Patent Publication Number: US-2011061147-A1

Title: Control top garment

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     The following application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/243,276, filed Sep. 17, 2009, the complete contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field Of The Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of clothing, specifically a garment adapted to restrict the midsection of a wearer to create the appearance of a smaller and/or more shapely midsection. 
     2. Background 
     Many people desire to achieve the appearance of a smaller or more shapely midsection. Conventional body shapers exist, however they require layering under pants or other bottoms. What is needed is a control-top garment that provides both bottoms and restrictive material for the midsection of a wearer, in one garment. In some embodiments, the wearer should be able to have the comfort of wearing jeans and the effect of body shaping apparel without wearing two separate garments. In some embodiments, the undesirable appearance of bumps created by buttons and other fasteners at the top of pants, skirts, dresses or other bottoms when worn under a shirt may be eliminated. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  depicts a front view of one embodiment of a control top garment. 
         FIG. 1B  depicts a back view of one embodiment of a control top garment. 
         FIG. 1C  depicts a top planar view of one embodiment of a control top garment. 
         FIG. 2  depicts a close-up detailed view of the back side of a control top garment. 
         FIG. 3  depicts a front view of a control top garment in use. 
         FIG. 4  depicts a right side view of a control top garment in use. 
         FIG. 5  depicts a left side view of a control top garment in use. 
         FIG. 6  depicts a back side view of a control top garment in use. 
         FIG. 7  depicts a front view of a control top garment in use, hidden beneath a fitted shirt. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1A  illustrates a front view of an implementation of a control top garment  100  like those disclosed in this document and  FIG. 1B  illustrates a back view of an implementation of a control top garment  100  like those disclosed in this document.  FIG. 1C  is a view of the entirety of an implementation of a control top garment  100  like those disclosed in this document. 
     As illustrated, the implementation can include a lower portion  102  coupled with an upper portion  104  that can include stretchable material. As illustrated, in particular implementations, a lower portion  104  may include a portion of a pair of jeans, with an upper portion  104  adapted to couple with a lower portion  102  to allow the upper portion  104  to extend from the edge of the jeans upward along the body of the wearer. While in the implementation illustrated in  FIGS. 1A and 1B  a lower portion  102  can contain a portion of a pair of jeans, in other implementations of control top garments like those disclosed in this document, a portion of or the entirety of any of a wide variety of garments, such as, by non-limiting example, pants, shorts, suit pants, capri pants, skirts, and any other garment containing a crotch portion may be used. 
     In the implementation illustrated in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the lower portion  102  can contain a portion of a pair of jeans pre-manufactured by a designer jeans company or any other convenient jeans manufacturer. In other embodiments, a lower portion  102  may not be pre-manufactured, and instead can be manufactured and/or assembled at the time of manufacture of, assembly of, and/or coupling with an upper portion  104 . The upper portion  104  may contain a material similar to that used in mid-thigh bodysuits manufactured by SPANX, Inc. of Atlanta, Ga., and/or any other known and/or convenient material. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a detailed view of the rear view of the control top garment  100  implementation illustrated in  FIG. 1B  is shown. As illustrated, the lower portion  102  and upper portion  104  can be coupled through a seam  200 , which may be created by sewing a lower edge of the upper portion  104  to an outside surface of a lower portion  102 . The edge of the resulting seam  200  can face toward the skin of the wearer and remain invisible from the outside of the garment  100 . While the use of a seam  200  is illustrated, a lower portion  102  and upper portion  104  can be coupled through a wide variety of other systems and or methods, including, by non-limiting example, hook and loop fasteners, snaps, glue, adhesives, tape, buttons, or any other system or method for coupling two materials. 
     Implementations of a control top garment  100  may be manufactured in a wide variety of ways and from a wide variety of materials. In some implementations, a conventional pair of jeans or pants may have portions that include the buttons and belt loops removed before an upper portion  104  can be coupled to the jeans or pants  102 . The general objective that may be accomplished in many implementations of control top garments is to allow placement of the upper portion at the locations along the wearer&#39;s body that will permit comfortable wearing of the jeans and simultaneous shaping of the body to produce a desired look, feel, and/or contour. In particular implementations, because an upper portion  104  can be coupled with a lower portion  102 , there may no longer be any need for buttons, zippers, or fasteners to be included in the crotch area of the garment, which may reduce the bulk or undesired appearance created by these fastening devices. In implementations such as skirts, portions of the skirt may be removed prior to coupling with an upper portion  104  or the entire skirt may be coupled with an upper portion  104 . In other embodiments, a lower portion  102  may not be pre-manufactured, and instead can be manufactured and/or assembled at the time of manufacture of, assembly of, and/or coupling with an upper portion  104 . In yet other embodiments, any other known and/or convenient method of manufacture can be employed. 
     While the lower portion  102  of a garment  100  can contain any of a wide variety of materials, such as, by non-limiting example, cotton, polyester, spandex, nylon, wool, and/or any other textile material, an upper portion  104  of a garment  100  can be made of a material or materials that allow an upper portion  104  to be more elastic and stretchable while still being restrictive and able to shape the wearer&#39;s body than a lower portion  102 . In some implementations, however, the lower portion  102  and upper portion  104  may have equal elasticity. In yet other implementations, a lower portion  102  can have greater elasticity than an upper portion  104 . An upper portion  104  may be formed of any of a wide variety of materials, including, but not limited to, nylon, spandex, elastanes (such as those marketed under the tradename Lycra®), polyester, polymer, cotton and any other textile material having desired elastic characteristics. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  4 ,  5 , and  6 , front, left side, right side, and back views of an implementation of a control top garment  100  on a wearer are illustrated. As illustrated in the side views in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the lower portion  102  of a control top garment  100  can fit like a conventional pair of jeans while an upper portion  104  of a control top garment  100  can act to shape the stomach area of the wearer. As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , an upper portion  104  of a garment  100  can act to shape the hip areas of the wearer. As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , because of the body shaping capability of an upper portion  104  of a control top garment  100 , an upper portion  104  can control the appearance of the wearer&#39;s body when a body-conforming shirt  701  is worn over the upper portion  104 , creating the desired look and/or body behavior when worn. This effect is created without requiring the user to wear jeans or pants over a conventional piece of body shaping clothing. The ability to avoid layering may increase the comfort and/or ease of use of control top garment implementations. 
     Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the invention as described and hereinafter claimed is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.