Abstract:
Soft and flexible breast support elements are integratable into loungewear and sleepwear such that comfortable support and shaping are provided. The structure and placement of bra cups provides soft support while an arrangement of elastic elements maintains the position of the breast support elements without wires or fasteners.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     There has been continuing interest in the apparel industry to develop brassieres (also referred to as “bras”) and other support garments that provide a supporting effect to the bust in addition to other effects such as lifting and shaping. Generally, a brassiere constructed to bear the weight of, and to support and to provide shape to the bust is comfortable only for limited periods of time. A typical brassiere includes cups for the breasts. The cups are held in place on the chest by a strap extending around the torso and by shoulder straps fastened to the tops of the cups and to the torso strap at the back of the torso. Fasteners are often found on the torso strap at the back but may also be found in the front between the two cups. The cups also often include support features such as underwire and other sections of the brassiere may include boning for additional shaping. 
     Typically, women want to wear such a garment for only part of the day but want to maintain the supporting and shaping features provided by such a garment. Further, it is typically uncomfortable and often inadvisable for health reasons to wear a conventional bra while sleeping. Accordingly, it remains desirable to have a garment that provides the features of support and shaping with the comfort and flexibility of more relaxed apparel such as a nightgown or loungewear. 
     SUMMARY 
     The problems of providing comfortable breast support in a leisure wear garment are solved by the present invention of integrated breast support elements that are soft and flexible. 
     Women&#39;s lounge wear and sleepwear such as camisoles, nightgowns and tops include integrated breast support elements that are soft and flexible having a form and configuration that provide support and shaping in a comfortable arrangement. 
     In a first embodiment, a garment including a breast support function has a garment front, a garment back, a first side, a second side and first and second shoulder portions disposed and joined to define the inside of the garment. The garment further includes a first and a second shaped cup for receiving breasts of a wearer of the garment where each shaped cup has an inner edge, an outer edge, a bottom edge and a top section. The garment includes a bridge located between the first and second shaped cups and attached to the inner edge of each shaped cup, and a first wing attached to the outer edge of the first shaped cup and a second wing attached to the outer edge of the second shaped cup. The first wing is also coupled to the first side of the garment and the second wing is coupled to the second side of the garment. The garment still further includes a first strap attached to the top section of the first shaped cup and a second strap attached to the top section of the second shaped cup where the first strap is coupled to the first shoulder portion and the second strap is coupled to the second shoulder portion. An elastic section is integrated into the garment back starting at the first side and extending to the second side. By integrating breast support elements into a garment, the garment provides breast shape and support with comfort and east of movement. The cups contain and shape the breasts and are held in place over the breasts inside the garment substantially without compression, and without hard components such as wires or fasteners. 
     In a first arrangement, each shaped cup includes a lining layer, an outer fabric layer and a foam layer disposed between the lining layer and the outer fabric layer. The foam layer provides support and shaping. In some embodiments of the garment, the foam is a polyester foam. The inner and outer fabric layers contain the foam and hold it in place as well as provide comfortable surfaces for wearability. In a second arrangement, the foam layer is dome-shaped and the lining layer and outer layer are shaped to conform to the foam layer. In a third arrangement, each shaped cup includes a first lower section and a second lower section to provide breast support and an upper section. 
     In an alternative embodiment, each shaped cup includes a piece of fleece tape along the bottom edge. The tape reinforces the cup and also provides a soft alternative that performs in a similar manner to the underwire of conventional brassieres. 
     In a further alternative embodiment, the bridge is made of a non-elastic material. In a still further alternative embodiment, the first wing and the second wing are made of a flexible material held in place by an elastic strip at the base of the wing. 
     In another alternative embodiment, the elastic section integrated into the garment back is a strip of elastic material sewn to the garment back. In an alternative arrangement, the elastic section integrated into the garment back is a section stitched with elastic thread. 
     In a further alternative embodiment, the outer fabric layer is the garment front. 
     In another alternative embodiment, the elastic section integrated into the back of the garment is located in alignment with the first wing and the second wing. 
     The present invention together with the above and other advantages may best be understood from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings, wherein: 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a first embodiment of breast support elements according to principles of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of a garment incorporating the breast support elements shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is the back of the garment of  FIG. 2  as seen from the inside; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the layers of a cup of the breast support elements of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  shows an alternative embodiment of the breast support elements of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  shows an alternative embodiment of a garment according to principles of the invention; and 
         FIG. 7  shows an alternative embodiment of attaching the wings to the garment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention include garments having the characteristics of shape and support with comfort and flexibility. The garments include shaping and supportive elements integrated into loungewear or sleepwear resulting in the comfort and flexibility of, for example, sleepwear. Other types of garments include camisoles, sleeveless nightgowns, sleeveless tops, short sleeve tops, and ¾ sleeve tops. The garments have integrated into them a shaped breast support without hard components or fasteners or compression that enables the wearer to lounge and/or sleep in comfort. One embodiment includes a nightgown with brassiere cups that provide support, flexibility and softness to the garment in the bust, and significantly improves the aesthetic appearance of woman&#39;s breasts in loungewear/sleepwear. 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a first embodiment of breast support elements formed and configured to be incorporated into a loose-fitting garments such as a nightgown, top, or camisole.  FIG. 2  is a front view of a garment incorporating the breast support elements of  FIG. 1 . 
     The breast support elements include two cups  5 ,  10  for receiving the breasts of the wearer of the garment  20 . Each cup has an inner edge  22 ,  24 , an outer edge  26 ,  28 , a bottom edge  30 ,  32  and a top section  34 ,  36 . A bridge  40  between the two cups  5 ,  10  is attached to the inner edges  22 ,  24  of the cups  5 ,  10 . A first wing  42  is attached to the outer edge  26  of one cup  5  and a second wing  44  is attached to the outer edge  28  of the other cup  10 . A first strap  46  is attached to the top section  34  of one cup  5  and a second strap  48  is attached to the top section  36  of the second cup  10 . 
     The cups  5 ,  10  are shaped and configured to receive breasts. In the present embodiment, each cup has three sections: an upper section  50 ,  52  and two lower sections  54 ,  56 ,  58 ,  60 . The sections  50 ,  52 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58 ,  60  are formed and configured such that the lower sections  54 ,  56 ,  58 ,  60  provide breast support and the upper sections  50 ,  52  provides shaping to the breast. The lower sections sustain most of the loading for breast support. The top sections define the volume of the cup and serves to form the line of the cleavage. The uniqueness of the cup&#39;s cut is defined by the diagonal arrangement of the lower sections in relation to the breast line which is defined as the horizontal line through the breasts. The lower sections are arranged such that the lower part of the breast is supported, and this support continues up the outer sides of each breast. This helps to form a rounded shape of the breasts, impedes displacement of the breasts to the side, and helps to enhance cleavage by positioning and supporting the breasts in a more upright position. The top section of each cup is additionally supported through the shoulder strap. 
     Each cup  5 ,  10  has three layers, shown in cross-section in  FIG. 4 . The cups have an outer layer  70 , an inner  74  or lining layer, and an interfacing layer  72 . The outer and inner layers are fabric, preferably a soft fabric. The interfacing layer  72  is a layer of foam. The layer of foam is, for example, a polyester foam with a thickness of, for example, ⅛ inch. The foam serves to achieve a volume-enhanced shape and, at the same time, creates softness and flexibility. In the present embodiment, the foam is cut and sewn in three sections in order to form the cups. In alternative embodiments, fewer or more sections of foam are used. In an alternative arrangement, the foam is cut and molded into curved sections which are sewn together to form the cups. In an alternative embodiment of the garment, the front of the garment forms the outer layer  70  of the breast support elements. 
