I feel sorry for women who don't have pockets

CaspianXI@lemmy.world to Showerthoughts@lemmy.world – 344 points –

I seriously couldn't live without cargo pants. At any given time, I'll have at least 4 pockets filled with random stuff. But no pockets? How do you even survive?

98

I know a lot of seamstresses, from quilters to knitters to stitchers.

Without fail, if they make their own clothes, they add pockets.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman in possession of clothes, must be in want of pockets.

Why haven't clothing manufacturers figured this out yet?

Double dipping with purses, executives often being men, and clothes looking svelter without pockets.

Also at scale it's probably cheaper to make clothes without pockets because less fabric.

Same kinda logic as people who complain about ads saying that they'd rather pay for the service, instead of ads. The reality is only about 1% ever do pay. I assume it's similar for clothing, where most people naturally gravitate towards the clothes that look 'best', even if they don't have pockets.

Reading these comments, I'm starting the think I've been doing the whole "dating profile" thing wrong. Clearly I need to mention I have some experience making and altering clothes, which includes enlarging or adding pockets to anything.

Everything else on there fluff compared to the ability to give a woman functional pockets.

All joking aside, yes you should absolutely lead with this.

“Anyone get get you coffee, but I can give those pants you love pockets” would honestly draw my attention. Funny in a non-crude way, expressing a creative hobby (conversation topic!) that solves a problem that women actually complain about (versus what is said they want)? Not a bad intro!

Just made myself a new skirt, even the sewing pattern came without pockets. I put massive ones in anyway.

It’s like starting from scratch with every hobby: if you run out and buy the best of the best for every occasion without dipping a toe in, first, you’re going to be deep in the red for a while, if not until you run out of steam.

You can get a T shirt for $5-15 easily, but aside from bigger sizes/mens and womens, there’s not much deliberate variation you’ll see in mass produced stuff, so if you want clothes to really fit you, it helps to learn how to either alter them or make them yourself.

There are plenty of kits you can buy that have sewing patterns ready made. Here is an example. You follow the instructions and the patterns have some leeway in terms of customization. Play around with those and you start to figure out how the changes you make affect the clothing and how it fits.

Is it feasible and somewhat worth it to make your own clothes? It sounds like mass-produced ones would be much cheaper, I'm wondering how much it costs to make including manhours

Kinda depends. I'm still relatively beginner so I make a lot of stuff from thrifted fabrics, for example I just made a matching top and skirt from a bedding set that cost me 50p. Obviously it does take time but I enjoy it so don't begrudge time spent, plus I'm getting much faster with more practise!

But it's also the fact that you're learning to make things that actually fit you, and that work for you. So they're not wearing through on parts that are too tight, or being forgotten in the bottom of the wardrobe because you don't feel comfy in them. And if anything does start to fall apart, you've got the skills to repair.

I know a lot of sewists who make themselves very expensive items, but they know what they're doing and are making much better quality clothes than you'd get in a shop so they'll last basically forever.

Fabric can be really expensive, so making stuff from scratch can add up. It’s very thrifty to repair and alter your own clothes, however. Replacing lost buttons or broken zippers, making too-large items fit better, etc.

For really nice stuff, it’s cheaper than buying at the store. I made my wedding dress from scratch and spent maybe $300 and it took maybe 10 days to come together. Most simple garments might take 10-20 hours.

Purses. Yes it sucks.

Honestly, I just started buying men’s skinny jeans. For the pockets.

More and more I've been seeing backpacks (small & some regular sized) or occasionally sling bags (single strap backpacks with less storage that sling across back). Honestly those make more sense, even if they're not as "fashionable".

Yeah, more comfortable for sure. I have one that I use when I’m doing something more active, or will be walking more. A regular purse on one shoulder sucks after a surprisingly short amount of time.

i would forget the bag everywhere i cant remember shit like that. i bump my pockets to make sure everything is there every 30 seconds. i feel like I'm gonna lose something at all times without a zipper pocket

I think that pocket-bumping energy would be diverted to purse-clutching.

I believe that the most heroic thing about Kim Possible is that she wears cargo pants.

