Golf Fashion and Intellectual Property
This is a special post for all my female fans (I actually chuckled out loud typing that). Many fashionistas scoff at the idea that patent protection can be very valuable in the field. Fortunately Nike is full of people that are too smart to be confined to such narrow thinking. For example, Nike recently had a patent application publish as US Pub. No. A multi-layered garment may comprise components that are affixed using integrated belt loops. In particular, shorts belt loops of a shorts component may pass through an opening created when single-layer skirt belt loops of a skirt component are oriented outwards. Both the skirt belt loops and the shorts belt loops may be fully functional and aesthetically pleasing belt loops. Additionally, the shorts belt loops may be combined with the skirt belt loops to form integrated belt loops, thereby allowing a belt to pass beneath both sets of belt loops simultaneously to affix the shorts component to the skirt component.
The application explains:
SUMMARY
[0003] Many women have a preference for the aesthetic appearance of skirts. Due to considerations of modesty, women may strongly prefer to wear shorts or pants beneath a skirt for some sports. In the game of golf, for example, women who wear skirts generally wear shorts as well. For instance, a woman may wear a pair of shorts under a skirt. However, the use of two separate garments may result in excess bulk and disorientation between the garments, causing discomfort to the wearer, a loss of flexibility for the wearer, and/or decreased athletics. Alternatively, some women wear shorts that are permanently affixed to skirts. However, the permanent nature of the affixation requires the wearer to throw out the entire garment when only one portion is damaged. For instance, if the wearer gets a hole in the skirt, the entire garment is damaged, even if the shorts are otherwise undamaged.
[0004] As such, there remains a need for a multi-layered athletic garment having components that are separably affixed. Accordingly, methods are provided to separably affix components of a multi-layered athletic garment through the use of integrated belt loops that combine belt loops from multiple layers of the garment into fully functional and aesthetically pleasing integrated belt loops. To address this need, disclosure is provided of a multi-layered garment having a shorts component and a skirt component. The shorts and skirt components are able to be secured through the use of integrated belt loops. Further, the skirt component may be affixed to the shorts component independent of the orientation of the skirt. In particular, the skirt component may be reversible such that either side of the skirt component may be affixed to the shorts component in accordance with the discussion herein.
[0005] The skirt component of the athletic garment in accordance with the present invention may be composed of one type of fabric, or even a single piece of fabric. In particular, the skirt component may be formed from one piece of fabric with belt loops created by cutting two slits into a portion of the material on either side of each resultant belt loop. In this way, the single-layer belt loops of the skirt are reversible, in that they can be raised from the material on either side of the skirt component to hold a belt. Further, the shorts component of the athletic garment may be any form of shorts, pants, or undergarment having belt loops (“shorts belt loops”) that align with the belt loops of the skirt component (“skirt belt loops”). Accordingly, when the skirt belt loops are raised in anticipation of holding a belt, the shorts belt loops may be pushed through the holes in the skirt component resulting from the outwardly protruding skirt belt loops such that the shorts belt loops are pressed against the skirt belt loops. Each combination of a shorts belt loop pressed against a skirt belt loop may be referred to as an integrated belt loop. Each shorts belt loop and each skirt belt loop may function independently as an aesthetically pleasing belt loop, but the combination of a skirt belt loop and a shorts belt loop may also function as an aesthetically pleasing belt loop, as described herein. As such, a belt may pass through the integrated belt loops composed of the skirt belt loops and the shorts belt loops.
Any chance these will be on Holly’s Christmas list?