Detachable stirrup for women's slacks and stretch-pants

Aug. 17, 1965

S. STERNBERG

3,200,414

DETACHABLE STIRRUP FOR WOMEN’S SLACKS AND STRETCH-PANTS

Filed June 26, 1964

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ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Office

3,200,414

Patented Aug. 17, 1965

3,200,414 DETACHABLE STIRRUP FOR WOMEN’S SLACKS AND STRETCH-PANTS

Samuel Sternberg, 562 Cardinal Road, Brasher, Pa. Filed June 26,1964, Ser. No. 378,156

Claims. (CI. 2—232)

This invention relates to garment slacks of the type generally worn by women and young ladies, and more particularly relates to a stirrup or “boot-strap” construction for garments, commonly referred to as “stretchpants,” in order to draw the leg portions down about the ankles of the wearer.

The modern trend of high-fashion styles for teenage girls, young women and ladies has been toward producing a slim or reedy long-legged appearance. With the advent of the newly-developed fabric materials which stretch or yield in one or more directions, it has become possible to fabricate garments which cling closely and mold to the body so as to accentuate the natural contours of the female torso. Frequently, the cuffs of the stretch-pants and slacks have stirrups or boot-straps which are adapted to gird the wearer’s sole and thereby prevent riding-up of the slack legs. This produces a jodhpur or casual continental look with an air of sporty informality.

However, stylists and designers recognize that the temperments and moods of young ladies, particularly teenagers, are subject to wide fluctuations even in a single day. While young women may wish to have a sporty gamboling look for kicking and jumping about during the afternoon, evening often brings on a desire for a more subdued appearance which is radically altered simply by the removal of the boot-strap stirrup.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a detachable stirrup construction for women’s slacks and Stretch-pants.

Another object of this invention is to provide interchangeable stirrups for women’s slacks and stretch-pants.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a stirrup construction for women’s slacks and stretch-pants whereby the cuffs on the leg portions thereof may be uniformly drawn down about the wearer’s ankles without pulling the garment out of shape.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a design for women’s slacks and stretch-pants which can be rapidly altered from a look of sporty informality to one of subdued propriety.

Other objects of this invention is to provide an improved garment of the character described which is easily and economically produced, that is sturdy in construction, -and highly efficient and effective in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists of the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following detailed construction when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view, partly exploded, of a detachable stirrup for women’s slacks embodying this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a bottom perspective view of one leg of the slacks showing the stirrup in place only on a single side and detached from the other side.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3—3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4—4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5—5 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is an exploded view of another embodiment of the stirrup construction.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, I show a pair of women’s slacks, generally designated as A, to the cuff portions of which are detachably secured respective stirrups, generally designated as B.

The slacks A are for the most part of conventional construction and include a body portion 12, which fits snugly about the tower trunk of the wearer, and a pair of tubular leg portions 14 and 16 which depend therefrom and clad her thighs, knees and calves 'to an area adjacent her ankles. The instant invention is particularly advantageous in its adaptation for use with “stretch-pants” which are made from a fabric distensible in one and/or two directions of its weave. While the slacks A illustrated herein are woven from a 65% wool and 35% nylon combination which permits elongation along the axis of the leg portions, it is to be understood that such is merely demonstrative since the detachable stirrups B may be employed equally as well with other fabrics. Similarly, although the slacks A can be manufactured by usual fabrication procedures in which the leg portions 14 and 16 and the body portion 12 are made from front and back pieces sewn together along their marginal edges, their construction may also be “full-fashioned” wherein the body and leg portions may be unitarily woven in their entirety without sewing on circular, full-fashioned knitting machines.

The lower end of each leg portion is turned or lapped under and peripherally chain stitched at the edge 17 to form an interior cuff or hem 18. The area between the peripherally lapped fabric faces defines a tunnel or stall which assists in supporting the stirrup B. Spaced pairs of buttonhole-stitched slits 22, 23 and 24, 25 are fabricated in the hem 18 at the respective lateral sides of each leg portion. A rectangular patch C of a contact engaging textile material is sewn at 26 to the hem 18 intermediate the slits 22, 23 and 24, 25 of each pair. Each patch C has a multitude of hook-like segments 28 extending outwardly as a pile from the face of a fabric cloth 30. The hook-like pile 28 is adapted to become ensnared with and interlockedly engage in a random manner a raised pile of looped threads 32 loosely projecting from the surface of a complementary patch Cl on the stirrup B when the latter patch is pressed into contact therewith.

