WO2002078473A1

WO2002078473A1 - Seamless reversible collar on garment

Info

Publication number: WO2002078473A1
Application number: PCT/AU2002/000392
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernadine Annette Reidy
Original assignee: Bernadine Annette Reidy
Priority date: 2001-04-02
Filing date: 2002-03-28
Publication date: 2002-10-10
Also published as: AUPR412701A0

Abstract

A garment (1) has an inner and outer face with a neckline (10) having a peripheral edge. The edge being provided at the rear (11) with a relieved portion (12) shaped such that the neckline can be folded to form collar and lapels flush and continuous with the outer face of the garnment, or folded to lie flush with the inner face of the garnment.

Description

Seamless reversible collar on garment

Area of the Invention

This invention relates to the area of garment design and in particular to collar styling

for front opening garments such jackets and vests and any other forms of apparel

which may have a collar.

Background to the Invention

Most garments having collars are of the front opening variety however this is not

necessarily a limitation of the invention. For convenience sake here the invention will

be discussed in terms of a front opening jacket although the invention is not restricted

to such a garment.

Many garments with a collar have such collars separately attached to the garment

with corresponding visible seams. Such collars are generally only intended to be worn

in one configuration, which is generally flush with the garment, and cannot adopt any

other orientation desired without the associated seaming being visible.

Some garments designed for outdoor wear, such as protective wet weather gear or

hiking and skiing gear and the like, are designed to zip up at the front such that the

collar can be oriented more vertically to provide protection from the weather however

the seaming is still visible, in addition when a collar which is normally meant to be

worn down is turned up unsightly folds and creases can develop. It has been known for garments to use vertically oriented collars such as those on

jackets of the "Mao" type where a vertically oriented collar is provided which is

seamed to the basic garment. This type of collar however is clearly seamed to the

garment and is not intended to be worn down.

Outline of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a garment shape for a preferably

front opening garment which garment may be worn with its collar either substantially

flush with the garment when the collar is folded down or can be worn with the collar

up without any unsightly seams, folds or creasing being visible or which can be worn

with the collar turned inwards.

The invention is a garment having an inner and outer face with a neckline having a

peripheral edge said edge being provided at the rear of the garment with a relieved

portion shaped such that the edge can be folded to form a collar and lapels which lie

substantially flush with and continuous with the outer face of the garment and can

also be folded to lie substantially flush with the inner face of the garment.

It is preferred that the neckline form a substantially upright collar when not folded

down. It may be further preferred that when the peripheral edge of the neckline is

turned to lie substantially flush with the inner face of the garment some fastening

means may be provided to secure the folded material in place.

It is further preferred that the relieved portion at the rear of the neckline peripheral edge permit either one side or the other of the garment to be worn as a lapel while

the opposite side forms a substantially vertically oriented half collar.

While the relieved portion of the neckline periphery may be of any effective shape it

is preferred that it be V shaped. Alternatively it could comprise any aperture in the

rear of the neckline. It is further preferred that the garment be single breasted.

It may also be preferred that when any portion of the neckline periphery is folded

down to form either a collar or a lapel that it be held in position by some attachment

means. It may further be preferred that the attachment means be provided by

magnetic elements attached either internally or externally to the garment.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood we shall describe by

means of non limiting example particular embodiments of the invention with

reference to the accompanying drawings.

Outline of the Drawing Figures

Fig. 1 Is a schematic diagram of the garment neckline design in the unfolded

position;

Fig. 2 Is a schematic design of the rear neckline of the garment in the

unfolded position; Fig. 3 Shows the garment as embodied in Figure 1 with fold lines marked;

Fig. 4 Shows the garment as embodied in Figure 3 with the collar turned

down;

Fig. 5 Is a schematic design of the neckline of the garment with one side

folded down to form a partial collar and single lapel;

Fig. 6 Is a schematic design of the rear neckline of the garment with one side

thereof folded down to form a partial collar and lapel;

Fig. 7 Is a schematic design of the neckline of the garment where the

peripheral neckline in turned inwards;

Fig. 8 Is a schematic design of the rear of the garment neckline as shown in

Figure 7.

