A merchandising assembly for bras or other garments includes (1) a garment having shoulder straps, (2) a hanger including a hook, a transverse bar connected directly to said hook and clips at the ends of the bar for holding the shoulder straps of the garment, and (3) a folded sheet having a front panel and a rear panel, and an opening along the fold of the sheet for receiving the hook of the hanger, so that the front panel of the sheet may extend down within the garment, and the rear panel may extend down outside the rear of the garment to avoid entanglement with adjacent garments when several of the assemblies are closely mounted on a rack. Advertising and product information may be located on the exposed surfaces of said panels.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to merchandising assemblies for brassieres, or bras, 
or other garments. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
It is customary in the sale of bras to have them mounted on hangers, with 
hang tags secured to the bras by the usual plastic holders or ties having 
T-shaped arrangements firmly securing the tags to the bras. These 
arrangements have several drawbacks. First, the adjacent bras tend to 
become tangled with one another. Second, it is difficult to try on the 
bras with the plastic ties and product hang tags secured to the bras, and 
the prospective customer is often reluctant to cut the plastic ties to try 
on the product. As an additional point, selecting the proper size, for a 
sport bra, for example, involves a combination of bust cup size and the 
chest circumference immediately below the bust; and with the usual bra 
merchandising arrangements it is not convenient to provide this 
information, so that proper fit and size selection may involve trying on 
several bras. 
Accordingly, a principal object of the current invention is to overcome the 
foregoing problems in the merchandising of bras and other similar 
products. 
It is noted in passing that hanger tags have been proposed previously for 
use with mens socks or trousers, and such arrangements are shown in W. L. 
Lhamon U.S. Pat. No. 2,324,093; F. S. Russell U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,151; and 
S. J. Kunreuther U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,417. However, none of these prior 
arrangements are intended for use with bras or similar types of clothing, 
and do not have the configurations needed to solve the problems outlined 
hereinabove. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention, a plastic hanger for bras or 
similar garments is provided with an upwardly extending hook, and a 
transverse bar or member, with securing arrangements for holding the 
shoulder straps or other portions of the garment at each end of the 
transverse bar; and a folded sheet having front and rear panels has an 
opening at the center of the fold to receive the hook, with the front 
panel extending down inside the garment and the rear panel extending down 
behind the garment. 
In accordance with one illustrative specific embodiment for use with bras, 
the hanger bar is about seven or eight inches in width, and the bra straps 
are secured by clips at the ends of the hangar bar; and the folded card 
was about 6 or 7 inches wide and about 10 or 11 inches in vertical extent. 
The front of the front panel of the folded sheet may carry advertising 
material, and the back of the rear panel may carry fit and size 
information. With the back panel extending down outside the bra assembly, 
adjacent garments do not become entangled by the engagement of the bra 
closure hooks with adjacent garments, or otherwise. Further, the low cut 
of the neckline of most bras permits the display of timely and fashionable 
advertising material on the front of the front panel. 
In accordance with a collateral advantage of the invention, the bras do not 
require the use of hang tags secured by plastic ties to the garment, so 
that it is easy and convenient for prospective purchasers to try on the 
garment. 
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become 
apparent in the course of a consideration of the following detailed 
description and the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 is an exploded view of 
an assembly illustrating the principles of the invention, with the sport 
bra 12 mounted on the hanger 14, and with the folded separator, 
advertising and informational sheet 16. This sheet 16 has a front panel 18 
which hangs down within the garment 12, and a rear panel 20 which 
separates the rear of the garment from the next adjacent bra when the 
garments are hung side-by-side. The folded sheet 16 has an opening 22 
through which the hook 24 extends when the bra is mounted on the hanger. 
