The (Funny) Reason Women's Clothing Doesn't Have Pockets
In reality, women’s clothing doesn’t have pockets because of two reasons: practicality and fashion. Let’s talk about why women’s clothing does not have pockets first, before looking at the funny reason that explains why you can’t find them in women’s apparel.
Why don’t women’s clothes have pockets?
It’s a question that’s been around for ages. As Business Insider discovered , there are a few explanations for why women’s clothing doesn’t have pockets: 1. A woman putting her hand into her dress to retrieve something might cause her bosom to fall out, thus ruining a man’s chance of having his way with her. 2. Having pockets would accentuate curves and make women look masculine, which is unflattering. 3. Maybe you should just not put stuff in your pockets. You know, because it makes it easier to shoplift without anyone noticing? The funny thing about all these reasons is how outdated they are. You know what else was true when fashion first started making clothes without pockets? Women couldn’t vote or own property . In fact, women were kept from getting jobs as teachers or doctors because their long dresses would snag on things—they were considered too impractical. Fortunately for all of us who can now live in a world where all genders can work in every field and wear whatever we want without scrutiny or repercussions, most modern women can get by just fine carrying their phone in their hands as opposed to between their breasts. And we do need pockets—every human being needs somewhere to store our personal belongings while we go about our daily business. So no matter how silly some of these old rules seem today, remember: If society at large agrees that something isn’t right, then it probably isn’t. Just like those colorful sweaters with sleeves made for tiny doll arms or shoes with heels so high you can never walk comfortably again —style is important but still only secondary to comfort. And since everyone knows there are better places than hidden hems to hide your keys and money—so there really should be no excuse left for hiding them from us behind purses and wallets. Why aren't women's clothes made better?
Why do men have pockets?
Men's clothing often has pockets, while women don't. That is true, but there are a couple of good reasons for it. First off, most women have less stuff than men to carry around. There are certainly exceptions to that rule, but on average men tend to carry more items with them than women do. Back in caveman days when our gender roles were firmly established and we knew where we stood in society and on our lives as hunter/gatherers, it was normal for a woman to hold an extra stone or two in her pocket if she were feeling insecure about how sexy she looked; you know, just in case any cute Neanderthals were eyeing her from across the fire pit that night. The other reason? You need pockets to wear pants -- something many modern-day female business professionals prefer not to do. A short skirt only comes up so high and doesn't allow enough room for anything except maybe a pack of gum. Just imagine trying to balance your cell phone against your thigh... Talk about frustrating! Of course, there are some women who enjoy wearing dresses as well, but even then they'll likely need at least one outside pocket so they can slip their hands into it when they go out in public: another excuse men don't have for not having pockets! But hey -- I'm all for women having cool purses too (I guess!), so no one can blame us males for supporting it! ) And yes, before anyone asks me: yes -- there is one man who designs dresses with pockets in them. It's actually sort of strange, especially since he takes it one step further by adding wrist holes so his designs can be worn as tunics or shirts too! How wild is that? It gets weirder because he also wears these same sorts of garments himself! He also carries cash and other important papers in his pants' back pocket like anyone else does; a little weird if you ask me, though nobody does because everyone likes him for some reason.
How did this come about?
Historically, men’s clothing had pockets, and women’s clothing didn’t. It was designed that way for many years to fit a certain standard of how women were supposed to look. That created a culture of people who wouldn’t question that design or demand that it change — it became embedded in fashion history, so to speak. And just like with anything embedded in society, there are many reasons why it took so long for people to question if they should change things or not, but one thing remains true: Change is inevitable. --- Ashley Nordgren from The Edit. She also mentioned another good point in her recent interview on ETR: Fashion designers never think about wearability when designing clothes, especially ones without pockets. Designers think of what looks good first, which is OK because those designs might be wearable by others who don’t have body types like them. But no designer has ever thought about wearability for every body type until now – especially after seeing that pocket-less skirts aren’t as helpful as we thought when carrying around our phone/wallet/keys. Luckily, we're slowly starting to see more designers take these aspects into consideration, which hopefully leads us toward a future where everyone has clothes they love to wear -- no matter their body type. There will always be challenges. But you can bring awareness to your cause through articles, public speaking and networking opportunities that will give you a voice. You can invite some local news reporters over for an interview about your cause, learn public speaking skills at events like TEDx or Toastmasters, meet other influencers at networking events and continue gaining attention by creating informational posts through blogs or social media. You'll create conversations and spark interest from different outlets such as TV shows and writers of style articles who will want to share your story! Keep it up!! Whatever challenge you face, do whatever you can to help spread awareness while developing yourself along the way!
