TEAR-APART GARMENT

Abstract: A tear-apart garment is disclosed which comprises a fabric (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) tailored to substantially surround and closely fit a portion of the body of the wearer when the body portion is in a substantially unexpanded or unstretched condition, and at least one rip seam (32, 34, 40, 42, 44, 46, 49) formed in the fabric comprising a pair of adjacent free fabric edges (52, 54) and reusable securing means (56) for repeatedly holding the free edges (52, 54) together during normal body movements, but permitting them to separate when the fabric (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) is placed in tension upon expansion or stretching of the body, causing the rip seam (32, 34, 40, 42, 44, 46, 49) to burst open. The securing means (56) may comprise a separable fabric fastener strip, (58, 60) such as VELCRO, of relatively narrow width.

Description: TEAR-APART GARMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to wearing apparel and, more particularly, to a novelty garment which will produce a humorous or amusing effect when manipulated in a certain way by the wearer. 2. Description of the Prior Art Garments have been manufactured which are specifically designed to tear, at least in part, when pulled or stretched beyond certain limits. Typical of these are football jerseys which are designed to tear and permit the complete separation of a portion of the fabric from the remainder of the jersey when it is grabbed and pulled by a player opponent. In the entertainment field, a prop shirt is known which appears to burst open and be torn to shreds by an expanding physique within. Neither the football ersey nor the prop shirt appear at all capable of being reused after they have been torn. In this regard, the prior art is devoid of an economical, reusable, tear-apart garment. Several prior art garments are known which have sections, such as sleeves or collars, which are detachable from the body of the garment and may be reattaehed when desired. Several of these garments employ separable fabric fastener strips, such as those sold under the trademark VELCRO, for securing the removable portions to the body. These fasteners are widely known and comprise a pair of mating strips, one of which is formed of a felted pile material and the other of which is formed with minute plastic hooks which engage and grip the pile fibers of the felted strip. The two strips may be separated by peeling the strips apart using a substantial amount of force. However, none of the prior art garments which employ separable fabric fasteners have been designed as tear-apart garments which appear to tear when forced by flexed muscles or a stretched or expanding physique from within, or pulled from without. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tear-apart garment which can be reassembled and reused after it is "torn." Another object of the invention is to provide a tear-apart garment which is a novelty item in that it will appear to tear or burst open when the wearer flexes his muscles or stretches or expands his physique, thereby producing a humorous or amusing effect. Another object of the invention is to provide a tear-apart garment that resembles an ordinary sewn garment when worn during normal activity, but will appear to tear or burst at the seams when the wearer flexes his muscles or stretches or expands his physique. Another object of the invention is to provide such a tear-apart garment in various sizes to fit a wide range of wearers. Another object of the invention is to provide such a tear-apart garment adapted to be worn on the upper torso. These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing a one-piece tear-apart garment comprising a fabric tailored to substantially surround and closely fit a portion of the body of the wearer when the body portion is in a substantially unexpended or unstretched condition, and at least one rip seam formed in the fabric comprising a pair of adjacent free fabric edges and reusable securing means for repeatedly holding the free edges together during normal movements of the body portion but permitting them to separate when the fabric is placed in tension upon expansion or stretching of the body portion, causing the rip seam to burst open. The securing means may comprise a relatively narrow, two-component separable fabric fastener strip, one component thereof secured to one of the free fabric edges and the other component thereof secured to the other free edge. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The novel features of the invention are set out with particularity in the appended claims, but the invention will be understood more fully and clearly from the following detailed description of the invention as set forth in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a tear-apart garment according to the present invention adapted to be worn on the upper torso as a shirt; Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the shirt of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a left side elevational view of the shirt of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a detail view of a typical rip seam according to the invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The following description of one preferred embodiment of the invention relates to a tear-apart shirt formed of a plurality of tailored fabric panels which are sewn together. It is to be understood, however, that the principles of the invention can be applied to other upper torso garments, and to any garment which is adapted to be worn on any portion of the body which is capable of stretching or expanding