Abstract:
Disclosed are garments that reveal body art and methods for wearing these garments. The garments have one or more tattoo-revealing windows or openings in them. Each of the windows or openings has a border around its underside. The border is comprised of a silicone ink which may be deposited on the garment by, e.g., screen printing. The method of wearing a tattoo-revealing garment includes wearing the garment such that the opening or window is centered on a piece of body art and is maintained in place by the border of silicone ink. The garment may be sold as a part of a kit that also includes a piece of temporary body art.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     In general, the invention relates to garments and apparel, and more particularly, to garments that reveal tattoos. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Body art, once a niche practice, has become more popular in recent years. The most common form of body art is the tattoo, in which indelible inks are injected into the dermal layer of the skin, permanently coloring it. The process of creating a tattoo requires a degree of artistic skill, and can be time-consuming as well as painful for the person being tattooed. 
     In some cultures, tattoos signify group membership, position, or importance, and are given or received in connection with particular rites of passage. Even in cultures that do not associate tattoos with particular rituals, tattoos are often chosen for deeply personal reasons. 
     For those who do not seek the permanence of a true tattoo, so-called “temporary” tattoos can be created in any number of ways. One of the more popular forms of temporary tattoo is the ink transfer temporary tattoo, where a wetted film with a pre-printed design is pressed to the skin, causing the ink to transfer from the film to the skin. Some ink transfer temporary tattoos have layers of glue or other elements intended to protect the design and keep it on the skin longer. Ink transfer temporary tattoos are popular and common because they can be mass-produced and offer predictable performance. Placed properly and well, an ink transfer temporary tattoo may last about 3-5 days. 
     Temporary tattoos may also be produced by applying henna or airbrushing inks onto the surface of the skin. These types of temporary tattoos can be more intricate, detailed, and personal than ink transfers, although they may require just as much artistic skill and just as much time to create as permanent tattoos. 
     Whether temporary or permanent, those with tattoos often want to display them. Displaying a tattoo is easy if the tattoo is in a location that is usually not covered by clothing, like the forearm. However, tattoos on the chest and back, for example, are harder to display without exposing the entire torso. 
     Over the years, a number of garments have been developed that include openings or windows that are meant to expose tattoos without exposing the rest of the body. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0113597 reflects one of the more recent attempts and discloses garments with strategically placed holes to reveal tattoos. 
     In general, these sorts of garments have a number of potential problems. For one, the openings or windows may not be finished with stitching, piping, or anything else around their edges, which leaves the opening to fray around the edges. Also, as the garment moves against the body, the opening or window may not stay in place, and may move in a way that causes it to obscure the tattoo it is meant to showcase. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the invention relates to tattoo-revealing garments. The tattoo-revealing garments include at least one tattoo-revealing window. The tattoo-revealing window has a border around it on the underside of the garment&#39;s fabric, facing the skin of the wearer. The border is made of a silicone ink that is deposited out to some distance from the window, for example, by screen printing. The border may help the window to stay in position on the skin. 
     Another aspect of the invention relates to methods of making tattoo-revealing garments. These methods include depositing a silicone ink, for example, by screen printing, in a border pattern around an area where a window is to be formed and then forming the window by laser cutting through the material. 
     Other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       The invention will be described with respect to the following drawing figures, in which like numerals represent like features throughout the drawings, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a tattoo-revealing garment, as worn by a person; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a portion of the tattoo-revealing garment; 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view of the underside of a portion of the tattoo-revealing garment; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the garment around its tattoo-revealing window; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another embodiment of a tattoo-revealing garment with a window centered above the upper chest; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of a tattoo-revealing garment with a window positioned above one breast. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a tattoo-revealing garment, generally indicated at  10 , according to one embodiment of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment, the garment  10  is a t-shirt, although as will be described below in more detail, garments according to embodiments of the invention may be of any type, including jeans, slacks, and garments for children such as leggings and knee socks. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the sleeve portion of the garment  10 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the garment  10  has at least one window  12  that is positioned to expose a tattoo  14 . The tattoo  14  may be a permanent tattoo or a temporary tattoo, such as an ink transfer tattoo. The window  12  is a break in the material of the garment  10  that is open to the skin to reveal a tattoo  14  on the skin. The window  12  may be in essentially any location on the garment  10 , so as to facilitate display of tattoos  14  in essentially any location, and there may be more than one window  12  per garment. In the illustration of  FIG. 1 , the window  12  is on the sleeve. Other suitable locations for a window  12  may include centered on the upper chest or above the left or right breast. 
     Garments  10  may be made in different varieties with windows  12  provided in the most common locations for tattoos. However, garments  10  may also be sold along with temporary tattoos  14  that can be applied on the skin at the location of the window  12  once the garment  10  is in place. 
