Improvements in Trousers.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Apr., 1894--Accepted, 9th June, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Trousers.
We, JAMES LEONARD WASSON Merchant, and JOHN EDGAR LEAVITT
Manufacturer both of 400 Washington Street Boston in the County of Suffolk and
State of Massachusetts, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This invention relates to an improvement in trousers, and has for its object to
provide a novel construction, as will be described, whereby the trousers may be
firmly secured to the wearer without the use of belts or of the ordinary back strap,
such as now commonly found on trousers. In accordance with this invention, the
trousers are provided with one or more preferably V-shaped elastic gores fitted into
a suitable opening cut in the trousers of substantially the shape of the gore, and
firmly stitched or otherwise secured to the trousers.
The elastic gore referred to, will preferably be composed of two parts, a lower
part which is inserted into an opening in the leg portion of the trousers and an upper
part attached to the lower part and inserted in an opening in the waist-portion of
the trousers and stitched or otherwise firmly secured to the said waist-portion or
band of the trousers to form practically a part thereof.
•
The elastic gore referred to, when the trousers are first used, causes the upper
portion of the trousers to hug the body of the wearer around the waist, but after
the trousers have been worn some little time, the elasticity of the gore is more or
less destroyed, and its holding effect upon the body of the wearer is weakened. To
compensate for the give or wear in elasticity of the gore, we have provided an
elastic strap attached to the elastic waist-portion of the gore so that the slack of
the gore may be taken up; and when taken up, the elastic strap will cause the
upper portion of the gore to cling to the body of the wearer, and yet, by reason of
its elasticity, will permit the gore to respond to changes in position of the body of
the wearer.
These and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claim at the
end of this Specification.
Fig. 1 represents in side elevation a sufficient portion of a pair of trousers
embodying this invention to enable it to be understood, the elastic strap being
shown closed or in a position it would occupy when taking up the slack in the waist-
portion of the gore, and
Fig. 2, a similar view to Fig. 1 showing the elastic buckle as opened and not in
use.
The trousers a are and may be of any usual or suitable construction, such as now
commonly worn and are herein represented as provided with a substantially
V-shaped opening made in the leg portion a¹ of the trousers and in the waist-portion
or band a². The substantially V-shaped opening referred to, has fitted into it an
elastic gore preferably made as herein shown, it consisting of a substantially
V-shaped lower portion 6 and a substantially oblong shaped upper portion b₁,
herein represented as of a different structure or material from the lower portion
but which is preferably firmly attached to the said lower portion as by stitching 6*
and practically forms the base of the elastic portion b.
The portions of the elastic gore are firmly secured to the edges of the
opening in the trousers as by stitches 6. The elastic gore referred to, is made of
suitable size and clasticity to cause the upper portion and especially the waist-
portion a² of the trousers to fit snugly upon and cling to the waist of the wearer,

page_text: especially the hips, and by reason of its elasticity, permit the body to be bent
forward or backward without exerting strain upon the front or rear portions of the
trousers.
of
When the elastic gore is subjected to frequent strain, as would occur by a
continual bending of the body in either direction, the upper or base portion
the gore soon loses its elasticity, thereby enlarging the waist-portion of the trousers,
and causing the wearer much inconvenience.
In order to take up the slack thus occasioned in the waist-band of the trousers,
., without straining the front or rear of the trousers, we have provided the said elastic
gore with an adjustable elastic strap c, having one end secured to the waist-
portion of the elastic gore, and being adapted to be connected to the elastic
wai-t-portion at or near its opposite end.
In the present instance, the elastic strap c is represented (see Fig. 2) as secured
to the elastic waist-portion 6' by rows of stitching d dx forming a pocket in which
is located one portion or member of a buckle, which is herein shown as composed of
two links or eyes d' d' extended through a metal sleeve d, the latter being affixed
to the elastic waist-portion &', as represented, by the elastic strap c, the said metal
sleeve being represented as located between the rows of stitching dd. The elastic
band or strap e engages a co-operating member d' of the buckle, which member is
shown as a link attached to the elastic portion of the gore near the end opposite
to that to which the elastic strap is secured, the said link being represented as
attached to the elastic portion 61 by a loop d' of cloth or it may be of elastic
material, which is firmly secured to the elastic portion b¹ by rows of stitching d.
In the normal position of the elastic strap, its end may be passed through the
link das represented in Fig. 2, and be left free or extended therefrom or the end
of the said elastic strap, after passing through the link ', may be passed under the
link d and through the link d, after which it may be passed down under the link d¹
to firmly clamp the elastic strap c, when the free end of the strap is drawn into
the position shown in Fig. 1. The elastic strap c may be loosened by turning the
link from the position shown in Fig. 1 back into the position shown in Fig. 2.
When the trousers a are first worn, the elastic gore will cause the waist-portion
of the trousers to fit snugly the waist of the wearer, thereby enabling the wearer to
dispense with the ordinary suspenders and belts, and the elastic gore will retain its
normal elasticity until the trousers have been worn some little time.
While the elastic gore retains its normal elasticity, the elastic band or strap c
may be loose, but when the elastic gore and especially the upper or waist-portion b
becomes extended or slack, or in other words, loses its elasticity and thereby its
usefulness, which occurs when the trousers have been used for some length of time,
the elastic strap c, after being placed in the position shown in Fig. 1, may be drawn
upon to take up the slack in the elastic portion 61 of the gore and thereby again
cause the trousers to fit snugly the waist of the wearer, the elastic strap being firmly
held from becoming loose until positively acted upon by the wearer, by the
link d.
When the elastic strap has been adjusted to take up the give or loss in elasticity
of the elastic gore and to thereby cause the waist-portion of the trousers to again
properly fit the waist of the wearer, as described, the normal elasticity of the gore
is practically restored by reason of the fact that the adjustable strap is elastic, and as
a result, the trousers fit the body snugly and retain their property of yielding to
the motions of the body even after the elastic gore has become useless, and the
body of the wearer may be bent in either direction without inconvenience and
without exerting strain upon the parts of the trousers, as the original elasticity of
the portion of the gore is compensated for by the elasticity of the strap c.
We have herein described the upper portion of the elastic gore as attached to
the lower substantially V-shaped portion by rows of stitching, but it is evident
that the upper portion and the lower portion may be cut out of a single piece of
webbing, as for instance, by a suitable die or it may be with shears.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven--
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
1. A pair of trousers having an elastic gore secured in the waist-band and body-
portion thereof, said gore having an adjustable elastic strap secured at its ends to
one of the faces of the said gore, substantially as described.
2. A pair of trousers having an elastic gore secured in the waist-band and body-
portion thereof, said gore having co-operating with it an adjustable elastic strap
extended over the gore in the direction of the length of the waist-band and secured.
at its ends, for the purpose specified.
3. An elastic gore for trousers and the like consisting of a substantially V-shaped
piece of elastic fabric having an adjustable elastic strap secured at its ends to one-
of the faces of the base of the gore, substantially as described.
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents..
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents..