DISCRETELY CONCEALING SHAWL

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to the field of compression garments specifically shawls. The new discretely concealing shawl is designed to be attractive yet practical by incorporating novel compression and wrapping functionalities into the general size, shape and material of a women's shawl. Whether she wears it for fashion, warmth or shielding from the sun, the new concealing shawl provides women of all ages, sizes and styles the added benefit of compressing their upper arms and concealing their upper backs/sides as to effectively yet stylishly constrain and hide undesirable body bulges.

Claims

1. A discretely concealing shawl, comprising: a first armband and a second armband, each armband being made of, or integrated with, a stretchy material of tube-like shape and size such that each armband fits snugly in a sleeve-like fashion on a person's upper arm; and a draping portion being generally rectangular with four edges, including a first opposing edge and a second opposing edge, and made of a fashionable material, such as that from which one might construct an ordinary shawl, the first opposing edge of said draping portion being sewn laterally to the exterior of the first armband, and the second opposing edge of said draping portion being sewn laterally to the exterior of the second armband.

2. The method of using the discretely concealing shawl of claim 1, comprising: fitting the first armband to the upper portion of one of the user's arms; passing the draping portion and the second armband behind the user's back; fitting the second armband to the upper portion of the user's other arm; ensuring there is no twisting in the draping portion such that the material is generally planar; rotating the first armband forward, toward the front of the user's body, to tighten the shawl and conceal the first armband; and rotating the second armband forward, toward the front of the user's body, to tighten the shawl and conceal the second armband.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with one elastic armband fitted on the upper right arm.

[0008] FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands fitted on both upper arms.

[0009] FIG. 3 illustrates the front view of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands fitted on both upper arms and demonstrating the right arm wrapping process.

[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates the front view of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands fitted on both upper arms and demonstrating the left arm wrapping process.

[0011] FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl in final, wearable position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The figures accompanying this specification illustrate embodiments of the present invention, the new discretely concealing shawl, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present invention. FIGS. 1-5 show various views illustrating the form and use of one embodiment of the concealing shawl. As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention relate to a compression garment and more particularly to a shawl.

[0013] FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with one elastic armband fitted on the upper right arm. The new shawl is generally comprised of two armband portions—a right armband 1 and a left armband 2—each made of, or integrated with, a stretchy material of tube-like shape and size such that each armband fits snugly in a sleeve-like fashion on the user's upper arm (i.e., above the elbow and below the armpit/shoulder). The armbands 1, 2 are connected to each other by a draping portion 3, which is generally comprised of a fashionable material, such as that from which one might construct an ordinary shawl. The draping portion 3 is generally rectangular in shape, and the short edges can be any desired length but ideally approximately 1.5 to 2 times the length of the armbands 1, 2. The draping material is attached along the length of each of its short edges to the length of one of the armbands 1, 2, the length of the short edges being gathered at the attachment margins as to render the short sides of the draping portion 3 and the armband portions 1, 2 generally the same length and in alignment with each other.

[0014] In use and as shown, one first fits one armband 1 on her upper right arm such that the band is positioned between her underarm and elbow and such that the attached draping portion 3 is behind the arm with the inside of the shawl 4 facing the body and the outside of the shawl 5 (i.e., the side one desires to be seen) facing away from the body. Passing the draping portion 3 behind the back and being careful not to twist the draping material, one then fits the second armband 2 to her upper left arm. FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands 1, 2 fitted on both upper arms.

[0015] Once the user has both armbands 1, 2 in place and ensures there is no twisting in the draping portion 3 such that the material is generally planar, the user can rotate the armbands to tighten the shawl and conceal the armbands themselves. FIG. 3 illustrates the front view of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands 1, 2 fitted on both upper arms and demonstrating the right arm wrapping process. The user rotates the right armband 1 forward, in a counterclockwise direction 6, to reduce any slack in the draping portion 3 and to hide the right armband material as desired. FIG. 4 illustrates the front view of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl with elastic armbands 1, 2 fitted on both upper arms and demonstrating the left arm wrapping process. The user rotates the left armband 2 forward, in a clockwise direction 7, to reduce any slack in the draping portion 3 and to hide the left armband material as desired.

[0016] Once the armbands 1, 2 are rotated, the user is ready to socialize with a newfound confidence. FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the front view and back view, respectively, of one embodiment of the new discretely concealing shawl in final, wearable position. As shown in this embodiment, the desired side of the user's shawl is facing outward 5, both across the user's back where it conceals one's “problem areas,” as well as around the armbands where it fashionably conceals the compression bands serving to keep the skin and other issue of the upper arm taught and in place.

[0017] As to further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of this invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention, the use of which results in a discretely concealing shawl that provides the user of the new shawl the benefit of selective coverage as she conceals her arms and back while leaving exposed her neck and décolletage.

[0018] Although the description presented heretofore contains specificities for the benefit of illustration, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but rather as illustrative examples of some of the several embodiments. Thus, the scope of the embodiments should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples provided. The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.