U-shaped lace and method of lacing a shoe or garment therewith

Abstract

Single eyelet laces containing an elongated flexible body with an openable stop at least at one end and a stop that may or not be openable at the other. The openable stop opens to a size or shape that will not pass through an eyelet of a shoe on which the lace is used and closes to a shape that will. In a preferred embodiment, the single eyelet laces are used to display badges or are used with laces that are formable into a bow to give an appearance of traditional lacing in a shoe or display. In another embodiment, each of the single eyelet laces may be of a different color.

1 . A display comprising:
 (a) an article having a shape of only an upper portion of a shoe, the article comprising a plurality of pairs of opposing eyelets, including a first pair of opposing eyelets and a second pair of opposing eyelets disposed beneath the first pair of opposing eyelets;   (b) a plurality of laces that are threaded through respective eyelets of the first and second pairs of opposing eyelets and fixed at insides of the eyelets such that each of the laces forms a U-shape.   
     
     
         2 . The display of  claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of laces comprises (i) an elongated malleable core member and (ii) a sleeve about and along the core member. 
     
     
         3 . The display of  claim 1 , wherein each of said laces comprises (i) an elastic body; and (ii) one of a stop or openable stop on one end of the body; and (iii) an openable stop on an opposite end of the body. 
     
     
         4 . The display of  claim 1 , wherein the article comprises at least a third pair of opposing eyelets disposed above the first pair of opposing eyelets. 
     
     
         5 . The display of  claim 4 , wherein the third pair of opposing eyelets does not comprise a lace threaded therethrough. 
     
     
         6 . A kit comprising:
 (a) an article comprising a plurality of pairs of opposing eyelets, including a first pair of opposing eyelets near a top of the article and a second pair of opposing eyelets disposed beneath the first pair of opposing eyelets;   (b) a first lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the second pair of opposing eyelets and fixable at insides of the eyelets to form a U-shape, said lace comprising (i) an elongated malleable core member and (ii) a sleeve about and along the core member; and   (c) a second lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the first pair of opposing eyelets and formable into the shape of a bow.   
     
     
         7 . The kit according to  claim 6 , wherein the core member is dimensioned relative to an inside dimension of the sleeve effectively to shape a cross section of the sleeve correspondingly to a cross section of the core member. 
     
     
         8 . The kit according to  claim 7 , further comprising a badge comprising at least one alphanumeric character, wherein the first lace is threadable through the badge such that the badge is fixedly displayed when the first lace is fixed at the insides of the eyelets to form the U-shape. 
     
     
         9 . The kit according to  claim 6 , wherein the article comprises at least a third pair of opposing eyelets and a plurality of said first laces. 
     
     
         10 . The kit according to  claim 9 , wherein the article is a shoe. 
     
     
         11 . The kit according to  claim 6 , wherein each of said first and second laces is a different color. 
     
     
         12 . A kit comprising:
 (a) an article comprising a plurality of pairs of opposing eyelets, including a first pair of opposing eyelets near a top of the article and a second pair of opposing eyelets disposed beneath the first pair of opposing eyelets;   (b) a first lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the second pair of opposing eyelets and fixable at insides of the eyelets to form a U-shape, said lace comprising (i) an elastic body; and (ii) one of a stop or openable stop on one end of the body; and (iii) an openable stop on an opposite end of the body; and   (c) a second lace that is threadable through respective eyelets of the first pair of opposing eyelets and formable into the shape of a bow.   
     
     
         13 . The kit according to  claim 12 , wherein the openable stop is a toggle stop. 
     
     
         14 . The kit according to  claim 12 , further comprising a badge comprising at least one alphanumeric character, wherein the first lace is threadable through the badge such that the badge is fixedly displayed when the first lace is fixed at the insides of the eyelets to form the U-shape. 
     
     
         15 . The kit according to  claim 12 , wherein the article comprises at least a third pair of opposing eyelets and a plurality of said first laces. 
     
     
         16 . The kit according to  claim 12 , wherein the article is a shoe. 
     
     
         17 . The kit according to  claim 12 , wherein each of said plurality of first laces is of a different color. 
     
     
         18 . The display according to  claim 1 , comprising a badge which comprises at least one alphanumeric character, wherein the first lace is threaded through the badge such that the badge is fixedly displayed in the display. 
     
     
         19 . The display according to  claim 1 , comprising a plurality of badges each of which comprises an alphanumeric character, wherein the plurality of laces are threaded through respective of the plurality of badges such that the badges are fixedly displayed in the display.