Waistband for a garment

#This application relates to the field of garments, and more specifically, to a garment for sporting activities, exercise, and the like that has a waistband with one or more storage means formed therein and with a curved edge at the waist opening.

#Athletes and consumers are demanding high performance activewear and sportswear, such as for example, tights, pants, and shorts. Currently, many such garments do not fit well around a wearer's waist and require frequent adjustment by the wearer. In addition, such garments should be as snug as possible but must still provide adequate room for holding personal items such as smart phones and keys. Currently, many such garments have pockets located in positions that interfere with a wearer's movements. In addition, such pockets often do not adequately secure valuable personal items, such as smart phones and keys, when the wearer is engaged in stretching, exercising, and athletic performance.

#In one aspect, a waistband for a garment is provided, the waistband having a front portion, a back portion, and a curved top edge at the waist opening that curves gradually downward forming a concave curve at the front portion of the waistband and curves gradually upward forming a convex curve at the back portion of the waistband.

#Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided to illustrate example embodiments described herein and are not intended to limit the scope of the application. Sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles may be not drawn to scale, and some of these elements may be arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility.

#FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating an example of a garment having a waistband, the waistband having one or more concealed storage means formed therein and a curved edge at the waist opening.

#FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof.

#In the following description, details are set forth to provide an understanding of the application. In some instances, certain structures, techniques, and methods have not been described or shown in detail in order not to obscure the application.

#FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating an example of a garment 100 having a waistband 200, the waistband 200 having one or more storage means (or pockets) 320, 350 formed therein and a curved edge 201 at the waist opening 500. FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof. FIG. 3 is a right side view thereof, the left side view being a mirror image thereof. FIG. 4 is a front view thereof showing the concealed storage means (or pockets) 320, 350 thereof in a contrasting tone. FIG. 5 is a rear view thereof. FIG. 6 is a right side view thereof, the left side view being a mirror image thereof. And, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional detail view of the first loop 175 of the waistband 200 of the garment 100 of FIG. 1 taken along line A-A in FIG. 3.

#As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the garment (or lower body garment) 100 has a front side 110, back side 120, right side 130, and left side 140. A waistband 200 extends around a waist opening 500 and is connected (e.g., attached, sewn, glued, bonded, coupled, joined, etc.) along a bottom edge 202 of the waistband 200 to a body (or pelvic) portion 190 which includes first and second (or right and left) legs (or leg portions) 150, 160 having respective leg opening 151, 161. As further described below, a top edge 201 of the waistband 200 at the waist opening 500 is curved (or inclined, sloped, slanted, tilted, etc.) downwards from each side 130, 140 of the garment 100 to the front side 110 of the garment 100 with respect to a nominal horizontal waistline 600 of a wearer. As shown in FIGS. 4-7, the waistband 200 may have one or more storage means (or pockets) 320, 350 formed therein which are concealed by respective loop panels 170, 180 as further described below. The garment 100 may be a pair of tights, shorts, pants, or the like.