       FIG. 3  is a plan view of the underside (i.e., the skin-facing side) of the window  12 , and  FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the garment  10  around the window  12 . The present inventors have found that a silicone ink applied around the border of the window  12  by a screen printing process surprisingly serves two beneficial functions, it serves to prevent the edges of the fabric from unraveling, and it provides some grip or increased friction against the underlying skin, which, in turn, helps the window  12  to stay in place. 
     As shown, the inked border area  16  extends to the edge of the window  12  and some distance around it. The inked border area  16  may extend from about 0.125 inches to about 0.5 inches out from the edge of the window  12 , with an average of about 0.25 inches. Larger windows  12  may require thicker border areas  16 , while relatively small windows  12  may use thinner border areas  16 . The location of the window  12  in the garment may also influence the size of a border area  16 , with areas of the garment  10  that have less skin contact requiring thicker border areas  16 . 
     The layer of ink  18  is generally continuous and is typically thin, in most embodiments about the thickness of a typical screen-printed pattern. For example, the ink may be printed at a thickness of between 1-2 mm. The relationship between the thickness of the overlying fabric  20  and the layer of ink  18  is such that the ink  18  does not significantly rigidify the fabric  20  and the physical and mechanical properties of the fabric  20  are dominant overall, but the layer of ink  18  does help the window  12  lie flat and hold its form. 
     The type of fabric  20  is not believed to be critical, so long as the ink  18  can adhere to it. In some embodiments, the fabric  20  may be made of a natural fiber, like cotton. In other embodiments, the fabric  20  may be a blend of natural and synthetic fibers. For example, the fabric  20  may be a bamboo fiber/viscose (rayon)/LYCRA® elastomer blend or a cotton/viscose (rayon) blend. Other fibers and fabrics, like polyester and linen, may be used, depending on the nature of the garment  10  and the nature of the fabric  20 . For example, if the garment  10  is a pair of jeans, the fabric  20  may be denim or a denim/elastomer blend. Similarly, if the garment  10  comprises leggings, the fabric  20  may be, e.g., a nylon/elastomer blend. 
     The ink itself may be, for example, a two part system, such as the IMS2100 base and IMS2200 catalyst sold by Dow Corning (Midland, Mich., United States). 
     The ink may be printed or deposited in any conventional fashion. After deposition, if necessary or desirable, the printed garment  10  may be heat treated, left to rest for a defined period of time, or subjected to any other steps necessary to cure the ink  18  properly on the garment  10 . 
     While the layer of ink  18  of the illustrated embodiment is generally continuous, in other embodiments, the layer of ink  18  may be patterned. In some embodiments, a layer of ink or another material may be printed or deposited below the layer of ink  18  to promote adhesion between the ink  18  and the underlying garment  10 . 
     The window  12  of the illustrated embodiment is round, although the window  12  may be made in any shape in other embodiments, including square, rectangular, oval, or in some other polygonal form. Windows  12  may also be made in arbitrary and decorative shapes. 
     Any number of processes may be used to create the window or windows  12 , including traditional cutting, die cutting, and punching. The window  12  may be created before or after the ink  18  is deposited. The inventors have found that laser cutting may be a particularly useful way to cut windows  12 , in that it allows for both a precise edge and an arbitrary shape, and helps fuse the edges of the window  12  when used with silicone ink  18 , as described below. In a typical process, the ink  18  would be applied and then the window  12  would be laser cut. 
     If laser cutting is to be used, the ink  18  may be applied only in the border area  16 , or it may be applied across the entire area that is to be covered by the window  12  plus the border area  16 . If the ink  18  is applied across the entire area to be covered by the window  12 , the portion of the ink  18  inside the area of the window  12  would simply be cut away. In that case, the ink  18  would be printed in a shape such as a circle, and a smaller circle would be cut from the area of the ink  18  to form the window  12 . Generally speaking, the shape in which the ink  18  is applied and the shape of the window  12  will be complementary, so that the border area  16  is at least roughly the same shape as the window  12  itself and extends substantially uniformly around it. 
     As was described briefly above, the silicone ink  18 , in addition to acting as a non-slip agent, may act as a fusing agent in combination with laser cutting, providing a window  12  with a cut edge that is less likely to unravel. In these cases, it may be helpful to print the ink  18  before laser cutting the window  12 . This results in a window  12  with a fused edge. 
     As was described above, windows  12  may be placed in different locations.  FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another embodiment of a garment  100  with a window  102  centered over the upper chest. Similarly,  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of a garment  150  with a window  152  positioned over one breast. The windows  150 ,  152  may be round in an unstretched state, but during wear, the windows  150 ,  152  may stretch to a more oblong shape. If the garment is a shirt, windows may also be provided in other locations, like the upper back. If the garment is a pair of pants or leggings, a window may be provided, for example, on the side of the calf or the front of the thigh, to name a few options. 
     While the invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, the description is intended to be exemplary, rather than limiting. Modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims.