MULTI-USE GARMENT

Abstract

A strapless multi-use garment comprises an upper garment portion designed to cover an area above waist of a user having a front portion and a rear portion, a gathered skirt having a front portion and a rear portion attached with the upper garment portion, a waist band attached at a top portion of the gathered skirt, a plurality of front panels attached at the front portion of the gathered skirt, a plurality of rear panels is attached at the rear portion of the gathered skirt and at least one fastening means. The plurality of front panels and the plurality of rear panels, extending downwardly from the waist band, are adaptable for multiple configurations that allow the multi-use garment to be worn in a wide range of stylish designs in different occasions.

Claims

1-18. (canceled)

19. A method for wearing a multi-use garment, comprising: wearing a multi-use garment, wherein the multi-use garment comprises: a strapless upper garment portion; a gathered skirt formed beneath the strapless upper garment portion; and a plurality of panels, each panel of the plurality of panels having an end and an opposing end, wherein the end of each panel of the plurality of panels is attached to an upper portion of the gathered skirt at an intersecting area of the strapless upper garment portion and the gathered skirt and the opposing end of each panel of the plurality of panels is unattached to the gathered skirt; selecting at least two panels of the plurality of panels; lifting the at least two panels in a direction above the intersecting area; and connecting the at least two panels together, wherein the connection is positioned above the strapless upper garment portion.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: selecting a second group of at least two panels of the plurality of panels; lifting the second group of at least two panels in a direction toward the intersecting area; and connecting the second group of at least two panels together, wherein the second connection is positioned at the intersecting area.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the connection is positioned in an area corresponding to a front portion of the strapless upper garment portion.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising twisting each of the at least two panels such that each of the at least two panels appears narrower prior to connecting the at least two panels together.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the connection is positioned at a location along a midline of the strapless upper garment portion and the gathered skirt.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the ends of the at least two panels are both attached to either a front portion of the gathered skirt or to a rear portion of the gathered skirt.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein lifting the at least two panels further comprises moving the opposing end of each of the at least two panels to a side of the strapless upper garment portion and the gathered skirt opposite the end of the at least two panels.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein connecting the at least two panels together further comprises tying the at least two panels into a bow.

27. A method for wearing a multi-use garment, comprising: wearing a multi-use garment, wherein the multi-use garment comprises: a strapless upper garment portion; a gathered skirt formed beneath the strapless upper garment portion; and at least four panels, each panel of the at least four panels having an end and an opposing end, wherein: the end of each panel of the at least four panels is attached to an upper portion of the gathered skirt at an intersecting area of the strapless upper garment portion and the gathered skirt, wherein a first set of the at least four panels is attached to a front portion of the gathered skirt and wherein a second set of the at least four panels is attached to a rear portion of the gathered skirt; the opposing end of each panel of the at least four panels is unattached to the gathered skirt; PATENTS each panel of the at least four panels extends downwardly from the intersecting area in a first configuration; and selecting one of the first set and the second set of the at least four panels; lifting the selected set of panels in a direction above the intersecting area; and connecting the selected set of panels together, wherein the connection is positioned above the strapless upper garment portion.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising: selecting a previously unselected set of the first set and the second set of the at least four panels; lifting the previously unselected set of panels in a direction above the intersecting area; and connecting the previously unselected set of panels together, wherein the connection is positioned above the strapless upper garment portion.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the connection is positioned in an area corresponding to the front portion of the strapless upper garment portion.

30. The method of claim 27, further comprising twisting the selected set of panels such that each of the panels in the selected set of panels appears narrower prior to connecting the selected set of panels together.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the connection is positioned at a location along a midline of the strapless upper garment portion and the gathered skirt.

32. The method of claim 27, wherein lifting the selected set of panels further comprises moving the opposing end of each of the panels in the selected set of panels to a side of the strapless upper garment portion and the gathered skirt opposite the end of the panels in the selected set of panels.

33. The method of claim 27, wherein connecting the selected set of panels together further comprises tying the selected set of panels into a bow.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1A is a front view of the present embodiment, illustrating a front portion of an upper garment portion and a front portion of a gathered skirt of a strapless multi-use garment;

[0014] FIG. 1B is a front view of the present embodiment, illustrating a rear portion of the upper garment portion and a rear portion of the gathered skirt of the strapless multi-use garment;

[0015] FIG. 2A is a front view of the present embodiment, illustrating a plurality of front panels in a lifted position;

[0016] FIG. 2B is a front view of the present embodiment, illustrating the plurality of rear panels in the lifted position;

[0017] FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate different designs of the multi-use garment by configuring the plurality of front panels and the plurality of rear panels in different fashionable ways.

