Conventional skirts comprise a tube of fabric which is worn hanging from the waist. One known type, known as a wrap around skirt, comprises a single piece of fabric which is wrapped around the wearer's waist so that opposite ends of the fabric overlap. The overlapping regions fasten together adjacent their top edges to form a waistband.

The present invention seeks to improve over known skirts.

According to the present invention there is provided a skirt comprising two separate pieces of material and fastening means operative to fasten opposite ends of each of the pieces to the other piece of material in an overlapping manner.

Provision of two separate pieces of material conveys numerous advantages over conventional skirts. In particular, it allows for considerable variation in the style and size of a particular garment.

The fastening means are preferably operative to fasten the two pieces of material together adjacent to an edge of each piece of material to form a waistband. More preferably the fastening means enable the two pieces of material to be fastened together only at the waistband. The fastening means may comprise two engageable components disposed respectively on each of the two pieces of material. Suitable such fastening means include hooks and eyes and pile and hook fasteners, such as that sold under the

trade mark Velcro.

The fastening means is preferably releasable.

The fastening means preferably enables the degree of overlap of the two pieces of material to be varied. This allows both the size and style of the skirt to be altered. To achieve this, the fastening means may comprise a plurality of fasteners disposed at different locations on one or both pieces of material. For example, a tape including a plurality of spaced apart apertures or eyes may be fastened, for example by sewing, along an edge of one or both of the pieces of material and a hook or hooks arranged to engage with the apertures or eyes provided on the other or each piece of material. By engaging the hook or hooks with one or more of the plurality of apertures or eyes the degree of overlap of the pieces of material may be varied. Any alternative suitable fastening means could, however, be used, for example Velcro (RTM). A combination of fastening means could also be used, for example both hooks and eyes and Velcro (RTM).

Alternatively or additionally the fastening means may comprise a clip operative to hold two pieces of overlapping material together. Such a clip may be resiliently biassed and may be decorative.

The two pieces of material need only overlap at one point. In such an arrangement the opposite sides of each piece to those which overlap could be joined abutting one another. This may be achieved by providing a zip fastener or the like operative to fasten abutting edges of the two

pieces of material together.

In one embodiment each piece of fabric includes one or more of two engageable components of a fastening means operative to fasten one end of each piece of fabric to the inside of the other piece of fabric when worn by a wearer and two resiliently biassed clips are provided to secure the opposite end of each piece of fabric to the outside of the other piece of fabric when worn by the wearer. The resilient clip is positioned to the outside of the skirt and will be visible. The two component fastening is positioned on the inside of the skirt towards the wearer's body and will not be visible.

In another embodiment straps are provided to fasten the free, facing edges of one piece of material together when wrapped around the wearer in a spaced apart manner, revealing the other piece of material beneath.

In a still further embodiment one of the pieces of material includes one or more slits through which part of the other piece of material may be fed and subsequently tied to fasten the two pieces of material together.

The two pieces of material may be formed from any suitable material, for example fabric, leather or plastics material. Each piece of material may be formed from the same or different materials. Each piece of material may be of a different colour. One piece of material could be partially transparent.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood

embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Figure 1 is a plan view of two pieces of material used to form a skirt according to the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of a spring clip ; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a skirt according to the invention being worn on a body; Figures 4 are plan views of the skirt of Figure 3 showing different to 7 wearing styles ; Fig. 8 is a plan view of another embodiment of a skirt according to the invention; Fig. 9 is a front view of the skirt of Figure 8; Fig. 10 is a plan view of another embodiment of a skirt according to the invention; Fig. 11 is a front view of the skirt of Figure 10; Fig. 12 is a pian view of another embodiment of a skirt according to the invention; Fig. 13 is a front view of the skirt of Figure 12; Fig. 14 is a plan view of the insert piece of the skirt of figures 12 and 13; and Fig. 15 shows a cut away view of part of a skirt according to the invention, showing detail of a fastener.

Referring to Figures 1 to 7 a skirt is formed from two separate pieces of fabric 1 and 2. One of the two pieces of fabric 1 is of greater width than the other but they are both of a similar length. The wider piece 1 shall be referred to as the outer piece of fabric and the narrower piece 2 shall be referred to as the inner piece of fabric, for convenience.

Each piece of fabric has a length of tape 3 sewn along its top edge.

The tape includes a number of spaced apart pairs of apertures 4 along its length. A pair of hooks 5 is fastened to one end of each piece of fabric in the region of the tape 3. The hooks 5 are arranged to be engageable with the apertures 4 in the tape 3.

In use, the hooks 5 of each piece of fabric are engaged with a pair of apertures 4 formed in the tape 3 of the other piece of fabric. Spring loaded clips 6 are then employed to secure the free end of each piece of fabric (i. e. the opposite end of each piece of fabric to that to which the hooks 5 are fastened) to the other piece of fabric. The skirt therefore has a continuous waistband formed by the region including the tape 3 of each piece of fabric 1 and 2.

