Shaping garment with adjustable low back

Abstract

Designing shapewear for special occasion garments with low cut necklines and back lines can be especially challenging. The challenge lies in constructing a garment that effectively shapes the wearer while simultaneously eliminating significant amounts of material from the chest and/or back region. Disclosed herein are shaping garments designed to be worn underneath garments with low cut back lines. The shaping garment includes a space in the back shaping region on its rear side, such that the shaping garment is not visible beneath an ultra low-back special occasion garment. A removable back adjuster can be used to bridge the space to provide additional shaping support when ultra low-back mode is not required by the special occasion garment.

1 . A shaping garment comprising:
 a front side and a rear side;   right and left leg portions;   a superior edge comprising a rear lowermost area positioned on the rear side and diverging as it extends upward from the rear lowermost area to partially define a space on the rear side between a narrowing right superior rear portion and a narrowing left superior rear portion; and   a back adjuster configured to bridge the space between the narrowing right and left superior rear portions, the back adjuster configured to couple to each of the narrowing right and left superior rear portions at respective right and left couplings on the rear side of the garment, such that the right and left couplings are positionable on the back of a wearer.   
     
     
         2 . The shaping garment of  claim 1 , wherein the shaping garment converts between an ultra-low back mode and a low back mode by addition or removal of the back adjuster from the shaping garment, such that in the low back mode, the back adjuster is removably coupled to each of the narrowing right and left superior rear portions at the respective right and left couplings; and
 wherein in the ultra-low back mode, the back adjuster is uncoupled from the narrowing right and left superior rear portions and separable from a remainder of the shaping garment.   
     
     
         3 . The shaping garment of  claim 2 , wherein, in the low back mode, a lower edge of the back adjuster defines an upper edge of the space between the narrowing right and left superior rear portions. 
     
     
         4 . The shaping garment of  claim 2 , wherein, in the low back mode, a right side of the back adjuster is removably coupled to an edge portion of the narrowing right superior rear portion and a left side of the back adjuster is removably coupled to an edge portion of the narrowing left superior rear portion. 
     
     
         5 . The shaping garment of  claim 4 , wherein the shaping garment further comprises an elastic band positioned inferior to a breast supporting portion on the front side, the elastic band extending laterally towards the rear side of the shaping garment to couple with the edge portion of the narrowing right superior rear portion, the edge portion of the narrowing left superior rear portion, or to both edge portions of the narrowing right and left superior rear portions. 
     
     
         6 . The shaping garment of  claim 4 , wherein the rear side of the shaping garment comprises right and left closure mechanisms positionable on the back of a wearer, wherein the back adjuster comprises a first portion of the right closure mechanism and a first portion of the left closure mechanism, and wherein second portions of the right and left closure mechanisms are attached to opposing edge portions of the narrowing right and left superior rear portions. 
     
     
         7 . The shaping garment of  claim 6 , wherein, in low back mode, a first portion of the right closure mechanism couples to a second portion of the right closure mechanism and a first portion of the left closure mechanism couples to a second portion of the left closure mechanism. 
     
     
         8 . The shaping garment of  claim 6 , wherein the back adjuster comprises a central elastic region positioned between the right and left sides of the back adjuster. 
     
     
         9 . The shaping garment of  claim 1 , further comprising a gusset panel positioned between the right and left leg portions and extending from the front side to the rear side, the gusset panel at least partially defining an access space between the right and left leg portions. 
     
     
         10 . The shaping garment of  claim 9 , further comprising one or more cover panels extending medially from the left leg portion, the right leg portion, or both, the one or more cover panels also extending from the front side to the rear side of the shaping garment. 
     
     
         11 . The shaping garment of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more cover panels at least partially cover the access space. 
     
     
         12 . The shaping garment of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more cover panels at least partially overlap the gusset panel. 
     
     
         13 . The shaping garment of  claim 9 , wherein the front side comprises a front fabric panel and the rear side comprises a rear fabric panel, and wherein the gusset panel has a higher elasticity than the front fabric panel or the rear fabric panel. 
     
     
         14 . The shaping garment of  claim 13 , wherein the gusset panel comprises a hosiery fabric. 
     
     
         15 . The shaping garment of  claim 13 , wherein the gusset panel comprises a tubular fabric. 
     
     
         16 . The shaping garment of  claim 13 , wherein the gusset panel has sufficient elongation properties to be pulled aside to widen the access space. 
     
     
         17 . The shaping garment of  claim 16 , wherein the gusset panel has an elongation of 100-700% in a length direction, 100-700% in a width direction, or 100-700% in both the length and the width direction. 
     
     
         18 . A method of converting a shaping garment between an ultra-low back mode and a low back mode, the method comprising:
 converting the shaping garment from the ultra-low back mode to the low back mode and fully defining a space positioned on the back of the wearer by:
 coupling, via a right closure mechanism positioned on the back of a wearer, a right side of a removable back adjuster to an edge portion of a right superior rear portion of the shaping garment; and 
 coupling, via a left closure mechanism positioned on the back of a wearer, a left side of a removable back adjuster to an edge portion of a left superior rear portion of the shaping garment. 
   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the method further comprises coupling the right side of the removable back adjuster, the left side of the removable back adjuster, or both sides of the removable back adjuster to an elastic band extending laterally from a front side of the shaping garment to the rear side of the shaping garment. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising converting the garment from the low back mode to the ultra-low back mode by uncoupling the right and left sides of the removable back adjuster from the right and left edge portions of the respective right and left superior rear portions.