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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Why can’t women have pockets?

164 replies

MarmitePizza · 03/11/2023 18:15

I know this isn’t a new idea, but why is it that men get all the pockets?

I was looking at M&S “Family” Christmas Pyjamas (where they do them in the same festive print for men, women and children). I only want them for myself though - not a cheesy matching family photo!

The men’s ones have nice pockets in the trousers, but the women’s… nope!! Why can’t we have useful clothes as well? They’re literally the same but they added in pockets just for men!

AIBU to think women could have pockets too?

(And AIBU to also be slightly glad that as I am so fat I can fit in the men’s ones and have the men’s pocket anyway?!)

OP posts:
Pipistrellus · 05/11/2023 15:13

Mutters123 · 05/11/2023 14:53

Maybe it’s a body type thing then. I certainly do look worse with pockets. I suppose if I had a more slim athletic build then this might not be the case. 🤔

Show quote history

Many men are neither slim nor athletic! If we just had the same pockets we could still decide whether to use them or not. My hands are smaller but my phone and keys are the same as a man's so I need the same size pockets as they have in teenage boys or small mens clothing.

ManchesterLu · 05/11/2023 15:20

I love things with pockets. I have a hobby that requires me to wear smart dress trousers for occasions, and there are so few pairs with pockets for women, and I can't wear men's trousers as they just don't suit my shape which is very womanly. I don't mind my shape, but I do wish I could get some decent dress pants with pockets!

Pipistrellus · 05/11/2023 15:22

Older children need good pockets too. In the age 8/9 and up (small 10/11 year old) age range they need adult sized pockets as their things are adult sized. Some brands are good but others scale down pockets so you can't fit a phone.

DominiqueBernard · 05/11/2023 15:26

Teenage DD wears exclusively trousers as then she has pockets for her phone, bus pass, keys, and cash. She owns a couple of skirts but I can count on my fingers the times she's worn them. She has a backpack (for school), a sports' holdall, and uses one of our billion tote bags if she needs to take a water bottle or snack or packed lunch etc. when she goes out. Doesn't own any handbags and has never asked for one. However she is typically 'girlie', tends to choose pink or pastels, wears jewellery, nail polish, lip gloss, hair accessories. All her friends seem to wear trousers all of the time too. I think their generation is much less foolish than mine!

SilverCatStripes · 05/11/2023 15:28

Because a woman’s value is all tied into how she looks. We don’t need practical clothing, our clothing should be focused on decoration and showing off our bodies.

2strappinglads · 05/11/2023 15:31

Had this conversation at work, the chaps trousers have pockets in, mine don't. Bloody infuriating

Branleuse · 05/11/2023 15:38

Pipistrellus · 05/11/2023 14:41

I don't understand why a women's silhouette would matter more than a man's? I don't look any worse with things in my pockets than a man.

It's about the individual isn't it. I have about 10in difference between waist and hip measurements. If I have filled pockets, then it's exaggerated which is something I don't want. I don't like it and it makes me feel conscious of it. I also hate the heavy feeling of things in my pockets.
If I wanted big pockets then I'd buy men's cargo pants like DH does.
There are also women's clothes you can get which have pockets.
Those women who want big pockets can really easily get them. This is such a non issue. Everyone goes on about pockets, but reality is, this isn't what gets bought

Carrotcake93 · 05/11/2023 15:52

Your thread made my day! I had to show it to dp, we have a constantly joke as I ask him to put my wallet or phone in his pockets and he replies that this is the result of women not being allowed to carry pockets in past generations 😂

Pipistrellus · 05/11/2023 15:52

Those women who want big pockets can really easily get them. This is such a no issue.

I can't, not unless I buy mens. It is an issue for me. My clothes have pockets but the difference between pocket size for women and men is ridiculous. Can you point me towards affordable women's brands with the same size pockets as the mens?

ntmdino · 05/11/2023 15:53

Put simply...because women's clothes that are function-over-form don't sell well. We just don't buy enough of them to justify it.

I'm in the "don't particularly care how it looks" camp, so...jackets and combats, both with plenty of pockets, work perfectly for me. Who cares if it looks very 2000s? If it means not having to carry more stuff around, I'm all for it.

