Body Shaping Fit System

Abstract

A body shaping fit system for pants is based on the concept of actively shaping the body's silhouette. This fit system includes: a stretch coating formulation for fabric that provides stretch in all directions (e.g., four way stretch) in an engineered way to target specific parts of the body, shape contouring panels, cosmetic finishing techniques, and seaming and construction techniques for pants. In a specific implementation, a pair of jeans includes a shape contouring panel incorporated onto an inside of the jeans, the panel including a polyurethane based coating with holding power to enhance the body's natural curves while de-emphasizing the body's flaws. The fit system is also applicable to pants, shorts, capris, and other clothing where shaping and support is desirable in the waist, seat, hip, and thigh areas.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A pants comprising:
 a denim material sewn into pants, wherein the denim material has a first stretch characteristic; and   a polyurethane coating, applied to a portion of an inside of the denim material in an upper thigh region of the pants and avoiding a buttocks region, wherein the denim material with the polyurethane coating has a second stretch characteristic which is less elastic than the first stretch characteristic, and the polyurethane coating is not visible from an exterior of the pants.   
     
     
         2 . A pants comprising:
 a fabric sewn into pants, wherein the fabric has a first stretch characteristic;   a polyurethane coating, applied to a portion of an inside of the fabric in an upper thigh region of the pants and avoiding a buttocks region, wherein the fabric with the polyurethane coating has a second stretch characteristic which is less elastic than the first stretch characteristic, and the polyurethane coating is not visible from an exterior of the pants; and   a graduated edging to the polyurethane coating comprising a polyurethane coating graduated with a plurality of open spaces, wherein the graduated edging is positioned between a portion of the polyurethane coating comprising a solid polyurethane coating without open spaces as in the graduated edging and the buttocks region of the pants, where the polyurethane coating is omitted, and   the graduated edging comprises a transition from a solid fill region of the polyurethane coating that gradually decreases in polyurethane coating fill density to an unfilled region without the polyurethane coating, whereby the use of the graduated edging avoids forming of an abrupt transition edge between the solid fill region of the polyurethane coating and the unfilled region.   
     
     
         3 . The pants of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is denim. 
     
     
         4 . The pants of  claim 2  wherein polyurethane coating forms a first body shaping panel positioned on an inside surface of a thigh portion of pants comprising:
 a first edge extending along an outer thigh of the pants, from about a hip area down to a mid-thigh area; 
 a second edge extending along an inner thigh, wherein a length of the second edge is shorter than a length of the first edge; 
 a third edge extending from the hip area down to a crotch area; and 
 a fourth edge that wraps around a portion of the outer mid-thigh of the pants and curves up to the inner thigh. 
 
     
     
         5 . The pants of  claim 4  wherein the fourth edge comprises the graduated edging. 
     
     
         6 . The pants of  claim 4  wherein the first body shaping panel is positioned on a rear thigh portion of the pants and a second body shaping panel positioned on a front inside surface of the thigh portion of pants, opposite the first body shaping panel, comprising:
 a fifth edge extending along the outer thigh of the pants, from about the hip area down to the mid-thigh area; 
 a sixth edge extending along the inner thigh, wherein a length of the sixth edge is shorter than a length of the fifth edge; 
 a seventh edge extending from the hip area down to the crotch area; and 
 an eighth edge that wraps around a portion of the outer mid-thigh of the pants and curves up to the inner thigh, wherein the third edge of the first body shaping panel curves around a seat region of the pants. 
 
     
     
         9 . A method comprising:
 providing a fabric for pants, wherein the fabric has a first stretch characteristic;   forming a polyurethane coating on an inside side of fabric in an upper thigh region of the pants and avoiding a buttocks region, wherein the fabric with the polyurethane coating has a second stretch characteristic which is less elastic than the first stretch characteristic, and the polyurethane coating is not visible from an outside side of the fabric of the pants;   providing a graduated edging to the polyurethane coating comprising a polyurethane coating graduated using a plurality of open spaces; and   positioning the graduated edging between a portion of the polyurethane coating comprising a solid polyurethane coating without open spaces as in the graduated edging and the buttocks region of the pants, where the polyurethane coating is omitted,   wherein the graduated edging comprises a transition from a solid fill region of the polyurethane coating to an unfilled region without the polyurethane coating, whereby the use of the graduated edging avoids forming of an abrupt transition edge between the solid fill region of the polyurethane coating and the unfilled region.