IMPROVE- IN SHIRTS AND CHEMISES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
IN SHIRTS AND CHEMISES."-A communication from abroad
by Madame Sénécal, formerly Marguerite Edile Guébin, of 29, Boule-
vart St. Martin, Paris.
Sealed the 18th February 1862, and dated the 30th August 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th
August 1861.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in County of Middlesex,
Engineer & Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIRTS AND CHEMISES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved construction of shirts or chemises for
men's, women's, or children's wear. Hitherto the various alterations in the
forms of these articles have been directed solely to improve the fit of the fronts
& sleeves, entirely overlooking the form of the skirts, which are at present
calculated to hinder the action of the wearer and produce a bad fit.
According to this Invention I form the front and back of the shirt or

page_text: chemise so as to lap over and fit round the thighs in the manner of a pair of
drawers; buttons and loops or other fastenings are suitably placed for uniting
the front leg pieces to the back pieces so as to envelop the thighs, and thus
cause the shirt or chemise to retain its position. The requisite opening is
made in front and behind, which openings are closed by buttoning or other-
wise. These shirts may further be opened at the sides, and similarly secured
when in wear.
These improved forms of shirts and chemises may be made of any material,
and are especially applicable for travellers, and military, naval, or equestrian
wear.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th February 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of August, in the year of our Lord
Ono thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Clark, Ier special licence that I, the said William Clark,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SHIRTS AND CHEMISES," a communication from abroad by Madame Sénécal,
formerly Margueritte Edile Guébin, of 29, Boulovart St. Martin, Paris, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Clark, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Clark, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings bereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
Much time has been spent and is still spent in endeavouring to give a more
elegant form and fit to the upper parts of shirts, the form of which, as also
that of the sleeves, appear to leave nothing to be desired; whereas the lower
part of this garment, which should fit perfectly at the fork under the drawers,
and form as it were the lining thereof, has been to the present time completely
neglected, and left as it were to itself; in such way that persons have never
been perfectly dressed in this particular, for although the drawers be pulled
over it with every precaution, which is, however, useless, the shirt on the least
motion of the body immediately displaces itself, and rubs into folds at the fork
or rides up the back, which, as every one knows, produces great discomfort for
the rest of the day.
In the annexed Drawings are represented the improved, comfortable,
adherent shirts of this Invention, calculated to remedy these defects.
Fig. 1 represents a front view of this improved shirt buttoned or fastened
in position on the body. O shows the ordinary length of the shirt according
to this system, having five buttons b, b, b, b, b, one placed at the fork and two
at each side about three inches apart more or less between the legs; O¹ indi-
cates a less length, but sufficient to justify the term comfortable adherent,
which I apply to my improved shirt baving only three buttons; O shows the
length below the knce to which the shirt may be extended, especially for
females, who by the aid of this system, may entirely dispense with drawers, as
seen in Fig. 1. The comfortable adherent shirt resembles exactly the drawers
in form from the fork. It should also be remarked that this Invention may,
if desired, be applied to ordinary shirts, whether for night or day service, pro-
vided the length permits of attaching at least three buttons, one at the fork
and one inside each leg, as shown by letter O¹. To effect this it is necessary,
1st, to close the opening which exists in ordinary shirts at the thigh, as shown
by letter A; 2ndly, to cut both the hind and front skirts in the centre from
the bottom edge of the fabric up to the fork in such manner that the double
flaps at each side may, on being fastened by means of buttons or otherwise,
cover the hips, as represented at Fig. 1; 3rdly, to make a slit c about three
inches in length E (more or less) below the middle of the front of the shirt,
that is to say, below the waist, which slit is hidden in the folds of the fabric,

page_text: and may be extended to within an inch more or less F of the button-holo B
intended to unite the front part of the shirt to the buttons placed behind
under another slit G, to be herein-after described with reference to Fig. 3.
Fig. 2 represents a front view of the shirt opened and developed. B repre-
sents the button-hole above mentioned; B', B', B', B', represent four other
button-holes, which I make on each border of the fabric in the direction of
the fork corresponding with buttons b, b, b, b. Fig. 3 represents the back of
this improved shaped shirt opened & developed. G is a slit hidden in the
folds of the shirt extending from near the waist to the lower edge of the
fabric, which should be lengthened a little under the fork, and fastened by
means of a button b, which, as already mentioned, is connected with button-
hole B in such way that when the shirt is thus secured in front and the
buttons b, b, b, b, are connected to button-holes B', B', B', B', it will be per-
fectly closed, and becomes adherent to all the parts of the body which it covers
and protects. The slit G may be closed, if desired, by means of a button &
button-hole in the middle at II, or lower, if necessary, the only object being
to hide the slit, the purpose of which will be readily understood, while in case
of necessity this button, as also the one b, can be readily unfastened; thus it is
only a simple precaution to be taken. Whatover may be the position of the
body this improved shirt can, without the least inconvenience, partake in all the
to-and-fro movements of the thigh, because it should not be in tension, but
capable of replacing itself again if at any time the shirt be disarranged from
any cause. The buttons securing the thigh pieces should never be undone.
Thus the improved system above described seenis perfect as regards health,
decency, and the comfort and convenience it affords, as it is only requisite in
case of necessity to unfasten the button at the fork connecting at once tho
two corners of the slit G and the front and hind parts of the shirt by means of
button-hole B. Nevertheless I would add, that in case persons should object
to the fastening at the fork, trifling as it seems to me such an objection would
bc, I obviate it as follows:-Instead of connecting the two edges of the lower
slit behind by means of a button b, which, as before described, is connected at
the fork to the button-hole B in front of the shirt, which in this case is dis-
pensed with, as also the button, I simply round the lower parts of the
opening G, as seen at Fig. 4, which represents a back view of the shirt
spread out, which gradually diminishing at each side are united to the button-
holes B', B', nearest the fork. In this manner this improved shirt will satisfy
all objections as to the inconvenience, for in case of necessity it suffices to
unfasten the button at point E at the back of the shirt. Further, while still

