BUTT ENHANCING HOSIERY UNDER GARMENT

The present invention relates to form fitting hosiery for uplifting the rear buttocks area.

The conventional type of Hosiery undergarment usually includes traditional under wear, panty hose, and girdles. These traditional under garments compress the buttocks, offer no support on the upper thigh and they create bulges under clothing.

The conventional Hosiery undergarment includes a pair of legs knit solely of stretchable yarn and providing sufficient stretchability to fit a range of leg sizes while providing a relatively small amount of compressive force against the underlying legs of the wearer. They compress the buttocks and provide no support on the upper thigh and area around the waist love handle. These hosiery undergarments do not have a control top that extends high enough to provide support to the upper torso bulge (the bulge can be really seen from the upper back area under the armpits). Some types of Hosiery under garments, the so-called “panty girdle” type, include a panty girdle formed of a heavy elastic fabric with the upper ends of hosiery legs being sewn to the leg openings in the panty girdle. This type of panty girdle applies a great amount of compressive force against the underlying portion of the body of the wearer while the portions of the stockings immediately adjacent to the leg openings apply very little, if any, compressive force against the upper thigh portions of the legs of the wearer. This immediate transition from high compressive force by the panty girdle to little or no compressive force by the adjacent hosiery leg causes an abrupt outward bulging of the portions of the upper thighs below the leg openings of the panty girdle portion and these bulge lines are visible when the panty hose is worn beneath tight-fitting slacks or skirts.

This type of hosiery under garment also compresses the buttocks in a way as to not allow a round naturally shaped buttocks to emerge. This type of hosiery under garment also does not provide an open toe along with an open crotch (open gusset), buttocks shaping and high waist control top for a full body shaping experience.

These types of under garments do not provide the user with an improved appearance under clothing and can be uncomfortable. They do not allow the buttocks to form a more round improved appearance that actually creates volume in the rear using your own natural shape. By using the same girdle type material on the buttocks it does not allow the fabric to go between the buttocks like a g-string region to give a more natural curvy appearance, instead the buttocks is compressed by the same material used through out the under garment. Furthermore, they do not hold in bulges and cellulite on the most troubled areas of some users. These areas, known as “saddlebags”, are below the buttocks on the back and sides of the thighs just below the hips. Although girdles cover these areas, they normally are made of relatively thick material and tend to compress the buttocks rather than mold it pushing those bulge areas upward and outward to form a more curvy buttocks. Instead they create bulges in clothing about the user's thigh. Also, the thick fabric usually makes the user look heavier rather than thinner in slim fitting clothing These types of garments also do not provide a crotch opening (open gusset) so that the user can easily use the bathroom without having to take the garment off which can be time consuming and uncomfortable. These types of under garments stop just below the knee or extend to the ankle which make it visible if the wearer were to wear short skirt or shorts. Some of these under garments have a stocking that does extend down to the foot but do not provide an open toe so that the wearer can wear open toe shoes with out being visible.

Often the control top, does not extend high enough on the waist to control the bulges which may be more visible from the back view. These control tops often fall down since they do not have straps that and be attached to a bra and or silicone on the waistband to prevent it from falling. Also, the waist and leg portions have elastic bands at their points of termination that do not solve the problem of bulges that occur from immediate high compressive force to little or no compression.

Hosiery under garments that currently exist in the market place are designed to give a toned look to legs smoothing the site of cellulite and the legs overall. Originally the hosiery under garments only extending to the waist giving no support to the upper thigh region, waist and buttocks. A need exists for an undergarment that does it all. The traditional hosiery under garments just focus on the toning smoothing look of the legs but fail to shape the body.

