Brassiere

1. A brassiere having a pair of cups of fabric, each of said pair of cups being connected to each other, two side bands being releasably connected to each other, one of said two side bands extending from one of said pair of cups and the other of said two side bands extending from the other of said pair of cups, and shoulder straps, the brassiere comprising:

reinforcing means having at least one reinforcing layer of chemical material applied along at least an edge portion of each of the pair of cups and for forming an integral part of the fabric, said reinforcing layer applied along at least a portion of said shoulder straps of the brassiere and for forming an integral part of the fabric, said reinforcing layer applied at least along a side portion of each of said pair of cups, wherein said side portion faces towards the respective band and a lower portion of each of said pair of cups form an integral part of the fabric, said reinforcing layer being applied along said lower portion of each of said pair of cups and extends with no break in continuity into said side portion continuing along said shoulder straps, wrapping around the respective cup at the lower portion and at the side portion for support, and said reinforcing means further comprising wires.

2. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer comprises at least one thermoplastic component.

3. The brassiere according to claim 2 , wherein said thermoplastic component comprises a polyurethane mix.

4. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer comprises at least one elastic component.

5. The brassiere according to claim 4 , wherein said at least one elastic component comprises a silicone mix.

6. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer comprises pigments and/or cosmetic elements.

7. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer is applied along said side portion of each of said pair of cups and extends with no break in continuity at least as far as the point of connection to a shoulder strap, wrapping around the respective cup at the side.

8. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer wraps around the pair of cups meeting at a lower portion between the pair of cups.

9. The brassiere according to claim 8 , wherein said layer meets in said lower portion between said pair of cups extending slightly towards an upper portion of the brassiere and widening towards the sides in the portion between said pair of cups.

10. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said side portions of said reinforcing layer have a greater width than said lower portions of said reinforcing layer.

11. The brassiere according to claim 10 , wherein the width of said layer decreases gradually and continuously from said side portion to said lower portion of said reinforcing layer.

12. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer is applied along the whole surface of each of said pair of cups, between said lower portion and said side portions of the pair of cups.

13. The brassiere according to claim 1 , further comprising a further layer of chemical material applied along at least an edge portion of the brassiere and for forming an integral part of the fabric.

14. The brassiere according to claim 13 , wherein said further layer is applied along at least a lower edge portion of the brassiere and at least part of the length of said further layer is fused with said lower portion of said reinforcing layer.

15. The brassiere according to claim 13 , said further layer is applied along at least an upper edge portion of said two side bands and, for at least part of the length of said further layer, is fused with said side portion of said reinforcing layer.

16. The brassiere according to claim 13 , wherein said further layer is applied along at least an upper edge portion of the brassiere and, at least for the end areas, is fused with said side portion of each of said pair of cups and with said lower portion of said reinforcing layer.

17. The brassiere according to claim 13 , wherein said further layer is applied along at least an edge portion of the brassiere and has a smaller width than said reinforcing layer.

18. The brassiere according to claim 13 , wherein said further layer is applied along at least an edge portion of the brassiere and comprises the same material as said reinforcing layer.

19. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer has a portion that is applied to said shoulder straps that has a smaller width than a portion of said reinforcing layer applied to said side portion which faces towards the respective band.

20. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said shoulder straps are produced separately from the brassiere and applied to it by melting said reinforcing layer.

21. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said shoulder straps are made in one piece with the brassiere.

22. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer is printed onto the fabric.

23. The brassiere according to claim 22 , wherein said reinforcing layer is applied to the fabric by a screen printing process.

24. The brassiere according to claim 22 , in which said reinforcing layer is applied to the fabric by a cylinder printing process.

25. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer is applied in a uniform thickness.

26. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer is applied in different thicknesses to different portions depending on the strength to be produced.

27. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing layer comprises at least two sub-layers.

28. The brassiere according to claim 1 , wherein said wires are applied to the edges of said cups.

29. The brassiere according to claim 28 , wherein said wires are applied to the edge of said pair of cups by sheaths welded to said reinforcing layer by melting said reinforcing layer.