OF PARTS COMPRISING A CLOTHING ITEM AND DECORATIVE SELF-ADHESIVE LABELS

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the area of clothing items or apparel, and particularly to the area of customisable clothing items.

Background

The world has seen a growing interest in products that allow end-users to express their individuality in new ways. As such, customisation and personalisation of products as an act of decoration, play or entertainment has become common. This also applies to the area of clothing items and apparel.

Disclosure of the Invention

The purpose of the invention is to provide a new and improved customisable clothing item.

According to the invention, this is achieved by a kit of parts comprising a clothing item and one or more self-adhesive labels or stickers. The clothing item and self-adhesive labels or stickers are designed according to the invention to be joined together permanently or quasi-permanently by the end-user, thereby providing the possibility of customisation or personalisation of the clothing item for the end-user. The kit of parts can for instance be sold as a package comprising the clothing item and the self-adhesive

According to the invention, the clothing item is chosen among clothes, apparel, garments, footwear, hats, or clothing accessories, such as bags, scarves, umbrellas, gloves, eye glasses, or others. Furthermore, the clothing item can be made from mate- rials such as fabric, textile, plastic, rubber, or other materials.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the clothing item is a pair of rubber boots or Wellington boots. This provides a clothing item having a surface, which is particular suitable for adhering self-adhesive stickers or labels.

According to the invention, the one or more self-adhesive labels or stickers are decorated with figures, items, text, graphical elements, objects or other illustrations. The labels are decorated with combinations of one or more of the mentioned groups of illustrations to ensure the end-users' opportunity to express themselves as freely as possi- ble.

The self-adhesive labels or stickers can be provided on a single sheet, from which the labels or stickers are removed before affixing them to a surface of the clothing item.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the clothing item is decorated with a scene, which may comprise such elements as background objects, figures, items, objects, or the like. The self-adhesive labels and clothing item are decorated so that they may be combined by the consumer to form a story or a customisable scene. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, a pair of children's Wellington boots or rubber boots is decorated with an artwork that shows a scene of e.g. a forest or a castle, and the labels are decorated with corresponding figures, e.g. human characters, animals or other objects, which fit in the context of the scene. The labels can be bought individually or along with the Wellington boots. After the purchase, the kit of parts then enables the child to customize its own Wellington boots by decorating the boots, thereby creating a personal storyline.

In one embodiment of the invention, the self-adhesive label or sticker comprises a base material and an adhesive material. Typically, the base layer is provided as a layer having an outer surface and an inner surface, on which the adhesive material is applied. When affixing the label or sticker to the rubber boot, the inner surface is adhered to the surface of the rubber boot by use of the adhesive material, and the outer surface becomes part of the customisable scene. The base material substantially maintains the mechanical integrity of the label and carries the label's decoration on an outer surface. The adhesive material enables the label to be affixed to a surface of the clothing item or to other surfaces.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the adhesive material maintains affixation of the label to the clothing item when the kit of parts is exposed to water or moisture. The label remains affixed to the clothing item even when exposed to adverse weather, or when the item is washed. The invention ensures such water resistance by selecting label types that are developed for use where condensation frequently occurs.

One such type of label is the kind used for marking food or other consumables that are kept refrigerated.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the adhesive material is non-toxic if consumed by animals or humans. It is generally desirable that the label remains attached to the clothing item after affixation. However, wear, mechanical manipulation, or even aging may cause the label to become detached from the clothing item. If this happens, and during the initial process decorating the clothing item, it is ensured by the invention that the label does not pose a risk of poisoning to animals, children or other persons who may be tempted to put the label in their mouths or even consume the label. The invention ensures this by selecting labels certified for marking of food or other consumables, for the use according to the invention. The word non-toxic is here used in the meaning that no known dangerous substances are released in a concentration exceeding the relevant safety values from the label, if consumed by a small child.

In an embodiment according to the invention, the adhesive material maintains affixation of the label to the clothing item when the kit of parts is used in a temperature range of - 20 to 50 C, or -10 to 40 C, or even -5 to 30 C. The kit of parts of clothing item and self- adhesive label is chosen according to the invention so that the label remains affixed to the clothing item when the kit of parts is exposed to common temperature conditions, including those related to storage, use and washing of the kit of parts.

In another embodiment of the invention, the self-adhesive label is bio-degradable. If the label does become detached from the clothing item, there is a certain possibility that the label will be lost without the end-user disposing the label in the proper way, e.g. if the label is lost in nature. In this case, the label should preferably degrade within a reasonable length of time, e.g. 1 month to 1 year.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the adhesive material maintains affixation of the label to the clothing item, when the kit of parts is exposed to mechanical manipulations, such as those that occur under storage, use or wash.

The sheet comprising the labels and/or the base material of the labels may comprise a liner, of e.g. clay-coated paper or a supercalendered glassine paper. The labels may comprise a protective film, such as a corona-treated polyethylene film or another polyethylene film, which provides labels with a semi-glossy appearance.

The adhesive may be a general purpose permanent, acrylic based adhesive.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention is explained in detail below with reference to the drawings, in which

Fig. 1 illustrates a kit of parts comprising a sheet of stickers and a Wellington boot according to the invention,

Fig. 2 illustrates a first example of a personalised Wellington boot, and

Fig. 3 illustrates a second example of a personalised Wellington boot,

Detailed description of the Invention

Fig. 1 shows a kit of parts according to the invention. The kit of parts is here depicted as part of a pirate theme, however, other storylines or themes can of course also be used.

The kit of parts comprises a pair (only one boot shown here) of Wellington boots or rubber boots 50 and a sticker sheet 10 comprising a number of self-adhesive stickers or labels (12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30), which can be sold together in a package.

The Wellington boot 50 has an outer surface, which is decorated with a scene having a small island and a seabed. The sticker sheet 10 comprises stickers with a pirate 12, a flag 14, a box 16, a shark fin 18, a treasure chest 20, a lookout post 22, cannon balls 24, a canon 26, a barrel 28, and a pirate ship 30, depicted on an outer surface of the stickers, respectively.

The stickers can be removed from the sheet 10 and affixed to the outer surface of the Wellington boot 50. The stickers have an inner surface, which is provided with an adhesive material or agent, such as glue and preferably based on a general purpose, permanent acrylic adhesive. The adhesive material ensures that the stickers remain af- fixed to the outer surface of the Wellington boot 50 under all conditions, which occur

during normal use of the Wellington boots, i.e. if the boots are used in windy and snowy conditions.

Fig. 2 shows a first example of a personalised Wellington boot 50, which has been pro- vided with a number of stickers on the outer surface. The stickers of the lookout post 22, the pirate 12, the treasure chest 20, the canon 26 and the cannon balls 24, as well as the shark fin 18 have been arranged on top of and around the island depicted on the outer surface of the Wellington boot 50, while the sticker of the barrel 28 has been arranged on the seabed of the scene depicted on the Wellington boot 50.

Fig. 3 shows a second example of a personalised Wellington boot 50, which shows that the stickers can also be arranged on top of each other. In this example, the stickers of the barrel 28 and the treasure chest 20 have been arranged on the seabed, while the sticker of the boat 30, the pirate 12, the lookout post 22, and the flag 14 have been ar- ranged together to depict a boat having all these features.

The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and alterations and modifications can be carried out without deviating from said scope of the invention.