ARTICLE OF CLOTHING

The invention relates to an article of clothing for wearing, particularly, but not exclusively, about the neck of an individual.

Articles of clothing, and particularly accessories, such as scarfs, shawls, neckerchiefs, cravats and the like, typically comprise a single piece of generally elongate and typically rectangular material which is worn draped or tied around a wearer's neck.

In the instance where an article is draped around a wearer's neck where the wearer suffers the inconvenience of having the draped article alter in position or even fall off as the individual moves around. In the instance where the article is held in place by fastening or tying or the like, one typically finds that the article becomes creased or even possibly damaged at the site where a knot is tied, and in any event the article is still likely to be altered in position although it is less likely to fall off. An example of such an article of clothing is described in FR-2297577.

There is therefore a need to provide such an article of clothing which can be worn more reliably and further, which is so innovatively designed and held in position that it can be worn in a number of ways and so to a number of advantages.

According to the invention there is therefore provided an article of clothing for wearing about an individual comprising at least one piece of fabric wherein said fabric has provided at at least two predetermined positions;

• i) at least one drawing member into which at least part of an end of the fabric is drawn; characterised in that attached to said drawing member there is provided
• ii) an attachment member for bringing said drawings members releasably theretogether, and further wherein at least one of said drawing members or attachment member is weighted so that the article can be positioned about a wearer

It follows from the above that the article of the invention is fashioned, by the drawing members and attachment member, into a loop structure which can be worn to advantage about a user's neck.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention said drawing members and attachment member comprise aesthetically designed pieces which are appealing to a wearer, for example, such pieces may be fashioned in accordance with items of modern jewellery.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention and in particular, where only one piece of fabric is used, said fabric is printed such that an appealing pattern, colour or texture is provided on both sides of the fabric.

In yet a further embodiment of the invention said fabric comprises one elongate piece of fabric which is fashioned in tubular form so that what is commonly known as the right side of the fabric only is viewable when the article is worn.

According to a yet farther aspect of the invention there is provided an article of clothing for wearing about an individual comprising a plurality of the aforedescribed articles releasably joined theretogether by way of the provision of a common and complementary attachment member provided on each article.

According to this further aspect of the invention the said attachment member may comprise a screw barrel arrangement. That is to say a two part member which has the outward appearance of a barrel when the two parts are joined theretogether and which comprises a first part having at the attachment end thereof a projecting member including an outer threaded portion and the other part having at the attachment end thereof an inner recess portion which includes a screw thread complementary to said thread on said other portion.

It will be evident that, using the aforementioned arrangement, a number of articles can be joined theretogether by simply mating the appropriate ends of said screw barrel arrangement. Thus, a number of articles can be joined together to form a sash which will be appropriately weighted at predetermined intervals.

It is to be understood that the article may have any preferred or conventional forms of attachment members. It is not intended that the invention is to be limited by the single attachment described herein.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying Figures wherein:

• Figure 1 represents a plan view of a fabric for use in accordance with the invention;
• Figure 2 represents a plan view of the fabric shown in Figure 1 after the ends have been drawn;
• Figure 3 represents a plan view of an attachment member for use in the invention.

Referring to the Figures and firstly to Figure 1, there is shown a plan view of a single piece of fabric for use in the invention. Where only one piece of fabric is to be used in an unfolded fashion, it will be clear that the fabric selected must have appeal when viewed from both sides. Since this may be rare it will be more commonplace to use a single piece of fabric which is folded in half along its longitudinal axis so as to provide, when appropriately sewn, a tubular member.

However, it will be clear that said tubular member may be formed by joining theretogether, along two seams, two ideally equally sized and similarly or complementary coloured or patterned or textured pieces of fabric. However, it is also possible to provide at least two contrasting or different pieces of fabric for joining theretogether so as to form a desired tubular shape comprising a plurality of strips of sections of fabric.

Once the tubular member has been made the outer most ends A-B thereof are drawn together to form two reduced and gathered ends which are secured in any conventional way by means of drawing members 1, 2 provided at ends A-B respectively. Drawing members 1, 2 may take any preferred shape and configuration but it is thought that a particularly attractive arrangement comprises an appealingly plated metallic member which is shaped into a cup shape having an upper fluted edge as best seen in Figure 3. The cup shape may be provided with any preferred pattern, indentation, sculpturing or the like.

Having drawn the fabric as aforedescribed, one is provided with an essentially ruched or gathered article.

The ends of said article are joined theretogether using an attachment member and ideally an attachment member as illustrated in Figure 3. This attachment member comprises a rigid loop 3 or 4 attached to the bottom central portion of cups 1 and 2 respectively. Hook members 5 and 6 engage at a first outer most end with loops 3 and 4 respectively and are attached at the other end to first and second barrel members 7 and 8. Barrel member 7 comprises a first decorative part 7a and a second protruding part 7b located centrally on the, in use, inner most side of barrel 7. Protruding part 7b is provided with an outer most screw thread arrangement.

Barrel member 8 comprises an aesthetic part 8a having a centrally located aperture protruding inwards towards the centre of the barrel from the inner most surface of the barrel. Said inner part is provided with a screw thread arrangement complementary to said screw thread arrangement on protruding part 7b.

In use, member 7b is inserted into the aperture provided in barrel member 8 and screwed into position. In this way, the two ends A and B of the fabric are brought theretogether.

Ideally, cups 1 and 2 and barrel members 7 and 8 are made of a relatively weighty material so as to provide weight to the article. This ensures that the article can be suitable positioned and draped about a wearer.

The article may be worn in a number of appealing ways. For example, the two ends of the article may be positioned at the back of a wearer's neck and the length of the article provided on the front of a wearer may be so arranged such that the lower most part forms a single straight folded edge, rather like a conventional arm sling, which can then be tucked into the front of a skirt or pair of trousers. A cardigan or jacket worn over this arrangement creates the impression that the article is a wrap over blouse.

Alternatively, the article may be worn at a cummerbund, neck choker, edge to a jacket, head scarf, neck scarf, sash or in any other appealing way.

In the instance where the article is to be worn as a sash, it is possible to join a plurality of articles theretogether so as to create an extended length. This is possible where a number of such articles have the same fastening members so that the joining theretogether of complementary fastening members is possible.

It will be apparent from the above that the invention comprises an innovative and appealing article which as a result of the weighting and fashionable appearance of the attachment member can be worn in a number of positions and ways to advantage.