But you know when you finally have to wash your pants because the spaghetti sauce is getting noticable from afar and you go to pull all the stuff out and it takes up your whole desk then you put on some other pants and only put half the stuff back in because you didn't need half that crap anyways? What we all need is detachable pockets. Make a bag, slap some Velcro on the back, maybe a shoulder strap, a zipper, a pattern with some letters signaling the pedigree of the item. It would be revolutionary! You could make big ones with straps for your back, small ones for your waist with a classic pastel swoosh, idk. For real though those modular cargo pants that turn into shorts, I would most definitely buy three pairs of those with zip off pockets just so I don't have to do the stuff shuffle all the time. Plus you could actually make specialized pockets. Insulated food pocket, anti static electronics pocket, mesh pocket for ... Idk the beach or something? Vacuum sealed pocket, hamster pocket, tater tots pocket... The possibilities are endlesS :P

They're called belt pouches and were the shit in medieval times. They came in all shapes and sizes, some very specific designs, some more general, for all kinds of ourposes. There were even belt-books and coin purses. I mean, the T-shirt brought back the tunic, so why not let's all switch back to long but airy robes and a belt with two pouches?

Adding to this, for a very long time in history, women's pockets were a seperate garment and all long skirts and dresses would simply have slits so you could access them, you basically wore two bags left and right on a seperate belt under your clothes.

This is actually what I want for travelling!

Welp, time to buy a sewing machine, because the scene making that stuff in a sufficient quality is small and costly.

I've been doing belt pouches for years and am a big fan

They surviva with a bag that is worth at least 92 pockets

🤔

But pockets at seem to force me to have some sort of system.

I feel that if I had to wear a bag it would be a holy mess.

I agree. My general setup is keys on the right, phone on the left and random stuff on the back pockets. If I had to only use bags that would be super annoying.

I do keys on the left, phone on the right. Are you left handed?

Yea if you're left-handed his setup makes sense, otherwise....

Women can wear pants with pockets and not be typecast as lesbian, men can't wear dresses and not be typecast as gay or trans, unless they're muscular bros on a stag do.

Not actually a showerthought.. but ill allow it

End this gender oppression, give the women pockets!

Why do you need so many pockets? All you need are keys, phone, and wallet. Jeans look better than cargo pants.

And headphones, and maybe a knife? And why not some duct tape just in case anything breaks...

Yup, and a welder.

That's included in his swiss knive...

Are you guys MacGyver?

He wouldn't need a welder bc he could make one.

Keys, wallet, phone, multitool, pistol, sunglasses, in ear hearing protection with bluetooth, folding knife, lighter, sometimes gloves.

Lil different EDC where I'm literally surrounded by poisonous snakes and large wild cats+boar, and there isn't a hospital within an hour. But I can carry all that wearing jeans, if I count my shirt pocket and boots.

lol I make sure to have a bag when I don’t have pockets. Or I make sure that I will be in a location that has quick access to anything I would’ve put in my pocket. Sure, I’ll always remember the envy I felt as I watched Jared from 9th grade pull a Ti-84 and several pencils out of his pocket (I had pockets but they only fit my fingers up to the second knuckle… women’s fashion). But the only thing I really need near me at all times is my phone. I’m almost always either at home or wok, where I have a million nearby locations to put my phone. If I’m out, I have my purse or backpack. It’s very convenient to pull some spare ibuprofen from my pocket, but wearing those cute pocket-less pants for a whole day is worth the 60 second trip to get the pills from wherever I left them.

Wait, pocket-less pants are cuter? I'm suddenly tempted to start looking at girls' pants on the metro (except for the fact that will probably get me labeled as a perv...)

I wasn’t generalizing, I was thinking of a very specific pair of my pants that are super awesome and have no pockets. They are a forest print with leopards and monkeys.

I always get anxious when girls have to put their phones into their back pocket.
I feel, if I did that, I would immediately throw myself onto the next chair and just hear a big ol' crack.

I was actually wondering the other day when my sister was bitching about her jeans not having real pockets why women who already wear jeans don't just buy men's jeans. Even skinny jeans for emo boys at Hot Topic have real pockets.

Well, mens pants don’t fit most women. If the pants fit our waists, we can’t get them over our thighs/hips. If they fit our hips, they’re enormous on the waist. It’s already a bitch and a half to find women’s pants that fit, much less trying out men’s pants.

Yeah, the only time I made boys pants fit was when I was a late teen/young adult before I had kids. Now there's just no way it would ever work.

That said, all the new shorts and pants I buy have pockets. The shorts are basically women's versions of men's basketball shorts and the pants are yoga ones. Super comfy.

May I suggest you start a new fashion trend: shoulder wallet "holsters" for women. Now you too can be practical while looking like a grizzled tv loose cannon police detective.

I tried this and own a set, but they don't fit my phone so I'd need to get a bigger one again. It was fun for a while tho

This. My husband is approximately the same height and weight I am; we have the same waist measurements and if I'm being honest he looks hella good in my pants.