page_text: retaining the fundamental principles of this system, I also remedy the liability
of ordinary shirts to tear when put on, and also of disarranging the hair, if it
has been done before dressing. For this purpose I modify them as follows:-
The shirt is is sloped out from the collar in front, somewhat like a coat, and
fastens in front like ordinary shirts by means of small buttons placed down
the middle; below these buttons is another P at the waist, while in order to
close the opening between the waist and the fork I place another button
midway of the length s. As regards the two lower corners at the front of
the shirt, they may be connected by a button and button-hole placed in the
most suitable position, without interfering with the method of securing the
shirt to the thighs. I would observe that in this arrangement and also when
dispensing with the button at the fork (as shown at Fig. 4) for uniting the
back and front parts of the shirt, I may also dispense with the button at the
corner forming the right-hand extremity of the front of the shirt. In this
case I round the corner a little, and furnish the other corner in a direction
from left to right of the body with a button-hole R, which is united to the first
button below the fork on the right thigh. This form of shirt, which is repre-
sented at Fig. 5, fits somewhat less perfectly, inasmuch as the right leg piece
covers less of the thigh than that of the left, although it possesses at least the
advantage of being as much simplified as possible.
Although this improved, comfortable, adherent shirt when arranged
according to the different modifications before described may be made to
properly fit the body, it will be an improvement to apply a strap at the band
at each corner of the shirt-front, and also at each hip, or rather a little above
each hip, having single or double button-holes D, similar to the straps or tabs
ordinarily used in shirts below the middle of the front. The tab placed above
each hip should be strengthened at the seam by means of a double thickness
of the same width as the tab from beneath the arm to the waistband.
These tabs, as also those of the front, are connected to the buttons, may be
placed inside or outside the band of the trowsers or drawers (which by this
system do not require any braces), prevent the shirt shifting on either side, as
it is held at every part, and thus justly enables me to apply the term of com-
fortable adherent shirt to this Invention. These tabs may be replaced by
buttons attached to the shirt, which may be secured to the drawers either by
means of a small independent elastic strap, or it may be of the same material as
the drawers, of about two inches more or less in length, with a button-hole at
cach end. The tabs may also form part of the drawers, in which case they
consist of small projections at the band furnished with button-holes for attach-

page_text: ment to buttons placed at points D, D, D, D, below the shirt-front and above
the bips. These tabs may also be dispensed with, if desired, but in this case
I make a number of button-holes in the belt of the drawers similar to those
above described for connection with buttons D, D, D, D, in such way that
the shirt may be properly secured to the drawers, & thus dispense with the
employment of straps. To render this still more simple I may make a single
button-hole in the band of the drawers above each hip, which being connected
to corresponding buttons on the shirt secure the drawers in such manner as to
prevent the shirt getting out of order. I would here mention that the buttons
applied according to this system for connecting the hip and fork pieces may
be replaced by tapes or other means of fastening, and also that the slit c in
front (the purpose of which for males and young people will be readily under-
stood), as also the buttons which I fix to the band and the double thickness
under the arms to the hip, as above described, are unnecessary for ladies'
chemises, which, as before mentioned, may be lengthened as desired, and reach
below the knees; for example, where they may be furnished with any kind
of trimming or embroidery, if desired. This improved, comfortable, adherent
shirt is also applicable for young children, whose dress, as also that of ladies,
may be modified by dispensing with drawers.
In conclusion, I would observe that I do not confine myself to the precise
dimensions of the shirt, as they may be made to suit the different sizes and
heights of persons, this being simply a question of measurement very easily
determined. It should also be observed that the upper part of the garment
in the elegant forms imparted to it by fashion is left untouched.
Thus it is only necessary for obtaining a good fitting shirt according to this
Invention to ascertain, 1st, the circumference of the thigh, so as to allow
sufficient material for the to-and-fro movement of that part of the body
without being too large; 2ndly, the length from the neck to the fork, both
front and back, caro being taken to make the latter a little longer so as to
permit of the button-hole B for securing the bottom of the slit being united
to button 6 placed in front. As to the distance between each button placed
between the legs, and which I have mentioned as about three inches, it can, as
before mentioned, be augmented or deminished as desired, only when using
one button for each leg it should be so placed as to prevent the button from
becoming unfastened.
This comfortable adherent shirt can be used as a night as well as for a day
shirt, and is especially adapted for travellers, military & naval men, and actors;
persons frequently in the saddle will also find very great benefit from its use.

page_text: These improved, comfortable, adherent shirts may be made of all kinds of
fabrics, such as calico, wool, cotton, or other material.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
JAMES DAISH,
53, Chancery Lane.
W. CLARK. (L.S.)