KirstenBlest · 05/11/2023 16:45

Put simply...because women's clothes that are function-over-form don't sell well. We just don't buy enough of them to justify it.
A pair of jeans, for example, might cost the same for a man and a woman, but the men's jeans will have proper pockets and the women's will have tiny ones.

I think it's more that they cut corners because women will put up with it.

Pipistrellus · 05/11/2023 17:37

KirstenBlest · 05/11/2023 16:45

Put simply...because women's clothes that are function-over-form don't sell well. We just don't buy enough of them to justify it.
A pair of jeans, for example, might cost the same for a man and a woman, but the men's jeans will have proper pockets and the women's will have tiny ones.

I think it's more that they cut corners because women will put up with it.

They even do it where the women's jeans are not that different to the mens such as boyfriend jeans. Or cargo trousers with smaller leg pockets than the mens. Mens only go down to a 30 in many shops so it's not as easy as just buying those.

Maddy70 · 05/11/2023 17:39

Pockets just make your hips look massive. I hate them. I never put anything in them that's what bags are for

KirstenBlest · 05/11/2023 17:42

I don't carry a bag unless I absolutely have to and nothing other than a fat suit could make my hips look massive

Pipistrellus · 05/11/2023 17:43

If I wear mens jeans my hips don't look massive, the pocket is deep enough that what I put in them rests on the front of my thigh. Arse pockets it's on my arse. Nothing on my hips.

Pipistrellus · 05/11/2023 17:48

Maddy70 · 05/11/2023 17:39

Pockets just make your hips look massive. I hate them. I never put anything in them that's what bags are for

The pocket itself couldn't unless your hips were already what you are considering 'massive' It's a few mm of fabric.

PabloandGustheGreySquirrels · 05/11/2023 17:55

Popsy clothing! They have pockets if you can stand wearing polyester

PabloandGustheGreySquirrels · 05/11/2023 17:55

Brefugee · 03/11/2023 18:23

I'm always torn on this. Because pockets in jeans and casual wear is handy. But as a sewist and someone interested in fashion and clothes - people put things in pockets and absolutely ruin the line of the garment.

But for, say, a dress with a full skirt? gimme pockets. Every time. (I put pockets into dresses and skirts that don't have them)

*seamstress

Mummy2823 · 05/11/2023 17:58

I literally moaned to my other half the other day that women's clothes don't have pockets!! If I don't take a bag out I gotta carry my phone in my hand or put it in his pocket 😂
He didn't realise it was thing that most women's clothes don't have proper pockets 😂

Mutters123 · 05/11/2023 18:04

Pipistrellus · 05/11/2023 17:48

The pocket itself couldn't unless your hips were already what you are considering 'massive' It's a few mm of fabric.

Show quote history

You cannot comment for other people. If the poster really was massive as you seem to be insinuating then it’s not likely she’d have a pronounced difference between her hips and waist! 🙄 I totally get what this poster is saying. It’s not about the amount of fabric it’s the change in the way a dress sits on your hips making it look unflattering. I look much bigger if I wear a dress with pockets to the point where I won’t buy one that has them. As I’ve previously said this might not be the case for all body types but when you have a big difference between your hips and waist then it’s definitely an issue.

KirstenBlest · 05/11/2023 18:04

@PabloandGustheGreySquirrels , I'd think of a seamstress as a tailoress, which most home dressmakers aren't. The term sewist doesn't quite seem right to me.

KirstenBlest · 05/11/2023 18:10

@Mutters123 , you have a point, but there are different styles of pockets, just avoid clothes that don't suit. I don't like bulky chest pockets on shirts as they look lumpy under a sweater or cardigan so I don't buy them.

If you are making your own clothes or having them made for you, you can choose the sort of pockets you like. Sometimes repositioning or resizing a patch pocket can alter the effect of the garment.

Why do I press post before correcting the word with a red squiggly underline?

ConsuelaHammock · 05/11/2023 18:14

My most recent dresses from Boden all have pockets. Love a pocket!

ConsuelaHammock · 05/11/2023 18:15

PabloandGustheGreySquirrels · 05/11/2023 17:55

Popsy clothing! They have pockets if you can stand wearing polyester

Popsy is a bit of a cult though. Don’t read their Facebook page. Lots of men in dresses and women fawning over them!

Pipistrellus · 05/11/2023 18:21

@Mutters123
It was the poster who was saying she would look 'massive' if her hips were a few mm bigger.