Such complementary contact engaging textile materials are well known in the art and fully described and set forth in U.S. Patent No. 2,717,437 entitled “Velvet Type Fabric and Method of Producing Same.” These fabrics are presently available under the trademark “Velcro” manufactured by the Velcro Corporation of New York, New York. The Velcro contact engaging units consists of two strips of flexible fabric material one of which has a multitude of tiny monofilament hooks made of synthetic plastic, such as nylon, and the other having a multitude of tiny wire-like threads sewn in a plurality of random loops, each protruding outwardly from the respective surfaces as a raised pile. The patches C are arbitrarily referred to as a first type of contact engaging material, and the patches Cl as a second type of contact engaging material. When the surfaces of the materials are pressed together the hooks 28 become haphazardly engaged in the loops 32 such that a fair amount of force, several ounces, is necessary to tear the engaged strips apart. However, once the complementary patches C and Cl are engaged with each other, it requires over 25 pounds of force in a “shearing” direction to shear the patches apart. It is apparent that when the stirrups B are attached to the slacks A and draw the leg portions downwardly, the force exerted on the contacting engaged faces of the fabric is almost entirely in slidable shear.

Each of the stirrups B comprises a flexible strap 34 to each end of which is secured a fiat stay or tongue tab 36 and one patch Cl. The strap 34 is of a textile material which is generally of a color and fabric matching that of

3,300,414 ³ the slacks A themselves. However, the strap material need not be of stretch fabric. The tongue tabs 36 are preferably of a semi-rigid plastic material, such as polyethylene, so that they can be resiliently flexed for insertion within the slits and yet offer resistance to buckling when 5 pressure is exerted thereon transverse to the longitudinal axes thereof. The ends of each tongue 36 is tapered to facilitate insertion within the respective slits. As may be seen from FIGURES 2 and 4, the ends of the strap 34 are looped around the medial portion of each stay tab 36, jq and patch Cl placed in abutment with the anterior face of the looped strap portion. The patch Cl with its pile surface 32 facing outwardly and the stay tab 36 are then sewn to each strap end by a rectangular line of stitching 38. _1S

In order to couple the stirrup B to the slacks A, opposing tongues of the respective stay tabs 36 are pliably inserted within the corresponding slit pairs 22, 23 and 24, 25 so that the tapered ends project within the cuff stall 20 of both the leg portions 14 and 16. Slight finger pres- 20 sure enables each stay 36 to be flexed sufficiently for convenient insertion. However, when finger pressure is removed, the stays 36 resiliently spring back into their initial flat configuration and assist in orienting the cuffs into a plane co-extensive with the line of the slack pleats. 25 At the same time, the abutting faces of the material engaging patches C and Cl are urged into interlocking contact with each other. When the stirrups B are cradled under the soles of the wearer’s feet or shoes, the bottom of the cuff provides subjacent support for the stays 36 30 while the material engaging patches C and Cl cooperate therewith and with each other as the leg portions of the slacks A are stretchably tensioned.

It is also apparent that the stirrups B may be easily detached from the slacks A by pulling one tongue of the 35 stays 36 at a time out of the cuff stall 20 through one of the slits. Thereafter, the abutting patches C and Cl are separated simply by tearing them apart.

In FIGURE 6, I show a stirrup modification Bl which utilizes a transparent medial strap 40 to the ends of which 40 are secured stay tabs 36 and patches Cl in a manner substantially identical to that of stirrup B. The transparent strap 40 is made of polished clear vinyl strip material so as to appear invisible and hence non-contrasting against the background of the wearer’s shoes or feet. 45 However, the stirrup Bl is detachable as the device first described.

It is also to be observed that the patches C and Cl may be reversed so that the stirrups will carry the hooked fabric while the slacks carry the looped pile fabric, but 50 under no circumstances should patches of opposing types be secured to the opposite sides of the cuffs because of the likelihood of their sticking together.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.