Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Sept., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 1st Nov., 1895-Accepted, 6th Dec., 1895
1, ALICE LOUISA BYGRAVE of No. 13 Canterbury Road, Brixton in the
County of Surrey, Dressmaker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in ladies' cycling skirts and the object
of it is to provide a skirt proper for wear when either on or off the machine.
In carrying the invention into effect, 1 make use of an ordinary skirt and the
ordinary knickerbockers, the former being worn over the latter.
I fasten a tape or
cord to the bottom edge of the skirt in front and carry this cord up through
suitable guides to the top of the skirt where it is made fast in any convenient
way. The back of the skirt is fitted with a cord in the same way as the front.
As the wearer prepares to mount her machine, she pulls both cords in from
the top, thereby raising the skirt before and behind to a sufficient heighth, after
which she makes the cords fast in any convenient way, as for instance to the same
fastening to which the top ends of them are held. This raising of the skirt
before and behind leaves the sides of it festooned, as it were, over the knickers.
Before dismounting, the above mentioned cords are loosened and the skirt pulled
down, back and front, by suitable weights made fast to the bottom edge of it.
Dated this 13th day of September 1895.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicant.
I, ALICE LOUISA BYGRAVE of No. 13 Canterbury Road, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, Dressmaker, 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 improvements in ladies' cycling skirts and the object of
it is to provide a skirt as proper for wear when the wearer is on her cycle as when
she has dismounted.
In carrying the invention into effect, I make use of an ordinary skirt and the
ordinary knickerbockers. Each of these garments is held to and on the person as
heretofore. In fact the present invention does not modify the knickerbockers at
all, and, for that reason, their absence or replacement by any other bifurcate!
garment does not affect the invention.
The invention consists in the combination with the skirt, of a cord or cords made
fast by one end to the bottom edge of the skirt, and long enough to present free
ends outside the skirt near the band of the latter within easy reach of the wearer's
bands; a clip near the said band to which the cord can be readily made fast and
from which it can be easily detached, and a weight fast to the skirt near each
junction of the bottom end of a cord to the skirt.

page_text: wearer, that of their position is to provide for the skirt gathering centrally of the
wearer's figure and hanging equally thereon; that of the weights is to pull the skirt
down to the ground and that of the clips is to hold the cords in either of their
terminal positions.
The invention is applied to both the front and to the back of the skirt. And
with reference to the back, I prefer to use duplicate cords, working side by
side down the skirt and presenting their free ends one on each side, towards the
front.
Referring to the accompanying drawings which are to be taken as part of this
Specification:-
Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a skirt illustrating the application of the present
invention to the back of it.
Figure 2 is a full length figure shewing the wearer immediately after she has let
the back of the skirt down to the feet, after dismounting from her cycle.
Figure 3 shews her ready to fasten the same cords after the skirt has been
raised preparatory to mounting.
a, a are the knickerbockers. bis the skirt.
c is the front cord. It is made fast by one end to the bottom edge of the skirt
exactly in the middle in front thereof, and from there it is led upwards to nearly
as far as the skirt. baud d where its free end e hangs loose outside the skirt. The
direction in which the cord is led is vertical. f is the guide through which the cord
is led. Both guide and cord are, preferably, inside the skirt, for the sake of
appearance; but whether they are inside or outside the skirt does not matter as
far as the action of the invention is concerned. It is, however, of importance
that the cord should run and work centrally up and down the front.
The guide may be of any suitable type. I have illustrated it as consisting of a
bem sewn to the skirt. A row of loops or rings, is an efficient substitute for the
hem. This guide may be dispensed with altogether, but I prefer to make use of
it, because it is likely to prevent the cord e catching on an under garment.
g is the hole in the skirt through which the free end of the cord c (when it is
led up the inside of the skirt) is brought so as to be within reach of the wearer's
hand. is a clip adapted to grip the cord e and to hold it in either of its terminal,
or any intermediate position, as may be required. Any type of clip capable of so
holding the said cord, may be made use of. The clip illustrated is a triangular
metal loop having its sides brought close enough together near the apex to leave the
distance between them rather less than the normal thickness of the cord. The
opposite side or base of the clip is made fast to the skirt at a point or along a line
immediately above the hole g so as to be in the line of the pull on the cord c, and
leaving the apex above mentioned hanging down upon it at a short distance above
the hole g.
The free end of the cord is led through the clip 4 from the underside
and hangs down in front of it. A pull upon the pendant free end e suffices to
compress the cord between the approximated sides of the clip.
i is a concealed weight. It is made fast to the bottom edge of the skirt where
the end of the cord is made fast to it and should be a little heavier than the front
of the skirt in order that the latter may be pulled down quickly as soon as the
cord is released from the clip h.
To raise the front of the skirt, the free end e of the cord is taken in the hand
and pulled upwards. This releases,it from the clip h. The pull is continued until
the skirt is as high as the wearer's comfort as a cyclist requires, whereupon the
direction of the pull is suddenly reversed. This compresses the cord in the bight
or between the approximated ends of the clip h. The above described motions of
disengaging and re-engaging the cord with the said clip are modified according to
the type of clip which is made use of. The loose end e is finally tucked into the
skirt band d.
The duplicate cords, guides, weights, and clips, for the back of the skirt, are
replicas of those already described, excepting that the clips are fixed one on

page_text: each side of the skirt, towards the front. They are markel with the same
reference letters as those pertaining to the front with the addition of small
numerals 1 and 2. The free ends e¹, e² of the cords c', c³ are longer accordingly.
It must be understood that the duplication of the cords and their addenda for the
back of the skirt is not an indispensable feature of the invention. One cord with
its addenda would realise the object of the present invention in respect of the
back of the skirt, but, I prefer to have them in duplicate, one to be worked from
cach side of the wearer.
The presentation of the free ends e¹, e of the cords 1, 2, at the sides of the
wearer, is to make the use of them more easy and graceful than if they both
presented behind. This change of position makes the pulls on the cords lateral
instead of vertical, and to oppose the consequent strains, the clips are connected to
the skirt so as to be in the line of pall.
It is a part of my invention that the cords shall be led and work only up and
down the front or back of the skirt, or up and down both front and back, and
centrally thereof. The cords pull only from one of two points, the middle of the
bottom edge in front and the middle of the bottom edge behind. And the pulls
must be central, or the skirt will not hang in equal festoons on both sides. As to
the sides they are reached only through the fabric-there is no direct pull upon
them or they would not festoon.
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. The combination of cord, weight, and clip with the front only of a skirt, as
set forth.
2. The combination of cord, weight, and clip with the back only of
set forth.
skirt, as
3. The combination of cords, weights and clips with the back only of a skirt, as
set forth.
4. The combination of cords, weights, and clips with only the front and back,
respectively, of a skirt as set forth.
Dated this 1st day of November 1895.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
No. 22 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.