Although under garments are known that are designed to provide support to waist and leg portions of the body. U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,765 of Blakely, is mostly concerned with compressing everything in. This girdle type garment extends to just below the knee and compresses everything in including the buttocks deforming it. This under garment does not solve the problem of shaping the buttocks to give a “JLO®” curvy shape. Instead it compresses the buttocks giving the wearer a less curvy shape. The control top also does not extend high enough to control back bulge on the area just under the breasts of a women which can be seen from the back. This control top does not provide extra compression on the side mid portion of the waist giving the wearer more support for a more “hour glass” look. The control top does not solve the problem of preventing the control top from sliding down when worn. This garment also does not extend to the feet of the wearer giving the legs a toned smoothed look which can be worn with shorts and skirts. This garment cannot be worn with shorts or skirts due to the fact that the garment would be seen stopping just above the knee and it is not designed to give the legs a toned smooth look all the way to the foot. On this garment a crotch gusset can be seen but it is not an open crotch double gusset which does not solve the problem of convenience. When the need to use the rest room occurs, the entire under garment must be removed and then put back on, which can be time consuming and a very uncomfortable hassle.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,607 of Tino discloses a traditional panty hose with reinforced heel and toe. This garment does not solve the problem of tummy bulge with a high waist control top nor does it solve the problem of too much buttocks compression. This garment does extend to the feet, however it does not provide an open toe so that a wearer can utilize it with open toe shoes.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,537 of Ewing discloses a multisectional hosiery garment that has detachable feet and leg sections. This design is intended to prevent the entire pantyhose from being ruined if a “run” occurs in a portion of the garment. The design is also intended to accommodate several different fashion purposes. The different sections are attached with elastic bands, which have disadvantages. A garment having this design would not provide the user with a slimmer or smoother appearance.

Accordingly, a need exists for a comfortable hosiery garment that helps shape the buttocks to form a more round improved appearance, one that actually creates volume in the buttocks using your own natural shape and mass by compressing the bulge on the upper thigh upward and outward along with the buttocks to form a more curvy round looking buttocks instead of compressing the buttocks.

A need also exists for one that also covers the entire leg down to an open toe giving the legs a smoother more toned look. A need also exists for such a hosiery garment to have a very high waist control top to eliminate love handle and back bulge, to have an open crotch double gusset and to be manufactured in a continuous knitting process so that the supportive regions blend in with the more sheer regions without creating seams or bands that can easily be seen through clothing.

Also a need exists for providing an open toe so that it may be worn with open toe shoes and skirts. Also a need exists for same garment that gives support in the thigh, and higher waist regions to help minimize or eliminate side upper torso bulge, stomach and love handle bulge. A need also exists for such a hosiery shaping garment to be manufactured in a continuous knitting process.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a butt enhancing hosiery undergarment that allows a natural looking roundly shaped buttocks to emerge, giving an improved appearance that actually creates volume in the rear by using your own natural shape.

It is also an object of the invention to provide stomach, upper back side area and side waist compression giving the user a more “hourglass” shape.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an open toe sheer leg portion allowing the user to wear open toe shoes. It is also an object of the invention to provide a wide open crotch double gusset for convenience when nature calls.

It is also an object of the invention to provide straps that hook on to the wearer's bra if so desired for extra security to prevent the control top from sliding down, and or a silicone or rubber inner lining on the upper waist knitted in welt to also prevent control top from sliding down.

The present invention provides a hosiery under garment having sheer leg portions that end just before the toes, and a reinforced control top portion having good shaping and control characteristics that terminates at the top of the waist region with a knitted-in welt. The hosiery under garment provides the user with shaping support as well as buttocks shaping support which gives a separate opening for the buttocks allowing the hosiery garment to go between the buttocks almost like a g string region while pushing, compressing the upper and side thighs upward and outward to a buttocks pouch made of a lesser denier than the surrounding, (where denier is defined by dictionary definition as a unit of weight used to measure the fineness of silk and man-made fibers, especially when woven into women's tights, etc, and being equal to 1 gram per 9000 meters), unlike the present invention, prior art pantyhose which compress and tend to flatten the buttocks inward and down, giving a smaller less natural round shape, are usually undesirable.

In contrast to the prior art, the reinforced high control top portion of the present invention extends down the leg portions and under and around the buttocks of the pantyhose far enough to provide support over the “saddlebag” and cellulite regions of the body while leaving a separate opening or pouch area for the buttocks to form into giving a more desirable “jlo®” look to the buttocks area.

The knitted-in welt at the waist region blends into the high control top without causing waist constriction. Similarly, the knitted-in welts at the ends of the leg portions blend into the leg portions without causing leg constriction. The overall design provides the user with a smooth, tight leg appearance when worn under clothing, without causing the user to suffer discomfort. An open toe is also provided allowing the user to wear open toe shoes if desired. This hosiery under garment also provides a wider than usual open crotch double gusset that can be used with ease when nature calls. This feature allows the wearer to utilize the rest room without the hassle of taking off the entire garment.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, drawings and claims.

