Tailored garment with integral support unit

Abstract

A garment comprises an outer shell and a support unit integrally secured thereto by an adjustable securement to allow an upper band of the support unit to expand and contract about a wearer of the garment relatively freely of the waistband of the outer shell so as to avoid collapsing it. The outer shell garment may thus be presented as a tailored, smooth finished garment with no indication that the support unit is beneath and the need to use a stretch fabric in the outer shell waistband is thereby alleviated, facilitating the look of a high quality tailored piece of clothing having a smooth, non-gathered waistband. Integration of the support unit into the outer shell also allows a closure and one or more stays of the support unit to be properly aligned or offset from the outer shell as needed to minimize or prevent bulges or lines in the outer shell.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A garment comprising: 
 an outer shell;    a support unit for providing bodily support to a wearer of the garment; and    an adjustable securement integrating the support unit to the outer shell;    wherein the adjustable securement allows substantially independent expansion and contraction of the support unit relative to the outer shell.    
     
     
         2 . The garment of    claim 1    wherein the adjustable securement secures an upper band of the support unit to a waistband of the outer shell, the outer shell waistband being substantially non-elastic.  
     
     
         3 . The garment of    claim 1    wherein the adjustable securement comprises an adjuster band securing the support unit to a waistband of the outer shell.  
     
     
         4 . The garment of    claim 3   , the adjuster band further comprising a releasable securement facilitating selective detachment of the support unit from the outer shell.  
     
     
         5 . The garment of    claim 4   , wherein the releasable securement comprises a zipper.  
     
     
         6 . The garment of    claim 3    wherein the adjuster band is secured to an upper band of the support unit and the elasticity of the adjuster band differs from the elasticity of the support unit upper band.  
     
     
         7 . The garment of    claim 1    further defined in that: 
 the outer shell comprises a closure and a seem; and  
 the support unit comprises a closure and a stay;  
 wherein the support unit closure is offset from the outer shell closure and the support unit stay is aligned with the outer shell seem.  
 
     
     
         8 . The garment of    claim 1    wherein the support unit comprises a support unit body which is constructed to allow stretching thereof in any direction except for a portion of the support unit body configured to associate with the abdomen of a wearer and is constructed to allow stretching thereof only in the vertical directions.  
     
     
         9 . The garment of    claim 1    wherein the outer shell is comprised of one of the group consisting of shorts, slacks, trousers, a skirt and a dress.  
     
     
         10 . A support unit for integration with an outer shell garment to provide bodily support to a wearer of the support unit, the support unit having an adjustable securement attached thereto for integrating the support unit to the outer shell, wherein the adjustable securement will allow substantially independent expansion and contraction of the support unit relative to the outer shell.  
     
     
         11 . The support unit of    claim 10   , the adjustable securement comprising: 
 a lower end attached to an upper band of the support unit; and    an upper end for attachment to a substantially non-elastic waistband of the outer shell.    
     
     
         12 . The support unit of    claim 10    wherein the adjustable securement comprises an adjuster band.  
     
     
         13 . The support unit of    claim 12   , the adjuster band further comprising a releasable securement for facilitating selective detachment of the support unit from the outer shell.  
     
     
         14 . The support unit of    claim 13   , wherein the releasable securement comprises a zipper.  
     
     
         15 . The support unit of    claim 12    wherein the adjuster band is secured to an upper band of the support unit and the elasticity of the adjuster band differs from the elasticity of the support unit upper band.  
     
     
         16 . The support unit of    claim 10   , the support unit comprising: 
 a closure configured for being offset from a closure of the outer shell; and    a stay configured for being aligned with a seem of the outer shell.    
     
     
         17 . The support unit of    claim 10    wherein the support unit comprises a support unit body which is constructed to allow stretching thereof in any direction except for a portion of the support unit body configured to associate with the abdomen of a wearer to allow stretching thereof only in the vertical directions.  
     
     
         18 . The support unit of    claim 10    for attachment to one of the group consisting of shorts, slacks, trousers, a skirt and a dress.  
     
     
         19 . A method of constructing a garment comprising the steps of: 
 a. providing a support unit to provide bodily support to a wearer thereof;    b. providing an adjustable securement for integrating the support unit to an outer shell, wherein the adjustable securement is configured to allow substantially independent expansion and contraction of the support unit relative to the outer shell; and    c. securing the adjustable securement to the support unit.    
     
     
         20 . The method of    claim 19    wherein the step of providing an adjustable securement comprises constructing the adjustable securement to be substantially the same length as a waistband of the outer shell.  
     
     
         21 . The method of    claim 20    wherein the support unit comprises a support unit body and an upper band secured to an upper end of the support unit body, the step of securing the adjustable securement to the support unit comprises maintaining the support unit upper band stretched to be of substantially equal length to the adjustable securement throughout the step of securing the adjustable securement to the support unit.  
     
     
         22 . The method of    claim 21    further comprising the steps of: 
 d. providing an outer shell; and  
 e. securing the adjustable securement to the outer shell.  
 
     
     
         23 . The method of    claim 22    wherein the step of securing the adjustable securement to the outer shell comprises maintaining the support unit upper band stretched to be of substantially equal length to the outer shell waistband throughout the step of securing the adjustable securement to the outer shell.  
     
     
         24 . The method of    claim 22    wherein the step of securing the adjustable securement to the outer shell comprises maintaining an upper end of the adjustable securement stretched to be of substantially equal length to the outer shell waistband throughout the step of securing the adjustable securement to the outer shell.  
     
     
         25 . The method of    claim 20    wherein the adjustable securement comprises a releasable securement comprised of a zipper attaching an adjustable securement first part and an adjustable securement second part, the step of securing the adjustable securement to the outer shell comprising securing the adjustable securement first part to the outer shell.  
     
     
         26 . The method of    claim 20    wherein the step of securing the adjustable securement to the support unit comprises aligning a stay of the support unit with a seem of the outer shell and offsetting a closure of the support unit with a closure of the outer shell.  
     
     
         27 . A garment comprising: 
 an outer shell comprising a closure and a seem; and    a support unit for providing bodily support to a wearer of the garment integrally secured to the outer shell, the support unit comprising a closure and a stay;    wherein the support unit closure is offset from the outer shell closure and the support unit stay is aligned with the outer shell seem.