Improvements in Waist Belts or Bands for Personal Wear, chiefly Intended for Use in Ladies' Dresses.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Feb., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Dec., 1896-Accepted, 2nd Jan., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Waist Belts or Bands for Personal Wear, chiefly
Intended for Use in Ladies' Dresses.
We, ANN HOPKINSON, of Cleveland House, Edgerton, Huddersfield, in the
County of York, and JOSEPH HOPKINSON of the same address, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to waist belts or bands chiefly intended for use in ladies
dresses for the purpose of ensuring greater comfort to the wearer than is possible
with the mode of supporting the skirt heretofore in use and also for the purpose of
supporting the skirt and preventing the lifting of the dress bodice in a
efficient and certain manner than heretofore.
According to the said invention we provide a waist belt or band which is
intended to be sewn or otherwise firmly secured along its upper and lower edges to
the inside of the dress bodice in the place where the ordinary waist belt or band
is usually fixed. The said belt or band is secured to the bodice preferably for a
distance extending nearly the whole width of the back of the wearer. The ends
of the belt or band are provided with the usual buckle or other ordinary means
for fastening them together at the front.
In combination with the said belt or band we employ a cord, tape, wire or other
suitable inelastic but flexible material which is firmly secured at its ends to the
belt or band and which is supported at intermediate points by being threaded
through an eyelet hole or two or more eyelet holes in the belt, or through a ring
or rings or other equivalent for the eyelet holes fixed at intervals to the belt.
We provide the skirt with two or more hooks which when the dress is in use are
hooked on to the said flexible cord, wire or the like and support the skirt in a
manner that allows perfect freedom ease and comfort to the wearer whilst
preventing the separation of the bodice and skirt.
These hooks will not come unhooked accidentally however much the wearer
may twist or move about, and moreover owing to the several hooks being engaged
with a flexible continuous cord the strain at any point will be equalized and
distributed over the whole of the back of the bodice and will prevent that
uncomfortable drag which is experienced by the wearer when the skirt is supported
at one two or more fixed points as heretofore. The weight of the skirt is also
removed from the hips and thrown more upon the shoulders thereby ensuring
greater freedom ease and comfort.
These improvements although specially intended for use in ladies' dresses are
not confined to that use as they may obviously be applied to gentlemen's clothing
for preventing the lifting of the waistcoat and for supporting the trousers.
Dated this 18th day of February 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in Waist Belts or Bands for Personal Wear, chiefly
Intended for Use in Ladies' Dresses.
We, ANN HOPKINSON, of Cleveland House, Edgerton, Huddersfield, in the
County of York, Married Woman, aud JOSEPH HOPKINSON, of the same address,
Engineer, 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 waist belts or bands chiefly intended for use in ladies
dresses for the purpose of supporting the skirt and preventing in an efficient and
certain manner the lifting of the dress bodice while ensuring greater comfort to
the wearer than is possible with the mode of supporting the skirt heretofore
in use.
According to the said invention we provide a waist belt or band which is
intended to be sewn or otherwise firmly secured to the inside of the dress bodice in
the place where the ordinary waist belt or band is usually fixed, a buckle or other
equivalent means being provided for fastening the ends of the belt or band
together at the front. In combination with the said belt or band we employ a
flexible but inelastic cord, tape, wire or the like firmly secured at its ends to the
helt or band and supported between its ends by being threaded through an eyelet
hole or two or more eyelet holes in the belt, or through a ring or rings or other
equivalent for the eyelet holes fixed at intervals to the belt.
We provide the skirt with two or more hooks which when the dress is in use are
hooked on to the said flexible cord, wire or the like and support the skirt in a
manner that allows perfect freedom, ease and comfort to the wearer whilst
preventing the separation of the bodice and skirt.
Referring to the accompanying drawings which show our invention applied to a
ladies dress,
Figure 1 is a view of a dress bodice showing our improved belt attached to the
inside thereof;
Figure 2 is a rear view of the upper part of the dress skirt ;
Figure 3 is a view from the front showing the skirt and bodice attached
together; and
Figure 4 is a view of the belt detached.
Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the several figures.
A is the dress bodice; B is the skirt; C is the waist band or belt attached to
the inside of the bodice by stitching as indicated at C', and furnished with a
buckle C for securing together the ends of the belt at the front.
D is a flexible but inelastic cord threaded through eyelet holes E in the belt and
having its ends securely fixed to the belt. F, Fare books attached to the band
of the skirt and adapted to be hooked on to the cord D when the dress is put on.
The said hooks will not come unhooked accidentally however much the wearer
may twist or move about, and moreover owing to the hooks being engaged with a
flexible continuous cord the strain at any point will be equalized and distributed
over the whole of the back of the bodice and will prevent that uncomfortable drag
which is experienced by the wearer when the skirt is supported at one, two or
more fixed points as heretofore. The weight of the skirt is also removed from the
hips and thrown more upon the shoulders thereby ensuring greater freedom, ease
and comfort. When the invention is applied to a blouse that is arranged to pass
inside the band of the skirt the waist belt may be sewn to the outside of the
blouse.

page_text: These improvements although specially intended for use in ladies' dresses are
not confined to that use as they may obviously be applied to gentlemen's clothing
for preventing the lifting of the waistcoat and for supporting the trousers.
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 waist belt attached to the bodice of a lady's dress in combination with a
flexible cord or the like threaded through and attached at its ends to the belt and
with hooks for hooking the skirt upon said cord or the like, substantially as, and.
for the purposes, specified.
2. As an article of manufacture a belt in combination with a flexible cord or
the like, substantially as described with reference to Figure 4 of the accompanying
drawings.
Lond dow of December 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants..