I can’t buy women’s clothes with my own money anymore.
While men can usually carry their keys, wallets and cell phones inside their clothing, women have been forced to buy handbags to carry their essentials when running errands or going out on the town.
But that’s changing.
Both women’s workwear brands and luxury fashion houses create clothes for women that are characterised by generous budgets.
Sari Christeson, a Chicago corporate banker, ArgentThis is a brand that puts functional office wear at the forefront of its mission.
White-collar workers founded the company after they were upset that women’s clothes rarely had pockets, forcing them to rush back to their desks to get their wallets before their lunch break.
“Pockets have become the hidden superpower of our collection,” she said. The Wall Street JournalMore and more women are realizing that what girls want, and need, is more storage space in their clothes.
“Pocket inequality is a form of gender bias that’s been around for centuries,” says Aditi Sinha, co-founder of Seattle-based women’s workwear brand. perspectiveSaid Seattle Refined.
“Only 5% of women’s pockets are large enough to fit a smartphone, compared to 85% of men’s pockets. On average, women’s pockets are 48% shorter and 6.5% narrower than men’s.”
The Pacific Northwest brand is also working to popularize pocket-free clothing, reimagining office wear for the modern woman, who should benefit from the ease and convenience of pockets and be spared the “unnecessary back and shoulder pain” that comes with heavy handbags, Sinha added.
“There’s this assumption that women prefer a clean look over something that’s functional and utilitarian,” Laurel Pantin, a Los Angeles stylist and newsletter writer, told The Wall Street Journal, calling pocket-less clothing “just cruel.”
With cargo pants and “co-opcore” pieces with deeper pockets proliferating on the runways, it looks like high fashion is trying to catch up.
But some brands continue to produce pants with fake pockets (perhaps the most shocking discovery when trying on jeans), and back pockets that are barely able to fit an iPhone, which are getting bigger these days.
Hunter Scafer She wore a periwinkle Armani Privé gown. Pocket on skirt Cannes Film Festival Last month, Blake Lively was surprised to find that her floral two-piece Chanel suit had pockets while posing for photographers on the red carpet. Throw away your wallet immediately.
Farfetch senior editor Sereny Seidel told The Wall Street Journal that European fashion houses like Dries Van Noten and Miu Miu “are not designers who are taking away functionality from women.” Saint Laurent also showed women’s workwear on its fall/winter 2024 and spring 2024 runways, emphasizing the presence of pockets on its garments.
meanwhile, Courrèges launches new collection with pockets Taking the lead. Designed for women’s various pleasures, the trousers’ centre front pocket adds a touch of flair to the line’s quirky design.
However, storage isn’t the only reason we want pockets.
“When you find yourself in a new or uncomfortable situation, having somewhere to reach out can help you feel more calm,” Shelby Goldfaden of MM LaFleur told the Journal.
The battle for pocket space has been going on for generations, according to Hannah Carlson, author of “Pockets: The History of How We Store Our Things.” Menswear has long been designed with practicality in mind, but women’s everyday jobs were seen as looking after the home and children, so there was no need for storage space in their clothes.
In 1899, activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton penned an essay lamenting the lack of pockets in women’s clothing and advocating equality in fashion, the Journal reported. Just a few years later, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a column titled “A Plea for Pockets,” likening men to kangaroos for their pocketed clothes.
“The women don’t even have small pockets to put their scarves in,” it said, according to the Journal.
Carlson, a professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, told the outlet that even in the 20th century, “there was an expectation that women’s clothes weren’t made for the pocket.”
The lack of pockets meant that women had to develop superhuman finger strength, using each finger to precariously balance and grab what they needed.
Instagram account: “Girls Carrying S–t” The video shows many of the ways in which women wield such unique, agile strength: one woman juggles a smartphone and a novel in the same hand while dangling keys from her finger, while another effortlessly carries two bottles around her neck in one hand and a bag of lettuce, a box of basil, a jar of pesto sauce, and fresh mozzarella in the other.
“But I wish jackets had more breast pockets,” Carlson said, succinctly expressing every woman’s wish. Parents“Don’t you think that would make life easier?”