As shown to advantage in FIG. 2, the shoulder straps 26 of the sport bra 12 
may be held onto the hanger 14 by integral spring clips 28. The folded 
sheet 16 has the front sheet 18 thereof exposed through the low neckline 
of the bra 12, so that appropriate brand identification and advertising 
material is exposed. The card 16 may have a width slightly less than that 
of the transverse bar 32 of hanger 14 so that it is just within the bra 
shoulder straps 26. In one embodiment, the folded card was 61/2 inches 
wide and 101/2 inches in vertical extent, which was comparable to the 
downward extent of the sport bra 12 as it was hanging on the hanger 14. 
As shown in FIG. 3. the rear panel 20 of the folded sheet extends over the 
back of the garment 12. As shown in FIG. 5, which is a rear view of the 
sport bra 12, there are hooks 34 and mating loops 36 for adjustably 
securing the two sides of the back of the bra together. The rear panel 20 
covers the back of the bra, including the hooks, and thus prevents 
adjacent bras on adjacent hangers from becoming entangled. 
In FIG. 3, the rear of the back panel 20 is a "Find Your Fit" chart, which 
is reproduced on an enlarged scale in FIG. 4. Four bra sizes are provided, 
for the illustrated sports bra model, from "1" to "4", and the proper size 
depends on both the bra cup size and the circumference of the woman's 
chest, immediately below the bust. Thus, for example, as indicated in FIG. 
4, a woman with a C-cup bust size, and the circumference of her chest just 
below the bust of 34 inches, would wear a size 2 sport bra in the 
illustrated model. The back side of the rear panel of the folded sheet 
therefore may be used to provide important fit information, as well as 
describing other features of the product. 
As mentioned above, FIG. 5 shows the back of the sport bra 12 with the hook 
34 and loops or eyes 36 for adjustment, and the "keyhole" opening 38 for 
additional coolness. In normal usage, the folded sheet has a transverse 
extent slightly less from the length of the hanger bar 32 so that it rests 
just within the straps 26 of the garment; and the front portion of the 
folded sheet is normally within the garment, while the rear sheet 
preferably covers the rear of the garment, as shown in FIG. 3. However, if 
desired, the rear portion of the folded sheet may also be placed within 
the garment. 
FIG. 6 shows a series of assemblies 42 including (1) the hanger, (2) the 
bra or other garment clipped at the shoulder straps to the hanger, and (3) 
the folded card as discussed above. The garment-hanger-card assemblies are 
mounted side-by-side on the rod 44 of a merchandise display rack, with the 
rear panel of the folded sheet serving to separate the garments, avoiding 
tangling, and keeping the display neat and attractive. 
While the arrangements as described above are particularly applicable to 
the merchandising of bras, they are also applicable to any other desired 
type of clothing. Other types of clothing having relatively thin shoulder 
straps are particularly suitable for this type of display; and typically 
garments of this type are bathing suits, sun back dresses and men's tank 
tops, although other types of garments may also be displayed in the 
disclosed manner. 
Concerning materials and dimensions, the hangers are preferably formed of 
molded plastic, but metal hangers could be used. The folded sheets are 
preferably of light weight cardboard or fairly heavy, stiff paper, but 
plastic sheets could also be used. In the preferred embodiment, the 
plastic hanger is about eight or nine inches wide, and the folded card is 
61/2 inches by 101/2 inches, with the folded portion interconnecting the 
front and rear panel being about 3/16 or 1/4 inches wide and having a 
central opening to receive the hangers loop. The front and rear panels 
were of the same size, but could be of different sizes, depending on the 
garment being displayed, and the advertising and other information to be 
presented. The extent of the hanger bar could be varied depending on the 
product to be displayed but it would normally be between 5 and 12 inches 
in transverse extent. 
In conclusion, it is to be understood that the foregoing detailed 
description and the accompanying drawings are illustrative of the 
principles of the invention. Other alternatives in dimensions, materials, 
and the garments to be displayed may be employed without departing from 
the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the card dimensions would 
normally be varied to accommodate the width of the hanger, and the width 
of the garment shoulder straps as well as the vertical extent of the 
garment. Other alternatives involving dimensions and materials have been 
mentioned hereinabove. Accordingly, the invention is not limited precisely 
to the embodiments as shown in the drawings and described hereinabove.