Figure 1 shows garment 1 having a neckline 10 with a rear portion 11 having a

relieved portion 12 which in the preferred embodiment shown here is V shaped. This

portion 12 may however be of any desired shape and depth but it is preferred that its

depth should extend approximately to a depth half that of the rear portion 11.

Figure 3 shows the garment of Figure 1 with fold lines 14 indicated by dashed lines.

In this preferred embodiment of the invention a strip of interfacing cut on the straight

grain is placed internally to the garment along fold line 14 thereby preventing any

undesired stretch. The type of interfacing used, or whether it is used, is not germane to the invention

however it is preferred that a soft interfacing be used in the neck area to provide

increased flexibility when folding the material without leaving unsightly creases or

folds visible.

As shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6 the presence of the relieved portion 12 of the rear

neckline 11 permits either one side or both of the neckline to be folded along neckline

folds 14. Figure 5 shows one half of the neckline folded down to form a collar portion

16 and lapel 15.

An alternative is either to have the neckline as shown in Figure 1 or to fold down both

sides as shown in Figure 4 to form a relatively conventional collar and lapels. A

further alternative is shown in Figure 7 where the fold is inwards to form a V neckline

when the garment is viewed from the front. The advantage of this design however is

that when the neckline is folded upwards it sits neatly without any visible unsightly

seams and without unsightly folds and creases.

The garment in the area of the neckline consists of two pieces of material which abut

one and other. For the purposes of the invention it is not germane whether these

pieces of material are of the pattern or fabric type. The presence of two layers of

material does permit interfacing to be used to stiffen the fold line but also permits the

inclusion of a fastening device such as a magnet to be used to firmly connect

adjacent folded parts of the neckline. This use of a fastening means is particularly relevant to the embodiment of the

invention shown in Figures 7 and 8 where the inwardsly folded material is preferably

secured in position.

It is envisaged that individual magnets could be glued within abutting layers of

material such that when the neckline was folded over adjacent magnets would

contact each other and hold the collar and lapels firmly in place. Alternatively the

magnets could be applied to the exterior of the neckline however this would be

aesthetically less desirable however they would only be visible in the embodiment of

the invention shown in Figure 1. Another possibility is that a magnetic strip or

magnetised material the equivalent of interfacing could be used between adjacent

layers of material where the connection was desired.

Such connection, or the precise type of connection means used is not a limitation to

the invention which lies in the neckline design of a garment as shown in Figure 1

which permits the neckline to be folded to form a substantially conventional collar and

lapels while otherwise being elevated about the wearer's neck without unsightly

seams showing or folds developing.

The invention is not restricted to any particular type of garment and can be used for

either single or double breasted garment and could be used on both front and rear

opening garments if desired. It is however preferred that the invention be applied to

a single breasted front opening garment as shown in the preferred embodiment

described here. Whilst we have described herein a specific embodiment of the invention it is

envisaged that other embodiments of the invention will exhibit any number of and any

combination of the features previously described and it is to be understood that

variations and modifications in this can be made without departing from the spirit and

scope of the invention.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A garment having an inner and outer face with a neckline having a peripheral

edge said edge being provided at the rear of the garment with a relieved

portion shaped such that the edge can be folded to form a collar and lapels

which lie substantially flush with and continuous with the outer face of the

garment and can also be folded to lie substantially flush with the inner face of

the garment.

2. A garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein the neckline forms a substantially

upright collar when not folded down.

3. A garment as claimed in claim 2 wherein the relieved portion at the rear of the

neckline peripheral edge permits either one side or the other of the garment

neckline to be folded down and worn as a partial collar and lapel while the

opposite side forms a substantially vertically oriented half collar.

4. A garment as claimed in claim 2 wherein the relieved portion at the rear of the

neckline permits the neckline on both sides of the relieved portion to be folded

down to form a substantially conventional collar and lapels.

5. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the relieved portion

of the neckline periphery is V shaped.

6. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 which is single breasted.

7. A garment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein at least part of the

neckline when folded is held in position by fastening means.

8. A garment as claimed in claim 7 wherein the fastening means is a magnetic

material.

9. A garment substantially as herein described with reference to the

accompanying drawings.