However, I can barely get his jeans over my hips and they're too tight in the thighs. Not too mention the awkward kangaroo pouch crotch area.

We both wear men's goodfellow PJ bottoms from target (because POCKETS) and I wear a medium, he wears a small because he doesn't have hips.

Huh... I would have thought it might just be a little baggy in the crotch, the way a women's cut shirt is baggy in the chest on me. Are our legs and hips really that different? :O

The cut is really different. Chances are if a woman can fit her hips into a pair of men's jeans, that will mean the waistband is several sizes too big.

I don't carry much, wallet, phone in keys. I usually have a jacket or something that has pockets. I also try and pick out pants with the biggest pockets I can find. Which usually fits my wallet and keys and then I just carry my phone. I can't do purses, I'll just accidently leave them places. To risky.

Do you just hold your phone in your hand all day?

Serious question lol

Pretty much! Haha. At least going between car and where in headed. Otherwise it's in my car or on the table in front of me. At work I actually have an apron so I put it in there or it's in my work vehicle. I kind of have a phone addiction though so am using it alot so it's usually in my hands anyways. Lol

Pretty much! Haha. At least going between car and where in headed. Otherwise it's in my car or on the table in front of me. At work I actually have an apron so I put it in there or it's in my work vehicle. I kind of have a phone addiction though so am using it alot so it's usually in my hands anyways. Lol

Why don't women just buy men's clothes to wear? I don't see any social stigma against it. Honestly I don't understand why clothes are still gendered. It's 2023, just wear whatever clothes is most useful to you.

Body shapes are very different. If you're a man go try on women's pants or coats and see how they fit.

Men are generally larger in size so it's harder to fit clothes designed for Women, who are smaller on average. Women on average are not as big as the average man, so shouldn't women be able to fit men's clothing?

Sorry if I'm being ignorant.

Women are smaller, but they tend to have relatively bigger bottoms. The shape of men's pants just doesn't work.

exactly. some women have extreme hip to waist ratio and straight cut jeans will just look baggy, odd, or just generally said: They won't fit at all.

Mens pants have the crotch cut too low for me. So to step over something I have to do a wide legged cowboy walk and swing my leg over. Shit's weird.

I'm a dude but I've noticed that this depends on the brand. Some have the crotch like 3-4cm lower than others even for the same "size". I've also had to do this cowboy walk in some pants...

The ones with the higher crotch are less comfortable for men (for obvious reasons), but it does make it possible to do ballet-like leg movements instead of having to do the cowboy walk. So they do exist if you look for them

The bigger issue will probably be the hips to legs ratio being different

I bought good old Levis online in the hopes of pockets, but even they have failed me; only enough room for a chapstick!

https://www.511tactical.com/womens/womens-pants.html

511 pants were originally meant for mountaineering type stuff, but found their way into uniform supply for cops and security guards. you can probably find them (and similar) pants at uniform supply stores that cater to those types (as apposed to the nursing supply store. Whose pants are equally comfortable... just saying.)

they, uh, have pockets.

511 pants were originally meant for mountaineering type stuff

I thought 5.11 was aimed at people who concealed carry (no pun intended), or who just want to feel tacticool.

Lot of reviews about poor quality, especially the ripstop ones which apparently are known to rip at the crotch. Bummer

The name comes from mountain difficulty classifications. 5 being the tallest, 10 being the most difficult.

It was because they were hard wearing and had … pockets…. That cops picked them up, and then, all the tactilool wannabes came.

I am curious. What do you carry in your pockets?

My wallet got exchanged by my watch. I grab my Smartphone only when I know I’ll need to get work done or take pictures when out and about.

Last thing are keys. But even they are narrowed down to front door, garage and bike. Sontheim other ones I only need at home.

Phone, keys, headphones, wallet, loose change, pen, mask, portable battery pack.

At least, that's what's in my pockets this very moment. Not including trash (random receipts, etc)

I totally forgot there are face masks for health and wondering what kind of street super hero or robber goes around with a mask hidden on them at all times

A well prepared one. Most crime is opportunistic after all.

I have a combination phone case and wallet, so I only carry that and my keys. And I only carry two keys- car and house.

I have a minimum of 5 (pants) pockets filled all day, every day while I work. It's literally inconvenient to wear non-cargo pants!

I found a pair of Wrangler pants on Amazon that has front pockets that are squares of fabric sewn on the outside and they fit my entire phone with room to spare. It's the first time I've been able to put a phone in my pants pocket and walk without worrying I was bending my phone.

Life needs cargo pants. I only own cargo pants... And cargo shorts.

Well women clothes are generally some weird garbage nonsense