The hosiery under garment of the present invention wherein the leg portions terminate just before the toes is shown in FIG. 1-4 With reference to each figure, the same numerals will be used to describe like elements. The under garment may be manufactured in a conventional manner with conventional knitted fabric materials, such as, for example, nylon, LYCRA®, SPANDEX®, silk, cotton, etc. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the under garment 1 is manufactured on a circular hosiery knitting machine using a circular hosiery knitting process. Rather than using elastic bands, knitted-in welts are knitted in during the knitting process at the upper waist-terminating region and at the open toe terminating regions. This enables the garment to be manufactured in one, continuous knitting process, as opposed to performing an additional manufacturing process after the knitting process has been performed in order to attach elastic bands. Circular knitting machines and processes are well known. Those skilled in the art will understand the manner in which the garment 1 of the present invention can be manufactured using such a machine and process.

The hosiery under garment referring to FIG. 1-4 shows front, back and side views of the under garment comprising two leg portions 30a and 30b and a control top portion 13. The control top portion 13 of the garment preferably is terminated at the upper waist with a knitted-in welt 16 and preferably with a silicone or rubber inner lining to prevent from sliding down. The welt 16 preferably ranges from 1 to 3 inches in width. The knitted in welt 16 has a detachable strap 14a, 14b, as shown in FIG. 2 and 14c as shown in FIG. 1 that hooks on to the wearer's bra if so desired for extra security to prevent the control top from sliding down.

The rear buttocks region 22a, 22b is uplifted by virtue of the left and right flank members 20a and 20b, which cause the uplifting of the rear region 22a and 22b. The flank members are supported from above by the upper waist knitted in welt 16 that extends circumferentially around the rib area. The upper thigh ring portions 26a, 26b also help with uplifting of rear region 22a, 22b.

The leg portions 30a and 30b preferably are terminated with knitted-in welts 34a and 34b just before the toes. The welts 16, 34a and 34b provide a snug fit on the user's upper waist and on the foot just before the toes begin without overly constricting these areas. Preferably, a single rubber yarn is knitted into the knitted-in welt 16, 34a and 34b to ensure that the waistband and foot bands are secured about the waist and feet of the user. However, the rubber yarn is optional because the denier used in this region is believed to be sufficient to provide the needed support. Silicone can also be used on the inseam of the welt to prevent garment from sliding. This is also optional.

The control top portion 13, including a full upper portion covering the torso of the wearer from an upper area having a circumferential welt top edge 16 located just below the breasts of the wearer down to upper thigh band regions 13a, 13b, and also including a g string region 13g in the middle lumbar back area between the top of the buttocks, are each thicker than the leg portions 30a and 30b to provide additional support for the buttocks and upper thigh regions.