to place the rip seams in tension. Any number of fabric panels may be used to construct the garment, including a single panel which is wrapped around the wearer's body. The garment may be made in various sizes to fit a range of wearers from the smallest possible to the largest, including an inanimate wearer designed to flex, stretch or expand its physique. Referring to the drawing, a tear-apart shirt according to the present invention is formed of a plurality of tailored fabric panels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 which are at least partly secured together along conventional seams 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 28 and 30 by stitching or other suitable means designed to form a secure connection between the panels. Conventional double-stitched seams are illustrated in the figures. The fabric used may be any conventional type, such as cotton or a blend of cotton and synthetic fiber, and may be of varied colors and patterns. The advantage of the shirt as a novelty item in appearing to tear apart when properly manipulated will be best realized if each size shirt is tailored to closely fit the body of the wearer. A plurality of rip seams 32, 34, 40, 42, 44, 46 and 49 are formed in several of the fabric panels of the shirt. These rip seams are separate and distinct from the conventional seams, but have substantially the same appearance as the conventional seams. Additional rip seams may be provided which are extensions of the conventional seams. The best tearing effect will be realized, however, with only the seams illustrated. In this shirt, the rip seams do not extend completely through the shirt, so that no portions of the shirt are completely removable. Seams 44 and 46 extend to points above the wearer's elbows, while seam 49 extends to a point above the wearer's shoulder blades. As shown in Figure 4, each rip seam comprises a pair of adjacent free fabric edges 52 and 54 to which are attached the components of a separable fabric fastener 56. Such a fastener comprises a woven or knitted fabric strip component having minute pile loops, and a separate fabric strip having upstanding minute plastic hooks which are adapted to releasably engage the pile loops. One such suitable fastener is that sold under the trademark VELCRO. Other types may be used, such as those having upstanding bulbous or mushroom-shaped projections (see for example U.S. Patent Nos. 3,138,841, 3,320,649, ' 3,577,607, 3,192,589 and 3,270,408). The pile loop component 60 of the fabric fastener is sewn or otherwise secured to one of the free edges 54 of the rip seam. The other hook component 58 of the fabric fastener is sewn or otherwise secured to the other free edge 52 of the fabric. Application of moderate pressure on these two mated strips will cause them to adhere together, holding the fabric edges together in overlapping relation, but they may be separated with a tearing sound upon the application of sufficient force. A vertical seam 62 is provided along the front center of the shirt and extends the full length of the front to permit the shirt to be put on or removed by the wearer in a normal manner. This vertical seam is also provided with a fabric fastener for maintaining the shirt in a closed position, but which will function as a rip seam when sufficient force is applied to the seam. The fastener for this seam may be a OM continuous length, or may comprise discrete small fasteners located under each button. In use, the tear-apart shirt is donned by the wearer and the full vertical seam 62 is closed by the application of slight pressure to engage the fastener strips of that seam together. The rip seams are slso secured in their closed positions in a similar manner. In order to create a humorous or amusing effect, the wearer flexes his muscles, stretches or otherwise expands his physique, such as by simultaneously inhaling deeply, bringing the arms upward and forward, and bending the arms at the elbows. In doing so the wearer places the fabric in tension, thereby applying a force to the shirt seams. Upon the application of sufficient force, the rip seams will burst open with a tearing sound and simulate, both visually and audibly, the effect of an actual tearing of the shirt by expansion of the wearer's physique. Children have found that a shirt constructed according to this invention can provide hours of enjoyment, and often manually "tear" whatever rip seams have not fully burst open for a more aggressive effect. Separable fabric fasteners are known for their fairly high degree of resistance to separation when the two components of the fastener are pulled in shear, making them excellent fasteners for lashing strips, tie-downs, belts and other securement devices. In such applications the mating surface area of the components of the fastener is usually large, resulting in a large retentive force which is usually overcome by "peeling" the components apart with a force directed substantially normal to their plane of contact. Such a high resistance to shear would be undesirable in applicant's tear-apart garment, since it would appear that the fastener components would be placed in shear when the fabric is placed in tension. It has been found, however, that the rip seams are not subject to pure shear when the fabric is placed in tension. Rather, the two components of the fastener tend to tilt somewhat relative to the adjacent fabric so that a component of the fabric tension force is directed normal to the plane of contact of the components. This force component aids in the separation of the fastener components. In addition, careful selection of the width of the fastener strips will insure proper