     Each cup in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  further includes a channel  62 ,  64 , such as a piece of fleece tape, attached at the inside of the cup. The channel extends from the inner edge, all along the bottom edge, and along the outer edge of the cup. The channel provides soft support in a manner similar to the underwire in a conventional brassiere. In contrast to conventional brassieres, the cup in the present embodiment includes no hard components. For example, the cups of the present embodiment have no metal semicircular underwires commonly inserted in the bottom seams of bras. Instead, soft fleece tape is used for reinforcement on the bottom edge of each cup. The tape in this arrangement improves resistance of the cup to the weight of the breast and at the same time is not a constricting structure. 
     The bridge  40  holds the two cups together and also in place on the chest. The bridge is made of a stabilizer fabric or some type of non-elastic fabric. In any case, the bridge has limited flexibility to keep breasts in place. 
     The wings  42 ,  44  attach the cups  5 ,  10  to the sides of the garment  20 . The edge of the wing opposite the edge attached to the cup is, for example, sewn into the side seam of the garment. In a first arrangement, the wing is made of non-elastic fabric. In a second arrangement, the wing is made of an elastic fabric. In a third alternative arrangement, shown in  FIG. 7 , the lower edge  82 ,  84  of the wing  42 ,  44  is attached to a small piece of elastic material  43 ,  45  that is attached to the side of the garment. 
     The shoulder straps  46 ,  48  attach the cups to the garment shoulders  66 ,  68 . Each shoulder strap is attached at a first end to a top section of the cup and also to the garment shoulder. The shoulder strap is for example sewn into the shoulder seam. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that other types of attachment are possible. Unlike conventional support garments, the shoulder strap ends at the shoulder and does not continue down, or across, the wearer&#39;s back. 
       FIG. 3  shows the back  100  of the garment  20  as seen from the inside. An elastic section  102  is incorporated into the back  100 . The elastic section  102 , also referred to as an elasticized strip, is, in a first embodiment, a piece of elastic material sewn to the garment back  100 . In a second embodiment, the elasticized strip  102  is stitching on the garment back sewn with elastic thread. The elasticized strip is typically level with the wings  42 ,  44 . 
     In an alternative embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , the cups  6 ,  11  are each formed as dome-shaped without sections. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , the foam is molded into a dome shape. The inner and outer layers of fabric are shaped to conform to the dome shape. Also shown in  FIG. 5 , each cup  6 ,  11  further includes a ridge  106 ,  108  located along the outside bottom edge of the cup. The ridge is constructed to be supportive but still flexible and provides a placement point for the fleece tape  62 ,  64 . 
       FIG. 6  is a front view of a camisole  120  incorporating the breast support elements described above with regard to  FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, the shoulder straps  122 ,  124  extends over the shoulder and is attached to the back  128  of the camisole  120  rather than the shoulder. 
     The breast support elements are integrated into garments using soft elements. The garment is also wearable without fasteners or compression. Without the conventional metal hooks and eyes on the center of the back (as those found in many conventional bras), the comfort of the garment is improved. Incorporating the elastic at only the side seams and across the back is also an advantage compared to conventional garments such as tankinis, or camisoles having shelf bras, where elastic encircles and constrains the area of the body under the breasts. 
     To provide extra comfort to alternative embodiments, the width and thickness of the shoulder straps are enlarged and softened. These straps, enveloped in the fabric, help to relieve pressure and skin irritation in the shoulder area. Further, the shoulder strap may be constructed from elastic fabric. 
     The technological finishing of embodiments of the present invention includes double topstitching used for reinforcing the bottom parts of the cups, serving as a constructive feature and as a decorative element. Further, zigzag stitching is used for making the elastic shoulder straps, connecting details of the cups and for topstitching the strip of stretchable fabric through the back. Elastic stitches are used to connect details of the garment. Elastic stitches are important for stretch fabrics. One-line stitching is used to provide firm connection stitches for connecting the lining of the cups to the interfacing layer and outer layer. 
     Embodiments of the present invention are effective for a variety of breast sizes, particularly in the range of medium through extra-large sizes. The integrated breast support elements improve comfort and provide support in the breast area and in so doing improve the appearance of the female figure. In some embodiments, appearance is also enhanced by the use of a specific palette of prints and colors. 
     It is to be understood that the above-identified embodiments are simply illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various and other modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.