Patent ID: 8196220

Claim:
A garment adapted to be worn by a wearer, comprising, as defined by the location of the garment on a wearer, a base layer of a stretchable elasticated fabric, said base layer covering at least a part of the torso of the wearer, the base layer having a hip region overlying the hips of the wearer, said base layer extending upwardly beyond the lowermost ribs of the wearer and downwardly to below the crotch region of the wearer, the base layer having an outer surface and an inner surface, and an inner core layer formed of stretchable elasticated fabric and bonded to said inner surface of the base layer over only a portion of said inner surface, the inner core layer having a front part overlying the abdomen of the wearer and a back part overlying the lower back of the wearer, the front and back parts joining at joining regions located at lateral sides of the garment above the hips of the wearer, wherein the front part and the back part are separated from and not connected to each other, at all points below said joining regions, the front part, the back part and the joining regions, taken together, extending continuously all the way around the torso of the wearer, wherein the lower ends of both the front part and the back part of the inner core layer extend down to the crotch region of the wearer.