By Katie Stobbart (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: June 19, 2013
It often seems like fashion is the opposite of function. Cute boots aren’t waterproof, sweaters are made with giant holes and many shirts are nearly transparent. A garment or accessory is created to serve a purpose, and fashion eventually endeavours to make it almost completely frivolous.
Potentially the most irritating example of this is the pocket.
The pocket has evolved over hundreds of years to best suit our need to carry stuff around. It took us a long time to figure out pockets as we know them today, and we have adapted most of the things we like to bring with us (cell phones, keys, money) to fit into our pockets.
Historically, small purses, often worn around the waist, were used to hold coins. However, these were easy targets for thieves, and slits were created in pants and skirts to make purses harder to steal. Eventually garments were made with pockets already sewn into these slits. The added benefit of this method is that it is impossible to forget one’s pockets at home, which still happens with purses.
When back pockets were made smaller and even disappeared from some pants altogether, I wasn’t bothered. I don’t use back pockets much anyway – the stuff I have to carry around is more accessible in the front pockets and less likely to slide out. So if back pockets were only decorative, it didn’t really affect me.
Fun fact: the reason commonly cited for the disappearance of back pockets is not that they were useless – it was to make bums look better.
What I failed to realise was that when back pockets went, front pockets would follow (though the logic behind this is mystifying). It is now easier for me to find pants without pockets or with false seams sewn where pockets should be.
Those are particularly frustrating – why false pockets? If pockets don’t look good, why sew on fake ones? Because of these, I am constantly aware of my homeless hands. (The other pocket perk is having a comfortable hand-home.)
Another confusing fact: the jeans I am currently wearing have back pockets but false front pockets. Why?!
Is it the price? If I looked for more expensive pairs of jeans (though it seems silly to pay extra for a service my pants have always provided) would I be successful? Lack of pockets does not seem to be limited by fabric (cotton, polyester, denim) or style (boot-cut, straight, skinny leg) or even store (though I did have success in my pocket-friendly jean hunt at Old Navy).
Maybe someone in the fashion industry decided pockets were not trendy and had to go. Maybe manufacturers felt the need to cut costs. Perhaps it’s a conspiracy, and someone with a pocket vendetta decided to cut all the pocket-making instructions out of clothing patterns.
I am afraid that pockets may be an endangered species in the fashion world. Since I am not pursuing a career in fashion design (I can barely sew two pieces of fabric together), I also have no idea how to save them.
