Improvements in Nether Garments or Drawers.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1897--Accepted, 29th Jan., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Nether Garments or Drawers.
I, JEREMIAH ANDERSON SCRIVEN, (Manufacturer), residing at No. 32 & 34,
West 16th Street, in the City, County and State of New York, 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;
-
My Invention relates to nether garments, and has for its object to provide a
nether garment which will snugly fit a wearer.
My Invention, although applicable otherwise, is especially adapted to summer
underwear, which is usually made of thin inelastic material which sticks to a
skin wet with perspiration, and being inelastic, tears or splits when any con-
siderable stress is put upon it. These and other difficulties are overcome by con-
structing nether garments according to my Invention, which will be understood
by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a man
wearing a nether garment embodying my Invention ;
Figure 2 is a front view of the nether garment opened out to more clearly
exhibit the construction.
In this drawing A represents a pair of drawers comprising an inelastic front
section a. This inelastic front section is united at the top to a waist band or waist
piece b. The inelastic section a extends over the hips of the wearer and constitutes
the hip portion of the garment extending to the rear thereof and forming a part
of the rear of the garment, and is shown in the drawing as extending over the
hips of the wearer and lapping over the elastic section which is below it and
covering a large portion of his buttocks, being cut on a curve c and tapering to a
point at or near the middle of the rear of the garment below the waist band. An
elastic section or insertion is secured to the rear edges of the section a and covers
the buttocks and the rear portion of the legs of the wearer. This elastic section
may be in one piece or in two pieces de, the essential feature being that it shall
form less than half of the garment; that is to say that the front section of the
garment shall extend to the rear of the garment so as to form more than half of
the garment, the remaining portion of the garment being constituted by the elastic
insertion.
The legs and buttocks of a wearer vary considerably in shape according to the
position taken by the person, and consequently the garment is made stretchable
at the places where the stress occurs, so that whatever strain is put upon the
garment is taken up by the elastic rear portion thereof. This rear portion may
be in one piece or in two pieces, as shown, and is preferably made of elastic ribbed
knitted fabric, as shown, with the ribs f upright, as shown, so that the garment.
may stretch laterally.
It will be observed that the front inelastic section is divided to form a fly and
that the rear elastic section is continuous or undivided. I would have it understood,
that in using the terms elastic and inelastic, I mean to convey by the term inelastic
the fact that the portions of the garment so designated are less elastic than the

page_text: elastic portion, but that they are not absolutely inelastic, as fabrics generally have
more or less elasticity.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In a nether garment, the combination of a front section a of inelastic material
extending over the hips of the wearer and having its rear edge cut on a curve c
surrounding the buttocks, and a section of elastic material secured to the said
edge c and covering the buttocks so as to stretch when the garment is strained in
use.
2. A pair of drawers comprising an inelastic waist band, an inelastic front
section a extending around and forming part of the rear of the drawers and adapted
to cover a portion of the buttocks and a continuous rear elastic section constituting
a portion only of the rear of the drawers below the rear-ward extensions of the
front sections, the said elastic section being therefore overlapped by the said
extensions of the inelastic section, substantially as specified.
3. In a pair of drawers, the combination of a waist band b, an inelastic front
section a secured to the lower edge of the said waist band and extending over the
hips of the wearer and forming part of the rear thereof, the lower edge of the said
inelastic section a being sloped away from the lower rear edge of the waist band
so as to impart to the upper part of the said inelastic section the general shape
of a tapering gore and an elastic rear section secured to the edges of the inelastic
front section and constituting with the said front section an under garment having
its front. portion and part of its rear portion inelastic and with an elastic rear
portion constituting part only of the rear of the garment.
Dated this 7th day of December 1897.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.