[0001] The present invention relates to footwear provided with at least one interchangeable
strap provided preferably with decorative elements.
[0002] The interchangeability of the strap allows shoes to be obtained with ornamental qualities
that are different each time without having necessarily to change the entire footwear
with, among the other advantages, the consequent saving of costs for the consumer
as described herein below.
[0003] Shoes with straps provided with decorative elements, such as embroidery, elements
in coloured plastic, beads, sequins, chevees, spangles, etc., are currently already
known.
[0004] In such known shoes said elements of decoration can be attached by stitching or gluing
or other known means on said shoes.
[0005] The most common example of shoes of this type is constituted by so-called Mary Jane
shoes or ballerina shoes provided with a strap whereon it is possible to attach the
most widely differing decorations.
[0006] Such a kind of shoes is preferably, yet not exclusively, dedicated to purchasers
of a young age and of female gender, such as girls and teens, yet in some cases may
also be suitable for adult purchasers.
[0007] The fashion cycles, which involve younger people in particular, force producers and
vendors of footwear articles to change each season the models of the shoes for sale.
[0008] Due to this need for a constant change of the models a considerable quantity of articles
which have been produced in excess and have not been sold during the production year
will be very difficult to sell during the subsequent year.
[0009] This entails series financial damage not only for economic operators in the sector,
due to the waste of resources necessary for the production of footwear not sold, but
also for the parents of young purchasers, due to the waste arising from the annual
replacement of footwear.
[0010] The object of the present invention is therefore that of remedying, at least in the
sector of footwear, what is referred above, in particular for that footwear provided
with straps with elements of decoration which can direct the purchaser towards one
or the other shoe according to the ornament carried by it.
[0011] This object is achieved by means of the creation of footwear having ornamental qualities
which can vary without having necessarily to change the entire footwear.
[0012] More particularly this feature can be achieved by means of the use of an interchangeable
strap and of systems of attachment of this strap to the upper of the footwear able
to allow the removability and therefore the interchangeability of said strap in a
simple and economical manner.
[0013] Said interchangeable strap can easily be decorated by stitching or gluing or with
other known means with different elements able to embellish the entire shoe.
[0014] The colour of said strap can also be simply adopted as an element of novelty of the
entire shoe.
[0015] Thanks to the particular features of interchangeability of the strap it is possible
to solve the problems described above which are features of the known shoes currently
available commercially.
[0016] More particularly the vendor can provide a certain number of bodies of footwear and
a large variety of straps with different decorative elements in such a way that at
the end of the season a large quantity of whole footwear does not remain unsold, instead
at most only the interchangeable straps remain unsold.
[0017] In this way a considerable saving is obtained in the quantity of material used for
the production of the footwear, in the quantity of energy and in the hours of work
necessary for the production of the footwear.
[0018] The present invention allows the achieving of advantages also by purchasers who,
should they intend to change the model or the ornamental features of their footwear,
do not necessarily have to purchase a new pair of shoes, but can instead purchase
only a new strap.
[0019] This strap, positioned on the body of the footwear in place of the previous one,
is able to provide the footwear itself with aesthetic features completely different
from the previous ones.
[0020] These and further features of the present invention will be made clearer by the reading
of the following detailed description relating to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention to be seen as a non-limiting example of the more general concepts claimed.
[0021] The following description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which:
- Figure 1 is a side view of the shoe without the strap attached.
- Figure 2a is a front view of the shoe without the strap attached.
- Figure 2b is a view from the rear of the shoe without the strap attached.
- Figure 3 is a view from above of the shoe without the strap attached.
- Figure 4 is a side view of the shoe with the strap attached.
- Figure 5a is a front view of the shoe with the strap attached.
- Figure 5b is a view from the rear of the shoe with the strap attached.
- Figure 6 is a view from above of the shoe with the strap attached.
- Figure 7 is a perspective view of the detail constituted by the strap.
[0022] Figures 1, 2a, 2b and 3 show footwear comprising a body of the shoe 1 and two flaps
2' and 2".
[0023] Said flaps 2' and 2" are covered internally by two layers of Velcro (3', 3") known
in jargon as "loops".
[0024] Also on the upper are two elements in Velcro (4' and 4") known in jargon as "hooks"
with structure complementary to the two elements 3' and 3".
