Ring, slide and hook
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rings, slides and hooks are the accessories used in intimate apparel/lingerie used for adjustment and decorative functions. Rings, slides and hooks are commonly made of plastic and nylon coated metal and stainless steel.
Rings are used for joining straps to allow length adjustment and vary strap angle to bra cup. A ring can be in any shape, for example circular, rectangular, triangular or even heart and flower shaped.
A slide has its crossbar recessed below the planes of edges of the longitudinal limits, which limits sliding of the frame on a strap. The slide has its thickest portions at the centers of transverse bars at which the central bar merges with the remainder of the slide. The strap passes around the central bar or directly through one of the slots to a ring and returns through that slot across the central bar and through the other slot in the slide to the shoulder of the wearer.
A hook has a rectangular shape, similar to the slides but with an opening at its one end which used to hang detachable or multi-way straps to a bra. It is hooking bra shoulder straps to a strapless bra, re-positioning the straps to achieve the various looks, such as halter-neck and crossed-back.
Rings and slides have been used on apparel products since the 1800s. Found from the US patent document number 174,459 in year 1876, Alexander Adamson applied on suspenders – rings for providing varying strap angle and slide for positioning the back straps.[1]
From the US patent document number 863,159 in year 1907, Ellen M. Degenhart invented slides in a garment supporter, which is for strap length adjustment.[2]
Brassieres date from the early 1900s. At the initial stage, they are with the very simple design, made from two handkerchiefs and narrow strap, with no ring or slide for adjusting strap length. Later, slide was introduced to the brassiere for increasing or reducing the strap length. Found from the US patent document number 1,590,693 in year 1926, Elvira Campa McKeefrey put slides on straps. It is said the first bra with adjustable straps.[3]
However, rings launched on brassieres were much later about 1940s. Sam Samuels patented the invention in US, document number 2,246,638 in year 1941.[4]
The predecessor of hooks on brassieres was the buttons and buttonholes. The introduction of hooks was documented in US patent number 2,140,164 by William H. Moffatt in year 1938.[5]
Types
Ring, slide and hook have similar product form. They are designed with wide varieties in term of shape, size and material.
Material
Ring, slide and hook can be made with metal, metal with nylon coated, electro-plated metal and plastics. Metal gives the strongest strength among the four materials. Metal with nylon coated and electro-plated prevent oxidation and rusting. Metal with nylon coated and plastic provide wide range of colours for matching with the garment. The electro-plated only available in gold and silver colour, ultimate thin and modern appearance.
Shape
Shape of ring, slide and hook has huge variety, depend on the shape of mould from different manufacturers. The most common shape for ring is circle which looks like an "O". Triangle, rectangle, square, heart, star shape, rectangle with saw tooth shape or even flower shape can be found for the different purposes on intimate garment.
Most commonly seen slide and hook are in rectangular shapes which look like "8" and "9" respectively. The shape of slide usually varies in the size of two holes, which allows different sliding way. Different opening combinations are found for hook, e.g. "S" shape which has hook on each side, narrower hole and wide hook, double-crossbar for the hole and hook.
Size
Common size range for rings, slides and hooks is from 6 mm (0.24 in) to 30 mm (1.2 in). The range may vary, depending on different manufacturer's collection. For full-figured women bras, wider straps and elastics in used for good support of breast weight. The bigger rings and slides required (12 mm (0.47 in) or 15 mm (0.59 in)). On the other hand, smaller rings, slides and hooks (8 mm (0.31 in) or 10 mm (0.39 in)) are found on normal bras sizes (A cup and B cup). The most common size of ring, slide and hook are 10 mm (0.39 in), 12 mm (0.47 in) and 15 mm (0.59 in).There are extremely large rings and hooks can be found on the swimwear items work as the underband fastener and decoration.