US2835897A - Combination outer and under garment - Google Patents

Description

May 27, 1958 A. T. SCRUGGS COMBINATION OUTER AND UNDER GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Amza I Scruggs M (2 I 14 gs XML:

Filed Oct. 12, 1954 May 27, 1958 A. 'r. SCRUGGS COMBINATION OUTER AND UNDER GARMENT Filed 001:. 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a r r a v I r rr INVENTOR.

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United States Patent COMBINATION OUTER AND UNDER GARMENT Anna T. Scruggs, Enid, Okla, assignor to Karolls, Inc., Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application October 12, 1954, Serial No. 461,739

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-71) This invention relates to female wearing apparel and has more particular reference to a combination outer and under garment for females, which is especially useful for mentally defective or mentally ill females.

An object of the invention is the provision of a novel and an improved combination outer and under garment comprising a unitary dress andpanty and adapted substantially completely to clothe a wearer.

Mentally defective people'are classified asmild, moderate, or severe corresponding substantially to intelligence quotients of about 70 to 85, about 50 to 70, or below 50, respectively. The last mentioned class includes mental defectives requiring custodial or complete protective care. Many of them are so severely disturbed that they are from time 'to time afilicted with or seized by exhibitionist or destructive impulses or both.. It is difiicult and expensive to keep clothes on'such individuals.

When such a mentally defective or retarded female is atllicted with or seized by such impulses, she will sometimes grasp her skirt in her hands at about their normal depending level and swing them and the grasped portions of the skirt forwardly and upwardly to a level over her head. In that manner, she may either remove her dress or, by moving her upraised hands grasping the skirt laterally in opposite directions, rip or tear the skirt, 'or open .itsfastening means. At other times, she will grasp 'the bodice or waist of her dress in, and at opposite sides of the neck opening and pull the bodice apart. She thus indecently exposes her body and often mutilates her dress beyond repair. J

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel combination dress and panty which is so constrocted as to restrain such a mentally defective female wearing the same from so'exposing hereself and so mutilating the garment.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of such a combination dress and panty which is so constructed as to be readily donned and dotted, as to obviate underwear as separate pieces, as to facilitate natural excretory acts without necessitating doffing the garment,

invention and having portions removed to bring out'certain structural details;

V Fig. ;2 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the various parts of the garment of Fig; 1 shown separately;

Fig. 3 is afragmentary cross-section taken substantially along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 1 and shows the seam structure securing the collar to the waist or bodice sec- Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross-section of the novel gar ment, taken substantially along the lines 8-8 of Fig. 1 and showing the construction at the waistline of the garment; and 7 Fig. 9 shows the novel garment on a wearer and illustrates the restraining functionof the crotch strap and waistline construction against raising the'skirt over the head of the wearer.

Illustrative of the invention, the accompanying drawing shows a combination outer and under garment com-v prising a dress A and a panty B disposed within the skirt section of the dress. The garment is preferably made of a printed twill by stitching its components together.

' The dress A as illustrated includesa bodice or waist section 11 having arm openings 12 and 13, and a neck opening 14 large enough to receive therethrough the head of a'wea'rer. That bodice section is adapted'to extend downwardly from the shoulders to the waistline of the garment and is-rnade by stitching a front portion 15 and a back portion 16 together with shoulder seams 17 and side seams 18. The materialabout the arm openings 12 and 13 is hemmed as shown at 19 and 21, respectively. Seams 17 and 18 are preferably of the type known as double,'closed seams. They are made by folding back a marginal portion of each of the two pieces of material to be joined together so that the folded-back portion lies adjacent the main body: of the materiahlapping the folded margins'with the folded-back portions adjacent each other between the pieces of material and preferably, as shown in Fig. 5,'in interlocking relationship, and stitching through the lapped margins along the spaced folded edges thereof. 'Thusthe edge of neither piece of material is exposed or readily accessible and cannot be grasped'in an effort to openthe seam. The seams employed in the hems 19 and21 are of the single, closed type. They are made, as shown inFig. 6, by folding the margin of the turned under portion of the material to dispose-it between that portion and the main portion of the material and sewingthrough the three plys' of the material so arranged. In that 'mannenthe edge of the material in neither of the hems 19 and 21 is accessible to facilitate opening the seam or tearing the material.

About the neck opening 14 is secured a collar 22 which is preferably of ring-like or circular configuration. As illustrated in Fig. 2, that collar is made from two substantially identical, semi-circular strips 23 and 24 joined by stitched seams 25 (Figs. 2 and 4-) 'at opposite sidesof a central open'iug 26 of substantially the same size as the neck opening 14. Thecollar is arranged, as shown in Fig. 1, onthe bodice section 11 with the openings .14

and 26 in registration or coaxial relationship and with the seams 25 of the collar in registration with the shoul der seams 17, respectively. Infthat positionpwith the peripheralmargins of the materialsabout the openings 14 and 26 folded to lie adjacent each other between the bodice section and collar, as shown in Fig. T3, the collar is stitched-as .at 27,.preferab1y.with'a double seam; to'the bodice section about and adiacentth'e registerediopenings fclosed seams to render the edges of the matenals sibliet- Wh n zz hecollar 1 ;i SQ 1 IQ Q h hqd es tion, ;f our plysof .the material aboutthe' neelcfopening are, as shown in ;Fig. 3 ,-pro vided to strengthenhe; garbelow and'parallel thereto; r

they-bodicesection preferablyby a do uble. 'stit ched seam 28.. If desired, the outer periphery of the collar isprovided with a'usual decorative edging 29.

Ih co fle thusgsecured d-rt e odi e 1 1.0. b

ment against ripping and tearing; fand the clos'ed searn zfi provides adequate resistance againstjtearing the collar from the bodice section.

' Where .the novelgarinentis siere or a similar undergarment, it is;s0 constructed as o C operate wi h.as -.seet on-.3 o provide a loos y fitting dress hanging in substantially; str aight lines'from V the shoulders of a wearer. ;Such a garmentis sometimes called ;a sack type dress and usually isworn with a belt a p e 9. atherthed e s n t he, waist 7 of the wearer., The illustrated dress" is of. the sack typeand the skirt .a suitable hem secured in place, as shown in Fig.7,by .a

W =4 the panty. See Fig. 8@ In such relative positions, the bodice and skirt sections 11 and .31 and the panty B are stitched together along a seam 55 extending entirely around'the novel combination garment at the waistline thereof, with'their lapped margins at the outside of the garment. An elastic belt 56 is arranged'about the waist.

line of the garment and :isfe'nclosed between it and a cloth strap 57,:also encircling the garment at the waistto be used -withiout a bras-V the novel garment at the waistline for snugly fitting the waist ofawearer and is yieldable to enable'removalzof the'garment by pulling it upwardly over her :head after.

unfastening the fastening means .54. The belt thusco operates with the crotch strap to restrainorresist pulling single, closed seam" s7 a if desired; a seam :37: :there- V The panty B comprisesg aslshown in Fig. en-

. veloping portion 38 and a-crotch strap .39 for joining from front to rear the lowerendofrthe hip enveloping portion to provide leg or thigh openings 41. 'As illustrated in Fig. 2; the pantytiswpreferably constructed of a'p air'of front 7 panels42,.each'proyided atcitslower, inner side with a e pendin'gtab 43, and a pair of'rear panels 441B3h provided at its;lower,' inner sidc Wit n depending tab .7 The front panels" 4Z;-are; joined-together at the front longitudinal center hezp 't y byia double, C QSdj I am46 extendin I I fro'mjthef upperendgoi; th'e'pantythroughout the lengththereof and thelength'ofi'the' tabs '43 whereby the J'Qijlled tabs 43'f9rmf ontst anp rtion 4 r,

The rear -pan'els '44. are likewise oined 'together by a double, closed seam 48 'whereby'the' joined rear tabs, '45

form a rear strap portion-49.1 Those joined pair's-of, trout and ie peh s n 4 r j ined o e ons opposite sides ofthe panty :by douhle, tclosedfseams 51.

The materialabout' each leg lopening 41 and alon 'posite sides of each or; the strap portions 471 and 49 is' provided with a hern fheld in place bya single, closed seam 52. After providing a hern transversely of the outer end of each strap portion 47 and v49 ,th e hem being held in place by a single,.-closed seam 53, the

hemmedends of those strap portions'are provided with complemental snapfastenersor-other suitable fastening V a1, andpanty'B are aboutithe,samesize;

i With the panty-B insidejof'theskirtIsection {their uppermargin.adjacenteach other, the lower margin 7 101? the bodice :section 11 is ffolded ou tvvardly and a aboutan upwardly-adjacent-portionof the bodice section and is arranged' 'inwardly'adjacent'the par' a rgimr panty being continued around 'the marginaledg 1 single, closed type.

line thereofi The cloth strap 57' is joined along "its upper margin to the bodice section 11 bypanzencireling :seam 58 of stitches above the searn'SS andto the'skirt section 31 and panty B by an encircling seam 59 of stitches below the'seam 55.- The seams '58 and 59 are of the Thus the waistlinejstrap '57 not only conceals the elastic belt 56 and the seam 55, but also renders them inaccessible.

"The elastic belt 56. has its ends sewed or otherwise secured together and is pr such lengththat.it'gathers the garment upwardly beyond the waist of a wearer (see the skirt section enough to obtain a sufficient leverage to tear the garment by moving her. upraised'hands grasp ing theskirt section outwardly, in opposite direction.

It is thought that :the invention and its attendant advan tages willbe understood from the foregoing description,

, and it will be apparent that various changes may bemade in the form, construction and .arrangement o'tfthe' parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the inven tion or sacrificing-all of its material. advantages, the form merelya preferred embodiment thereof. 9 1

I cla irnz 1 9 I. A combination out'erand under garment forfehlal's,

hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawing-being 7' comprising aJbodice section, a skirt-section', ;a g a-ntyin side of said skirt section, :the lower margin ofsaidbodi'ee section and the upper margins of said skirt'section-laiid V panty being sewed togetherentirely around the waistline 1 of the garment, the bodice section having a'neckaopeng; and arm'openin'gs, the bottom. margins of -the ..-sln'rt "tion and panty, and the surrounding margins-on v I opening and arm openings being constituted by closedseams, and the bodice section, skirt section and anty, except for the. arm openings, being continuous and un-. brokenrcornpletely around the garment, said panty including, a hip enveloping portion, a rear Sherpa-portion inte-f gral with and extending from the lower end' offthe hip 1 enveloping portion at the rear of thel panty,'a-;f;ront strap portion integral with and extending from the'low'er end of the hip enveloping portion'at'the frontofthe panty, andrneans respectively on the rear andfront strap portions for releasably fastening the portions togetheriat I one location to provide a'crotch strap betweenileg ope n-i ings through the lower end of the hip enveloping portiom z and the closed seamrin the bottom marginal edge of the,

strap portions. I References Cited the fileof this'iplatent fUN I TED-MSTATES PATENfrs 990.201

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