Abstract:
A mechanism whereby pants, particularly women&#39;s denim jeans, can be customized by the user makes use of interchangeable rear outer pocket walls. The pockets differ in their embellishments on the outer pocket wall but not in the size of the outer pocket walls. Embellishments are not limited to those that can be washed with the rest of the garment, as the outer pocket walls can be removed for the washing process.

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATION DATA 
       [0001]    This is the non-provisional application of provisional application No. 60/744,504, filed on Apr. 9, 2006. 
     
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a way that the outer fabric layer of pockets can be made interchangeable so as to achieve different looks with the same garment, as well as making it easier to clean the garment. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    It is well known that decorations and fine embellishment, such as beadwork, or intricate stitching, is common on women&#39;s clothing. It has become a popular trend nowadays for such embellishments to be used on the back pockets of women&#39;s denim jeans. Oftentimes purchasers of such jeans will buy numerous pairs of jeans in the same style, which substantially differ only in the color or design of the embellishments on the back pockets. Furthermore, denim designers are limited in the types of beads and other embellishments that they can use on the back pockets because not all are suitable for frequent washing, especially in washing machines. 
         [0004]    Removable pockets have been previously described for the purpose of customization of a garment or bag, or for the easy replacement of a worn out pocket. They are designed so that an entire pocket (with both walls) can be removed and replaced. In cases where some designs permit the removal of only the outer wall, it is for the purpose of customizing a bag or garment but is not interchangeable with another outer pocket wall which differs only in the embellishments on it. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    What is needed in the art is a way by which consumers can own a single pair of pants in a particular style that has a simple mechanism for them to remove the outer pocket wall of certain pockets, and attach other outer pocket walls containing different stitching, colors or embellishments. With such a product, consumers would be able to achieve multiple looks with the same pair of pants. They could additionally purchase extra outer pocket walls for use with their pants. Furthermore, because the outer pocket walls, with their embellishments, can easily be removed; the denim designers would be able to create more intricate designs and use a wider variety of embellishments as they would not be limited by those items that can withstand frequent washing. 
         [0006]    In some embodiments of the present invention it may be necessary to limit or completely obliterate the functionality of the pocket, in order to secure the outer wall of the pocket securely. While it is preferable to have functional back pockets, these pockets are oftentimes not utilized, and it may be perfectly acceptable to some consumers to forego the functionality of the back pockets in order to have the flexibility to alter its style dynamically. In these cases, the interchangeable pieces of removable material are not strictly outer walls of pockets, but rather the outer walls of pockets in appearance. Such arrangement and mechanism is still considered to be within the scope of this invention. 
     