Provision of a plurality of spaced apart pairs of holes 4 in each tape allows the pieces of fabric 1 and 2 to be fastened together in a number of different configurations varying the position and amount of overlap of the two fabrics and size of the waistband of the skirt. Other suitable fastening means could, however, be employed.

The type of spring clip 6 employed is shown in greater detail in Figure 2. It comprises a straight back section 7 intended to be inserted behind the waistband of a skirt and an outer decorative section 8 intended to be visible to the outside of a skirt. The inner 7 and outer 8 sections comprise strips of metal and are urged together by means of a spring 9 connecting the two.

The inner section 7 may include studs or pins arranged to engage with the apertures 4 on the inside of the waistband of a skirt. The outer section 8 of the clip may include some decorative material.

A number of styles in which the skirt may be worn are shown in Figures 4 to 7. Each Figure shows a plan view of a skirt as it would be worn by a wearer oriented with their back, front and hips in the regions indicated by reference numerals 10,11 and 12 respectively in Figure 5.

With the arrangement illustrated in Figure 4 the inner piece of fabric 2 lies inside the outer fabric 1 to the back of the skirt and wraps over the outer fabric 1 towards the front of the skirt. This gives the appearance of a smart wrap around skirt.

With the arrangement illustrated in Figure 5 the inner fabric 2 has been moved relative to the outer fabric 1 compared to the arrangement of Figure 4 so as to reduce the amount of overlap of the inner 2 and outer 1 fabrics towards the front of the skirt. This arrangement would be more likely to reveal the thigh of a wearer whilst walking or crossing their legs.

With the arrangement illustrated in Figure 6 the inner fabric 2 has

been moved relative to the outer fabric 1 compared to the arrangement illustrated in Figure 4 so that a greater amount of the inner fabric 2 is exposed to the outside at the front of the skirt leaving a reduced overlap with the outer fabric 1 to the side of the skirt.

With the arrangement illustrated in Figure 7 the inner fabric 2 lies inside the outer fabric 1 at both the front and back of the skirt where the two pieces of fabric overlap. This arrangement is particularly suited to skirts where the two pieces of fabric are different, for example in colour and/or texture. The skirt appears to include a panel of contrasting colour or texture.

Figures 8 and 9 show another embodiment of a skirt. This is similar to that shown in Figures 1 to 7 except for the provision of a zip fastener 13 operative to fasten one side edge of the outer fabric 14 to a side edge of the inner fabric 15. In Figure 8 the inner fabric is shown as a dashed line to distinguish it from the outer fabric. The zip is arranged to join the two fabrics when the zipper is moved from the top of the skirt to the bottom, to allow a variable sized slit to be left at the bottom of the garment. Other suitable fasteners could be used.

Figures 10 and 11 show another embodiment. Opposite sides of the outer fabric 16 are fastened together by straps 17, leaving a gap between the sides through which the inner fabric 18 is visible. The straps can be formed from any suitable material, for example fabric, leather or chain. It

will, of course, be appreciated that when straps are employed the inner fabric 17 must remain inside the outer fabric 18.

Figures 12 to 14 show a still further embodiment. The outer fabric 19 includes slits 20 forming apertures in its waistband 21. The inner fabric 22 includes an extended waistband 23. The inner fabric 22 is fastened to the outer fabric by feeding a length of extended waistband 23 through a slit and tying a knot or bow in the free end to stop it passing back. The waistband of outer fabric 19 could include a number of slits to allow the inner fabric to be fastened at different points and hence vary the size of the garment.

Figure 15 shows how a fastener similar to a treasury tag can be used to fasten the waistband of the outer fabric 24 of a skirt when the inner fabric 25 is being worn entirely within the outer fabric. The fastener comprises a length of cord 26 with cross pieces 27 on either end which can be fed through slits 28 in the waistband and then oriented so that they will not pull back through those slits 28.

Skirts according to the invention have a number of advantages over conventional skirts. Easy adjustability allows the wearer to choose to wear the skirt with minimum overlap at either the hip or the front of the thigh for different occasions, for example formal or informal occasions. By replacing only one of the two pieces forming the skirt it is possible to change the character and appearance of the skirt. The wearer's wardrobe can be

refreshed or re-coordinated without having to buy a new skirt. Likewise, the style and position of the spring clips can be changed again changing the appearance of the skirt without having to replace the entire garment. As the size of the waistband is adjustable the skirt can accommodate changes in the wearer's waist size in a way which is not possible with conventional skirts. Sizing can be simplified as a smaller range of sizes can be used to accommodate a larger variation in size of wearer than with conventional skirts. Forming the skirt from two separate pieces allows for greater freedom of movement and in particular that walking in a more fitted style of skirt is not constrained to short paces.

Skirts may be formed from more than two separate pieces of fabric.

The above embodiments are described by way of example only.

Many variations are possible without departing from the invention.