[0018] FIGS. 3C-3E illustrate alternate embodiments of different designs of the multi-use garment by configuring the plurality of front panels and the plurality of rear panels in different fashionable ways.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0019] The following describes example embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced. This invention, however, may be embodied in many different ways, and the description provided herein should not be construed as limiting in any way. Among other things, the following invention may be embodied as methods or devices. As such, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The following detailed descriptions should not be taken in a limiting sense.

[0020] In this document, the terms a or an are used, as is common in patent documents, to include one or more than one. In this document, the term or is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that A or B includes A but not B, B but not A, and A and B, unless otherwise indicated. Furthermore, all publications, patents, and patent documents referred to in this document are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, as though individually incorporated by reference. In the event of inconsistent usages between this document and those documents so incorporated by reference, the usage in the incorporated reference(s) should be considered supplementary to that of this document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the usage in this document controls.

[0021] FIG. 1A is a front view of the present embodiment, illustrating a strapless multi-use garment 10. The strapless multi-use garment 10 comprises an upper garment portion 12 covering an area above waist of a user, a gathered skirt 18 attached with the upper garment portion 12, a waist band 24 attached at a top portion 26 of the gathered skirt 18, a plurality of front panels 28, a plurality of rear panels 30 (FIG. 1B) and at least one fastening means 38 (FIG. 1B).

[0022] The upper garment portion 12 includes a front portion 14 and a rear portion 16 (FIG. 1B). The waist band 24 is designed to surround the waist of the user.

[0023] The gathered skirt 18 includes a front portion 36 and a rear portion 34 (FIG. 1B). The plurality of front panels 28 and the plurality of rear panels 30 (FIG. 1B) extend downwardly from the waist band 24. The plurality of front panels 28 is attached at the front portion 36 of the gathered skirt 18 and the plurality of rear panels 30 is attached at the rear portion of the gathered skirt 34 (FIG. 1B). The plurality of front panels 28 and the plurality of rear panels 30 (FIG. 1B) are adaptable for multiple configurations that allow the multi-use garment 10 to be worn in a wide range of stylish designs. The multiple configurations of the plurality of front panels 28 and the plurality of rear panels 30 (FIG. 1B) allow the strapless multi-use garment 10 to be worn in different occasions. The multi-use garment 10 is built in boning and inner bodice construction for full upper body support. The plurality of front panels 28 includes a front panel end 20 and the plurality of rear panels 30 includes a rear panel end 22 (FIG. 1B). The front panel end 20 and the rear panel end 22 (FIG. 1B) are not attached with the garment 10.

[0024] FIG. 1B is a front view of the present embodiment, illustrating the rear portion of the upper garment portion 16 and the rear portion of the gathered skirt 34 of the strapless multi-use garment 10. The multi-use garment 10 includes at least one fastening means 38 extending downwards along the rear portion of the upper garment portion 16 and the rear portion of the gathered skirt 34 to firmly secure the strapless multi-use garment 10 on the user's body. The at least one fastening means 38 may be a zipper. The strapless multi-use garment 10 has simple construction thereby making the garment 10 lightweight and portable.

[0025] FIG. 2A illustrates the plurality of front panels 28 in a lifted position. The plurality of front panels 28 is lifted to configure the multi-use garment in different designs. FIG. 2B illustrates the plurality of rear panels 30 in the lifted position. In the preferred embodiment, there are two front panels 28 and two rear panels 30. The plurality of front panels 28 and rear panels 30 are lifted to configure at skirt level and/or at the neckline around shoulders of the user to create a variety of neckline and skirt styles. The plurality of front panels 28 and the plurality of rear panels 30 are pleated to add an aesthetic appearance to the multi-use garment 10. The strapless multi-use garment 10 is available in various sizes and colors.

[0026] FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate different designs of the multi-use garment 10 by configuring the plurality of front panels 28 and the plurality of rear panels 30 in different fashionable ways. The multi-use garment 10 does not possess any strap thereby allowing a user to wear the garment 10 as a strapless dress in its natural form without any panel manipulation and provides support needed to stay on user's body. Also, the strapless garment 10 can be quickly converted to other designs. The multi-use garment 10 can be used as bridal dress and ball gown. The gathered skirt 18 is very long and features a slight A-line shape. The multi-use garment 10 is fabricated from woven cloth to provide comfort to the user. Preferably, woven cloth like chiffon material is used for its fabrication.

[0027] FIGS. 3C-3E illustrate alternate embodiments of different designs of the multi-use garment. The waist band 24 hits just above the natural waist with delicate gathers and the multi-use garment 10 is fully lined. The plurality of front panels 28 and the rear panels 30 create alternate necklines and skirt details. The gathered skirt 18 is designed in such a way that it hits above the user's knee.

[0028] While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.