performance of the garment. In general, the fastener strips should be relatively narrow as compared to fastener strips used in lashing straps, belts and other securement devices. The strip should be wide enough so that it possesses a retentive force which is sufficiently strong to hold the fabric edges together during normal body movements, but narrow enough so that the retentive force is sufficiently weak to permit the components to separate under moderate force when the fabric is placed in tension upon expansion or stretching of the body. A workable range of fastener strip widths is approximately one-sixteenth to one-half inch or more. Preferably, the width of the strip will vary in proportion to the size of the shirt, so that the force required to burst the rip seams is tailored to the strength of the wearer. For example, the smaller children's sizes through size 6 could be manufactured with 1/4 inch wide strips, children's size 7 through men's small with 3/8 inch strips, and men's medium and larger with 1/2 inch strips. In double-stitched garment construction, the width of the double-stitched seams often varies with the size of the garment. Hence, the width of the fastener strips used could approximate the width of the other double-stitched seams of the garment. This will enable the garment to be easily manufactured with a uniform double needle spacing. It will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention which is to be limited only by the appended claims. BU R OΛ'. fr •:γ_ WI '

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A one-piece tear-apart garment comprising: a fabric tailored to substantially surround and closely fit a portion of the body of the wearer when said body portion is in a substantially unexpended or unstretched condition; and at least one rip seam formed in said fabric comprising a pair of adjacent free fabric edges and reusable securing means for repeatedly holding said free edges together during normal movements of said body portion but permitting them to separate when the fabric is placed in tension upon expansion or stretching of said body portion, causing said rip seam to burst open. 2. A tear-apart garment according to claim 1 adapted to be worn on the upper torso of the wearer. 3. A tear-apart garment according to claim 2 wherein one rip seam extends along the vertical centerline of the back of the garment from a point above the wearer's shoulder blades down toward the bottom hem of the garment. 4. A tear-apart garment according to claim 2 having long sleeves, wherein one rip seam extends along the back of the forearm portion of each sleeve from a point above the wearer's elbow down toward the cuff of the garment. 5. A tear-apart garment according to claim 2 wherein two rip seams are formed along the front of the garment flanking the centerline thereof and each extending from approximately the middle of the length of the garment down to the bottom hem thereof. 6. A tear-apart garment according to claim 1 wherein said at least one rip seam extends substantially lengthwise of the garment. 7. A tear-apart garment according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said securing means comprises a relatively narrow, two-component separable fabric fastener strip, one component thereof secured to one of said free edges and the other component thereof secured to the other of said free edges, said edges being in overlapping relationship when said components are engaged. 8. A tear-apart garment according to claim 7 wherein said 8 - fastener strip has a width which enables it to possess a retentive force which is sufficiently strong to hold said free edges together during normal movements of said body portion, but is sufficiently weak to permit ' said components to separate under moderate force when the fabric is placed in tension upon expansion or stretching of said body portion. 9. A tear-apart garment according to claim 8 having other conventional double-stitched seams, and wherein the width of said fastener strip approximates the width of said double-stitched seams. 10. A tear-apart garment according to claim 8 wherein the width of said fastener strip generally varies in proportion to the size of the garment. 11. A tear-apart garment according to claim 8 wherein the width of said fastener strip is approximately within the range of one- sixteenth inch to one-half inch. 12. A one-piece, upper torso tear-apart garment comprising: a fabric tailored to substantially surround and closeby fit the upper torso of the wearer when the upper torso is in a substantially unexpanded or unstretched condition; and at least one rip seam formed in said fabric comprising a pair of adjacent free fabric edges extending substantially lengthwise of the garment, and resuable securing means for releasably and repeatedly holding said free edges together, said securing means comprising a relatively narrow, two-component separable fabric fastener strip, one component thereof secured to one of said free edges and the other component thereof secured to the other of said free edges, said edges being in overlapping relationship when said components are engaged, and said fastener strip having a width which enables it to possess a retentive force which is sufficiently strong to hold said free edges together during normal movements of said upper torso, but is sufficiently weak to permit said components to separate and allow said rip seam to burst open under moderate force when the fabric is placed in tension upon expansion or stretching of said upper torso. _ O.VtPi

Inventors: POOLE E
Applicants: POOLE ENTERPRISES INC
Application year: 1979
Main classification: A41B1
IPC codes: A41B1