Protective Draping System

Abstract

A draping system and apparatus protects the clothes of a wearer. The system and apparatus include a jewelry-like securing mechanism configured to resemble a choker-style or chain-style necklace. The system and apparatus also include a fabric member configured in dimensions and shape to cover a wearer's front from neck to waist. The fabric member may be configured with a pocket along its top edge for inserting the securing mechanism to removably attach the fabric member. The securing mechanism is configured to secure and maintain the fabric member around the wearer's neck, such as by enlarging the opening of the choker-style necklace or clasping the exposed ends of the chain-style necklace. Such securing of the fabric member enables it to flow down from the wearer's neck to protectively cover the wearer's front.

1 . A draping system for protecting clothes of a wearer, the system comprising:
 a securing mechanism formed of jewelry-like components; and   a fabric member configured in dimensions and shape to cover a subject surface of the wearer, the fabric member comprising a lightweight material that is durable to spills and frequent washing;   the fabric member further having a pocket along the length of a top edge of the fabric member, wherein the pocket has a first opening at one end of the top edge of the fabric member and a second opening at an opposite end of the top edge, the pocket housing the securing mechanism in a manner that removably attaches the fabric member to the securing mechanism; and   the securing mechanism enables the removably attached fabric member to cover the subject surface of the wearer.   
     
     
         2 . The draping system of  claim 1  wherein the jewelry-like components include a necklace. 
     
     
         3 . The draping system of  claim 2  wherein the necklace is a choker-style necklace or a chain-style necklace. 
     
     
         4 . The draping system of  claim 1  wherein:
 the subject surface is a front of a torso of the wearer from neck to waist including clothing being worn there; 
 the securing mechanism is formed of a choker-style necklace having a substantially circular shape and an opening, ends of the choker-style necklace defining the opening, the choker-style necklace having for each end, a stopper attached to the respective end; 
 the pocket of the fabric member housing the choker-style necklace in a manner that removably attaches the fabric member to the choker-style necklace, each stopper maintaining the fabric member suspended from the choker-style necklace; and 
 the choker-style necklace is sufficiently flexible enabling adjusting of the circular shape to temporarily enlarge the opening to fit the choker-style necklace onto the neck while carrying the fabric member, and the circular shape and the stoppers enable the removably attached fabric member to flow down from the neck to cover the front of the wearer from the neck to the waist. 
 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . The draping system of  claim 4  wherein each stopper is a jewelry-like component, including a spherical-shaped bead, pearl, or ball. 
     
     
         10 . The draping system of  claim 1  wherein:
 the subject surface is a front of a torso of the wearer from neck to waist including clothing being worn there; 
 the securing mechanism is formed of a chain-style necklace having a length that enables the chain-style necklace to carry the fabric member, the chain-style necklace having: (a) one end coupled to a first half of a clasp connector, and (b) an opposite end coupled to a second half of the clasp connector; 
 the pocket of the fabric member housing the length of the chain-style necklace in a manner that removably attaches the fabric member to the chain-style necklace, the pocket exposing the first half of the clasp connector at the first pocket opening and exposing the second half of the clasp connector at the second pocket opening; and 
 the chain-style necklace is of sufficient length to enable connecting the exposed first half of the clasp connector and exposed second half of the clasp connector behind the neck of the wearer while carrying the fabric member, the connecting encircling the chain-style necklace around the neck to enable the removably attached fabric member to flow down from the neck to cover the front of the wearer from the neck to the waist. 
 
     
     
         11 . The draping system of  claim 10  wherein the clasp connector is one of: (i) a clip clasp with the first half being a clip and the second half being a ring connector; (ii) a hook clasp with the first half being a hook and the second half being a ring connector; (iii) a magnetic clasp with two magnetic halves; and (iv) a toggle clasp with the first half being a toggle bar and the second half being a ring connector. 
     
     
         12 . The draping system of  claim 10  wherein:
 the pocket is replaced with grommets along the length of the top edge of the fabric member, such that the chain-style necklace is threaded through the grommets in a manner that removably attaches the fabric member to the chain-style necklace, the threading of the chain-style necklace exposing the first half of the clasp connector through a first grommet and exposing the second half of the clasp connector through a last grommet. 
 
     
     
         13 . The draping system of  claim 1  wherein:
 the subject surface is a front of a torso of the wearer from the neck to waist including clothing being worn there; 
 the pocket is replaced with: 
 a first grommet positioned at one end of the top edge of the fabric member; 
 a second grommet positioned at an opposite end of the top edge of the fabric member; and 
 the securing mechanism is formed of: 
 a first chain segment coupled to the first grommet, the first chain segment having at its distal end a first half of a clasp connector, 
 a second chain segment coupled to the second grommet, the second chain segment having at its distal end a second half of the clasp connector, and 
 the first chain segment and the second chain segment are each of sufficient length to enable connecting the first half of the clasp connector and the second half of the clasp connector behind the neck of the wearer while supporting the fabric member, the connecting positioning the first chain segment and second chain segment about the neck of the wearer to enable the coupled fabric member to flow down from the neck to cover the front of the wearer from the neck to the waist. 
 
