to a front portion of the clip, wherein a front portion of the decorative member is visible when the decorative member is attached to the clip, and a rear portion of the decorative member is attached to the front portion of the clip.

7. The clothing accessory of claim 6, wherein the front portion of the clip includes a first magnetic surface, and the rear portion of the decorative member includes a second magnetic surface arranged to magnetically attach the decorative member to the clip.

8. The clothing accessory of claim 6, wherein the front portion of the clip includes one of a hook and loop surface of a hook and loop fastener, and the rear portion of the decorative member includes the other of the hook and loop surface arranged to attach the decorative member to the clip.

9. The clothing accessory of claim 5, wherein the clip includes first, second, and third prongs, the first prong and the second prong are configured to be arranged against a first side of the clothing article, the third prong is located between the first prong and the second prong, and the third prong is configured to be arranged against a second side of the clothing article opposite the first side.

10. The clothing accessory of claim 5, wherein the clip includes a first magnetic fastening member and a second magnetic fastening member, and wherein the first magnetic fastening member and the second magnetic fastening member are arranged to connect together magnetically with the clothing article arranged between the first magnetic fastening member and the second magnetic fastening member.