The control top portion 13, extending from circumferential top welt edge 16 down to upper thigh band areas 13a and 13b and g string region 13g extends down to the leg portions 26a and 26b. The buttocks area 22a and 22b provides an opening at the central top joint of buttocks areas 22a and 22b which creates the aforementioned middle lumbar back g-string region 13g. The opening for the wearer's hips, located below the torso portion of the control top 13, with the centrally located lumbar back g string region 13g is then knitted with a respective thinner garment buttocks portions 22a and 22b, preferably micro fiber, to allow the buttocks to be pushed outward without compression. A thicker denier is used to reinforce and add extra support, lift and compression to the area just below the buttocks at the bottom of flank portions 20a and 20b which extends from the bottom edge of the buttocks portions 22a and 22b, thence up the side of the garment through the upper torso portion 13, to the top of the control top welt 16. This thicker fabric of flank portions 20a and 20b, as well as of the circumferential upper thigh band areas 13a, 13b, provides a compression of the hosiery under garment just below the buttocks, creating more bulge on the buttocks making the buttocks of the wearer look bigger, while lifting it the buttocks of the wearer at the same time, preferably having a denier of 150, but thickness may range from approximately 60 to approximately 200 in denier. The differences in thickness between the upper waist band welt 16, leg bands 13a, 13b, and side flank regions 20a, 20b of control top 13 are indicated by the shaded areas, i.e. shading, shaded areas indicate thicker or thinner fabric from the control top. The control top portion 13, and including side flank regions 13a, 13b, also preferably extends upwards to just under the breast area 16 and down the leg portions 30a and 30b. The lines 26a and 26b indicate the locations where the control top portion 13, 13a and 13b ends and the leg portions 30a and 30b begin. Preferably, the control top portion 13, 13a and 13b is manufactured using a plane-knit process. In accordance with one embodiment, each of the feeds contains a single yarn. Preferably, LYCRA®. yarn, which is a product of E. I. Du Pont® de Nemours and Company®, or SPANDEX® yarn, which is a more generic term for the same or substantially similar material manufactured by many different manufacturers. Preferably, the SPANDEX® or LYCRA®. has a denier of 120, but may range from approximately 60 to approximately 200 in denier. The control top has a thicker fabric on the waist enhancing side areas 18a and 18b which supports the sides of the waist, preferably the SPANDEX® or LYCRA®. has a denier of 160, but may range from approximately 60 to approximately 200 in denier. A thicker fabric may be used on side flank portions 20a and 20b which controls side bulge and support and lift the buttocks, preferably, the SPANDEX® or LYCRA®. has a denier of 150, but may range from approximately 60 to approximately 200 in denier. Waist enhancing side areas 18a and 18b are located in the left and right waist portions of the side flank portions 20a and 20b. In a preferred option, waist enhancing side areas 18a and 18b are the thickest of the materials in the butt enhancing under garment.

The control top has a thicker fabric on the front stomach are 28 to compress the stomach area, preferably the SPANDEX® or LYCRA®. has a denier of 150, but may range from approximately 60 to approximately 200 in denier. The leg portions 30a and 30b of the hosiery under garment having a denier ranging from approximately 5 to approximately 100 deniers.

Alternatively, the plane-knit process used for the control top could utilize a 120-denier SPANDEX® or LYCRA®. yarn. The knitted-in welts 16 comprise the thickest area of the garment. The control top portion 13, 13a, 13b and 13g is thicker than the leg portions 20a, and 20b which provide side and buttocks support and lift is thicker than the control top base 13, which includes upper thigh portions 13a, 13b and g string portion 13g. The thickest part of the control top base is included at welt 16, abdominal wall portion 28, flank portions 20a, 20b and mid flank waist portions 18a, and 18b which provide stomach compression and side waist shaping compression, with mid flank waist portions 18a and 18b being thicker than abdominal wall portion 28 and flank portions 20a and 20b.

FIG. 5 shows an enlarged view of the crotch open double gusset 36 (as shown in FIG. 1), with flaps 36a and 36b, which is made of cotton with two overlaying pieces of cotton fabric The crotch open double gusset region 36, 36a and 36b open wide enough for convenience when wearer needs to use the restroom. The crotch double gusset region 36, 36a, 36b, preferably is sewn onto the garment after the knitting process has been performed.

Referring to FIG. 6 the heel portion of the hosiery under garment 32b and 32a shows a reinforced heel with a thicker fabric than the leg portion of the hosiery garment 30a and 30b. This prevents it from running or tearing at the heel from usage.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the of the open toe foot portion of the hosiery garment with knitted welts 34a and 34b, two straps on each foot can be seen 38a, 38b which is received between the first and second toes of the wearer in a thong-type arrangement. A strap is also goes between the forth and fifth toe 36a and 36b also in a thong type arrangement. This secures the hosiery garment from rolling up the foot. The open toe portion also extends the life of the hosiery garment due to the fact that the toe portions are the first to tear and become worn.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the foot sole portion of the hosiery under garment. It details the straps as shown in FIG. 7. As well as the reinforced heel as shown in FIG. 6

In the foregoing description, certain terms and visual depictions are used to illustrate the preferred embodiment. However, no unnecessary limitations are to be construed by the terms used or illustrations depicted, beyond what is shown in the prior art, since the terms and illustrations are exemplary only, and are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention.

It is further known that other modifications may be made to the present invention, without departing the scope of the invention, as noted in the appended Claims.