[0025] Said elements in Velcro (4' and 4") are positioned in such a way that by coming into
contact with the layers of Velcro 3' and 3" of the flaps 2 and 2", said flaps 2' and
2" remain attached to said upper 1.
[0026] Figures 4, 5a, 5b and 6 show footwear comprising a body of the shoe or upper 1, two
flaps 2' and 2" and a strap 5.
[0027] Referring to Figure 7, the ends 6' and 6" of said strap 5 are attached by stitching
to two ring elements 7' and 7".
[0028] Referring to Figures 4, 5a, 5b, 6 and 7 the removable attachment of said strap 5
takes place by means of the insertion of said flaps 2' and 2" in the ring elements
7' and 7".
[0029] Once said flaps 2' and 2" are inserted in the ring elements 7' and 7", said flaps
2' and 2" are attached by means of the two layers of Velcro 3' and 3" to the layers
of Velcro 4' and 4" stitched on the upper 1. Thanks to this mechanism the strap 5
is thus attached to the upper 1. To remove the strap 5 from the upper 1 it is sufficient
to separate the two pairs of layers of Velcro (3' and 4') and (3" and 4") and withdraw
the two flaps 2' and 2" from the ring elements 7' and 7".
[0030] A possible alternative embodiment to that described above comprises a strap provided
with two consecutive layers of Velcro, one of the "hook" type and one of the "loop"
type, at the ends.
[0031] The upper is instead provided with two ring elements attached to said upper thanks
to the stitching of suitable flaps which pass inside the same rings.
[0032] By means of the passing inside said rings attached to the upper of the ends of the
strap and the subsequent folding of said ends in such a way that the layer of "hook"
Velcro comes into contact with the layer of "loop" Velcro stitched on the same strap
thanks to the presence of the Velcro, it is possible to attach in a removable manner
said strap to said upper.
[0033] In the first and in the second embodiment described above the means of attachment
of the strap to the shoe are constituted by four elements in Velcro. This solution
is to be considered purely by way of an example in that it is possible to use any
other known attachment system such as for example press studs or traditional buttons
connected directly to the strap which in this case will be provided with the relative
loops.
[0034] It is also possible to use the same principle for shoes with shapes different from
the Mary Jane model illustrated in the drawings.
[0035] For example a similar solution can be applied to women's shoes for adult purchasers
provided with ankle straps and possibly a heel. The ankle straps can be, also in this
case, attached in a removable manner by means of traditional buttons or press studs
or by means of buckles or other known means.
[0036] These straps can be embellished by the application of decorative elements and the
possibility of replacing them allows a shoe to be obtained with ornamental features
which are different each time.
[0037] Thus a shoe is obtained which is provided with aesthetic features which can vary
considerably in a simple and economical manner, thanks to the change of only the strap
without having to change the entire footwear.
1. Footwear of the type comprising the upper (1) of the footwear and at least one strap
(5) provided possibly with decorative elements, characterised in that said strap (5) is provided with means for the removable attachment to said upper
(1) and that said upper (1) is provided with means for the removable attachment of
said strap (5).
2. Footwear according to claim 1, characterised in that said strap (5) is provided with rings (7', 7") or other known elements for the removable
attachment to said upper (1).
3. Footwear according to the previous claims, characterised in that said upper (1) is provided with at least two elements (4', 4") in Velcro attached
directly on said upper and at least two flaps (2', 2") covered in turn by a layer
of Velcro (3', 3") able to be attached to said elements (4', 4") in Velcro of said
upper (1).
4. Footwear according to the previous claims, characterised in that said elements (4', 4") in Velcro and said flaps (2', 2") are attached to the upper
(1) by means of gluing, stitching or other known techniques of attachment.
5. Footwear according to the previous claims, characterised in that said flaps (2', 2") are attached to the upper after passing through the rings (7',
7") of the strap (5).
6. Footwear according to claim 1, characterised in that said upper is provided with rings or other known elements for the removable attachment
of said strap.
7. Footwear according to claims 1 and 6, characterised in that said strap is provided with at least two elements in Velcro attached directly on
said strap and at least two ends covered in turn by a layer of Velcro able to be attached
to said elements in Velcro of said strap.
8. Footwear according to claims 1, 6 and 7, characterised in that said elements in Velcro are attached to the strap by gluing, stitching or other known
techniques of attachment.
9. Footwear according to claim 1, characterised in that the attachment of said strap to said upper is obtained by means of buttons and corresponding
loops or other known means.