THAT 'WOMEN-FRIENDLY' POCKET

 

Women’s fashion is a matter of huge variety – ranging from dresses, to tunics, to gowns and pants. They come with huge variety of styles, colors, textures. With women taking up increasing space on the work front, comfort and ease has also become an important aspect of women’s clothing. Gone are the times of suffocating a woman in a corset – now women dress in fabrics that are sufficiently breathable and stylish. Yet, there is no denying of the fact that there has been no change in women’s fashion when it comes to utility; they tend to be highly dysfunctional and impractical in some ways. What purpose does in serve in wearing a pant with literally non-existent pockets or so-called ‘faux’ pockets? Doesn’t it take you back to a scene of the 4^th episode of the web series “Adulting (Season 1)”, and a conversation between Ray and Nikhat on where to fit the purse while going to the loo? It is obvious that women’s clothing have always been more about beauty and less about utility.

There was a time in the medieval era when both men and women used to carry small bags/ pouches, carrying essentials, which were attached to their belts. Pockets evolved as miniature bags fitted in a garment to negate the necessity of carrying a bag and having hands-free. However, in the 1700s, men got permanent pockets in all their garments whereas pockets in women’s dresses disappeared as body hugging corsets and silhouette skirts dominated the market. The main idea behind this was the fact that women never earned or had money; hence their outfits would not require the presence of one. In the 20^th century, women started to work as men were engaged in World Wars and thus started wearing practical clothing like pants and trousers. But with the end of wars, women were expected to dress more “feminine” as the men returned to work and earn for the family. Thus, pockets in women clothing gained to momentum.

In the recent times, it is observed that women’s clothing became skinnier, slimmer and tighter, without any functional pockets – this was coupled with the huge growth of the handbag/purse industry. Thus women are expected to carry their essentials (sometimes even men’s) in a bag or purse. Most working women and girls of today tend to carry a backpack, irrespective of what they are wearing, to carry their needful. With phones becoming bulkier day-by-day, is it convenient to put it in the bags and unzipping them every time to take a call? And worst of call, ethnic wears like saree and salwar suits don’t even come with pockets – leaving a woman to carry the phones in hand, restricting their mobility and carrying the risk of dropping/leaving them!

Designer Christian Dior had once made a statement, “Men have pockets to put things in; women have them for decoration!” in fact, women’s pockets are around 50% the size of that of men’s – a man’s entire hand (which is obviously bigger than a woman’s) can fit into his pocket with ease whereas a woman can only slide about 20% of her hand in her pocket. Pockets have evolved for practicality and utility – they donot tend to restrict mobility, provide “hands-free” system, thus guaranteeing independence. Pockets are not only things to put one’s phone in; a well-built pocket should be able to fit money, keys, cards etc. lack of functional pockets in women’s garments somewhat limit their ability to explore and perform substantially in the public forum.

Women have been fighting for independence and equality since time immemorial. As ‘beautiful’ creations of the Almighty, women should look pretty and fashionable but not sacrificing on their performance and comfort. Currently, the fashion industry seems to be recognizing the need for pockets in women’s clothes; a lot of new designers are coming up with kurtis and salwars with pockets. Change is the only constant – hopefully in the next decade, all women’s clothing will be armed with pockets – only decorative ones, but well-built ones that serve the actual purpose and donot compromise on a woman’s mobility and performance.