     
     
         14 . The draping system of  claim 1  wherein the lightweight material of the fabric member is a fabric of accessory quality, including at least one of: a polyester fabric that resembles silk, a cotton fabric, and a cotton blend fabric. 
     
     
         15 . The draping system of  claim 1  wherein the fabric member is further configured with:
 a first printed phrase positioned at an upper area of a front surface of the fabric member; 
 one or more fastening mechanisms positioned at a center area of the front surface of the fabric member, wherein the one or more fastening mechanisms enable the removable attachment of a patch, the patch configured with: 
 a second printed phrase on a front surface of the patch, and 
 one or more compatible fastening mechanisms on a back surface of the patch, the one or more compatible fastening mechanisms connectable to the one or more fastening mechanisms positioned on the fabric member to removably attach the patch to the fabric member; and 
 a third printed phrase at a lower area of the front surface of the fabric member, such that the first printed phrase, the second printed phrase, and the third printed phrase together present a message on the front surface of the fabric member. 
 
     
     
         16 . A method of draping a fabric member to protect clothes of a wearer, the method comprising:
 providing: (a) a securing mechanism formed of a jewelry-like components, and (b) a fabric member, the fabric member configured in dimensions and shape to cover a subject surface of the wearer, the fabric member comprising a lightweight material that is durable to spills and frequent washing; and   enabling removably attaching of the fabric member to the securing mechanism, the fabric member having a pocket along a length of a top edge of the fabric member, wherein the pocket has a first opening at one end of the top edge of the fabric member and a second opening at an opposite end of the top edge, the pocket housing the securing mechanism in a manner that removably attaches the fabric member to the securing mechanism; and   wherein the securing mechanism enables the removably attached fabric member to cover the subject surface of the wearer.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the jewelry-like components include a necklace, the necklace being a choker-style necklace, a chain-style necklace, or another style of necklace. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the lightweight material of the fabric member is at least one of: a fabric of accessory quality, including a polyester fabric that resembles silk, a cotton fabric, and a cotton blend fabric. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16  wherein:
 the subject surface is a front of a torso of the wearer from the neck to waist including clothing being worn there; 
 the jewelry-like components include a choker-style necklace having a substantially circular shape and an opening, ends of the choker-style necklace defining the opening, the choker-style necklace having for each end, a stopper attached to the respective end; 
 the pocket of the fabric member housing the choker-style necklace in a manner that removably attaches the fabric member to the choker-style necklace, each stopper maintaining the fabric member suspended from the choker-style necklace; and 
 the choker-style necklace is sufficiently flexible enabling adjusting of the circular shape to temporarily enlarge the opening to fit the choker-style necklace onto the neck while carrying the fabric member, and the circular shape and the stoppers enable the removably attached fabric member to flow down from the neck to cover the front of the wearer from the neck to the waist. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein each stopper is a jewelry-like component, including a spherical-shaped bead, pearl, or ball. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16  wherein:
 the subject surface is a front of a torso of the wearer from the neck to waist including clothing being worn there; 
 the jewelry-like components include a chain-style necklace having a length that enables the chain-style necklace to carry the fabric member, the chain-style necklace having: (a) one end coupled to a first half of a clasp connector, and (b) an opposite end coupled to a second half of the clasp connector; 
 the pocket of the fabric member housing the length of the chain-style necklace in a manner that removably attaches the fabric member to the chain-style necklace, the pocket exposing the first half of the clasp connector at the first pocket opening and exposing the second half of the clasp connector at the second pocket opening; and 
 the chain-style necklace is of sufficient length to enable connecting the exposed first half of the clasp connector and exposed second half of the clasp connector behind the neck of the wearer while carrying the fabric member, the connecting encircling the chain-style necklace around the neck to enable the removably attached fabric member to flow down from the neck to cover the front of the wearer from the neck to the waist. 
 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the clasp connector is one of: (i) a clip clasp with the first half being a clip and the second half being a ring connector; (ii) a hook clasp with the first half being a hook and the second half being a ring connector; (iii) a magnetic clasp with two magnetic halves; and (iv) a toggle clasp with the first half being a toggle bar and the second half being a ring connector. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the pocket is replaced with grommets along the length of the top edge of the fabric member, such that the chain-style necklace is threaded through the grommets in a manner that removably attaches the fabric member to the chain-style necklace, the threading of the chain-style necklace exposing the first half of the clasp connector through a first grommet and exposing the second half of the clasp connector through a last grommet. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 providing a fabric member configured with:
 a first printed phrase positioned at an upper area of a front surface of the fabric member, and 
 one or more fastening mechanisms positioned at a center area of the front surface of the fabric member, and 
 a second printed phrase at a lower area of the front surface of the fabric member; 
   selecting a patch configured with:
 a third printed phrase at a front surface of the patch, and 
 one or more compatible fastening mechanisms positioned at a back surface of the patch; and 
 attaching the patch to the fabric member by connecting the one or more compatible fastening mechanisms positioned at the patch to the one or more fastening mechanisms positioned at the fabric member, such that the first printed phrase, the second printed phrase, and the third printed phrase together present a message on the fabric member.