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0007]      FIG. 1 . Back pockets of standard denim jeans. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2 . Back of denim jeans with snap fastened outer pocket walls. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3 . Back of denim jeans with snap and “hook and loop” fastened outer pocket walls. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4 . Back of denim jeans with “hook and loop” fastened outer pocket walls. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5 . Back of denim jeans with snap and zipper fastened outer pocket walls. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6 . Back of denim jeans with “hook and loop” fastened outer pocket wall appearance. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7 . Back of denim jeans with framed piece of removable fabric giving outer pocket wall appearance. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0014]    The invention is applicable to any garment, but is particularly suitable to women&#39;s denim jeans because women&#39;s denim jean design places particular emphasis on the designs and embellishments of the external aspect of the outer walls of the back pockets. With the present invention, a woman may purchase a single pair of jeans and purchase additional back pockets that are compatible with her pair of jeans, thereby achieving a variety of looks by interchanging the back pockets according to the colors and style she wishes to achieve wear on a particular day. Furthermore, before washing her jeans in a washing machine, she can easily remove the back pockets from the jeans so that intricate needlework or other embellishments will not get ruined in the washing process. After washing, she can easily reattach the back pockets. 
         [0015]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , an illustration of the rear aspect of denim jeans  100  is represented. The belt area  104  with belt loops  106  and back pockets  102  are shown. Embellishments  110  on the back pockets are represented. Such embellishments  110  may comprise intricate needlework, crystals, sequins, studs, or other types of decorations. The back pockets have stitching  108  which firmly attaches them to the underlying fabric. 
         [0016]    With reference to  FIG. 2 , an illustration of the rear aspect of denim jeans  200  is represented. The belt area  204  with belt loop loops  206  is shown. The left back pocket  202  is shown with its outer wall in place. It has stitching around the border  208  but the stitching does not attach it to the underlying fabric of the pants, instead it maintains the folded position of the fabric on the edge of the outer pocket wall, that can be used to facilitate the concealment of components of the snap fastener apparatus. On the outer aspect of the left back pocket  202  are embellishments  210 . The right back pocket region  212  is missing its outer wall. Components of snap fasteners  214  can be seen on the fabric in the right back pocket region  212 . When the outer pocket wall is applied to the right back pocket region  212  such that the complement of the components of the snap fasteners  214  being attached to said outer pocket wall are aligned and pressed together, then the outer wall of the right pocket will be held in place and will look in appearance like that of the left back pocket  202  illustrated in this figure. Of note is the concealed nature of the snap fastener apparatus, such that it is not possible to see any component of the snap fastener apparatus when the outer pocket wall is in place. This type of concealment is typically achieved by those with skill in the art by folding the edge of the fabric. 
         [0017]    With reference to  FIG. 3 , an illustration of the rear aspect of denim jeans  300  is represented. The belt area  304  with belt loop loops  306  is shown. The left back pocket  302  is shown with its outer wall in place. It has stitching around the border  308  but the stitching does not attach it to the underlying fabric of the pants, instead it maintains the folded position of the fabric on the edge of the outer pocket wall. On the outer aspect of the left back pocket  302  are embellishments  310 . The right back pocket region  312  is missing its outer wall. Components of snap fasteners  314 , as well as “hook and loop” strips  316  can be seen on the fabric in the right back pocket region  312 . When the outer pocket wall is applied to the right back pocket region  312  such that the complement of the components of the snap fasteners  314  being attached to said outer pocket wall, and the complement of the “hook and loop” strips  316  also attached to said outer pocket wall are aligned and pressed together respectively, then the outer wall of the right pocket will be held in place and will look in appearance like that of the left back pocket  302  illustrated in this figure. 
         [0018]    With reference to  FIG. 4 , an illustration of the rear aspect of denim jeans  400  is represented. The belt area  404  with belt loop loops  406  is shown. The left back pocket  402  is shown with its outer wall in place. It has stitching around the border  408  but the stitching does not attach it to the underlying fabric of the pants, instead it maintains the folded position of the fabric on the edge of the outer pocket wall. On the outer aspect of the left back pocket  402  are embellishments  410 . The right back pocket region  412  is missing its outer wall. “Hook and loop” strips  414  can be seen on the fabric in the right back pocket region  412 . When the outer pocket wall is applied to the right back pocket region  412  such that the complement of the “hook and loop” strips  414  being attached to said outer pocket wall are aligned and pressed together, then the outer wall of the right pocket will be held in place and will look in appearance like that of the left back pocket  402  illustrated in this figure. 
         [0019]    With reference to  FIG. 5 , an illustration of the rear aspect of denim jeans  500  is represented. The belt area  504  with belt loop loops  506  is shown. The left back pocket  502  is shown with its outer wall in place. It has stitching around the border  512  but the stitching does not attach it to the underlying fabric of the pants, instead it maintains the folded position of the fabric on the edge of the outer pocket wall. On the outer aspect of the left back pocket  502  are embellishments  514 . On the top border of the left back pocket  502 , a fastened zipper  508  aids in holding the outer pocket wall in place. It has been fastened using the zipper handle  510 . The right back pocket region  516  is missing its outer wall. A top half-zipper  518  is represented on the top border of the back right pocket, together with its zipper handle  520 . Additionally, there are components of snap fasteners  522  that can be seen on the fabric in the right back pocket region  516 . When the outer pocket wall is applied to the right back pocket region  516  such that the complement of the components of the snap fasteners  522  on said outer pocket wall are aligned and pressed together, and the complement of the top half-zipper  518  being attached to said outer pocket wall is lined up and zipped together with it by means of the zipper handle  520 , then the outer wall of the right pocket will be held in place and will look in appearance like that of the left back pocket  502  illustrated in this figure. While the pockets attached in this manner may be functional when the zipper is opened, it is more likely that the zipper will remained closed and keep the outer wall of the pockets securely attached to the underlying fabric. 
         [0020]    With reference to  FIG. 6 , an illustration of the rear aspect of denim jeans  600  is represented. The belt area  604  with belt loop loops  606  is shown. The left back pocket  602  is shown with its outer wall in place. It has stitching around the border  608  but the stitching does not attach it to the underlying fabric of the pants, instead it maintains the folded position the fabric on the edge of the outer pocket wall. On the outer aspect of the left back pocket  602  are embellishments  610 . The right back pocket region  612  is missing its outer wall. A “hook and loop” pad  614  can be seen on the fabric in the right back pocket region  612 . When the outer wall is applied to the right back pocket region  612  such that the complement of the “hook and loop” pad  614  being attached to said outer pocket wall are aligned and pressed together, then the outer wall of the right pocket will be held in place and will look in appearance like that of the left back pocket  602  illustrated in this figure. While this has been described as a pocket, it is not strictly a pocket because of its sealed an non-functional nature, and rather simply gives the appearance of a pocket. 
         [0021]    With reference to  FIG. 7 , an illustration of the rear aspect of denim jeans  700  is represented. The belt area  704  with belt loop loops  706  is shown. The right back pocket  712  contains a pocket frame that contains a top border  714  which is unattached to the underlying fabric, and the rest of the borders that containing stitching  716  attaching it to the underlying fabric. The stitching  716  is on the periphery of the right back pocket  712 . The right back pocket  712  does not contain any insert, but is merely an empty frame with a hollow center such that the underlying fabric  718  can be seen through it. When an insert is slid through the free top border  714 , much like a picture is inserted into a picture frame; the outer wall of the insert is visible. This is illustrated in the left back pocket  702 , which contains the same stitching on the periphery  708  that attaches it to the underlying fabric of the pants, but additionally contains an insert with embellishments  710  that has been slid into place. No fastening devices need to be used because the fabric insert is bigger than the aperture created by the pocket borders, so it cannot fall out. While this has been described as a pocket, it is not strictly a pocket because of the weakness of the outer pocket wall, but it effectively gives the appearance of a pocket. 
         [0022]    While the present invention has been described with respect to a particularly preferred embodiment and alternative embodiments, the invention is susceptible to implementation in further ways which are within the spirit of the invention.