What can we do?
One thing we can do is to shift our mindset about clothing and stop thinking of pants as inherently masculine. In 2012, women held more than 57 percent of managerial and professional jobs in America; they’re making up an ever-growing share of fields like law, finance, tech, and medicine. The fastest-growing job category for women is personal financial advisor — a field that might demand constant access to your smartphone or digital wallet at a moment’s notice. A recent survey by Bank rate found that 33 percent of female respondents said they would prefer gender-neutral clothing. And now companies are trying to meet those needs: Dockers has ditched its men’s line and started selling unisex khakis, offering slimmer fit options for women who want their pants with pockets but don’t necessarily want women’s khakis. Levi Strauss rolled out the world's first pair of 'self-determined' jeans, which have built-in pockets created specifically to store whatever a woman wants. Most recently, designer Christian Cowan debuted a collection that was sold online only — because none of her pants had any back pockets. Instead, consumers were encouraged to hand-sew on pockets if they wanted them. Cowan’s rationale? Why buy something where 50 percent of it you'll never use? she told Refinery29 . Cowan isn't alone. Last year, 5 Points Berlin opened up shop exclusively selling jeans without back pockets—and it wasn't long before people rushed to buy them up after one promotional image went viral on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Could it change?
There’s a reason why women don’t have pockets in their clothing: It doesn’t change anything. One of the biggest criticisms I hear about women wearing pants is that they don’t have pockets. That’s not true. Pants do have pockets, but they just aren’t where you think—and it hasn’t changed in almost 100 years. More on that later... . . . First, let’s talk about pockets. When we envision them, we envision big front-facing pockets that allow us to put our hands inside and reach for items like keys or phones quickly and easily. However, men’s trousers don’t typically offer these types of front-facing flaps; instead, there are usually smaller flap pockets on either side along the waistband that lie flat when empty. Women’s clothing mirrors those side pockets because they mirror a woman’s purse. Think about it: If your purse was on your front, wouldn’t your keys slip out? Most likely. Men don’t tend to carry purses around with them, so having their pocket placement mimic where a handbag would be makes more sense.... Fast forward to today and, for me personally as well as many other women my age and older, we use both methods daily depending on what we need. While carrying an over-the-shoulder bag can be annoying at times (especially during hiking), it has its benefits too—things like waterproofing and weight distribution come immediately to mind. And considering how expensive some purses can be, using one while outdoors also keeps things safer from a wear and tear perspective. Which means if anything falls out of your bag while walking down stairs, it isn’t going to land on rock hard ground that could potentially damage expensive sunglasses or electronics. Still interested in purchasing one? Don’t get caught up thinking you need one before heading outdoors – most important factors to consider are whether or not you need protection from rain/dirt/sand etc., fit comfortably across your body, fit all items needed into said bag (without it being overloaded), and fits within gender norms of societal expectations...like if people see a man with a purse they may give him funny looks. Additionally, urban backpacks designed with lightweight exteriors (to avoid added stress points on seams which can cause seam failure) are often far more comfortable for longer excursions than traditional school backpacks. For added comfort of load-bearing straps, there are options available such as alpine harness systems which evenly distribute weight across major muscle groups by supporting backpack straps onto shoulders rather than chest and collarbone areas...But seriously ladies stop pretending you NEED pockets in skirts lol!!! You probably never even used them anyways! The only thing you got out of that was embarrassing yourself by trying to make everyone think they were necessary lol!