Alternative to pockets?

[TravellingJack]

Although some of the skirts and dresses I’ve bought in recent years have pockets, I have plenty of older clothes that don’t, that I would like to be able to wear without worrying about where I’m going to put things, especially at work when I only have my rucksack and I’m just popping to the toilet or to another office. I’m not surgically attached to my phone but do sometimes need to take it with me, or have other small bits (tampons, tissues, lip balm etc etc) that I need.

Is there a solution that does not involve me learning to add pockets? Much as I’d like to learn to sew at some point, I simply don’t have the time, inclination or equipment, and some fabrics (e.g. leather or satin) are going to be tricky for skilled people, so no matter how simple it is, it’s not an option for me!

The only thing I can think of other than a bumbag is one of those money belt things you used to get for airport travel - think my dad had one in the 80s! Does a stylish version of this exist? Or something better?

Usually just phone, tissues, mini hand cream, lip balm, access badge/keys.

Why do you need to carry so much stuff around?

A phone, tampon and tissues I can understand. You can wear your access badge on a lanyard like most people do. Just how often are you using hand cream and lip balm? Can't it wait until you get back to your desk?

I have small a very flat cross body phone bag a little bit like this one that I take on holiday or to places where I don't want to carry a bag. It's basically a large pocket on a strap.

uninCrea Women's Crossbody Phone Bag Waterproof Nylon Womens Cross Body Bag Lightweight and Slim Ladies Small Crossbody Bag Casual Mobile Phone Bag with Zipper and Adjustable Strap (Black): Amazon.co.uk: Fashion

Thank you, I’ll look into these suggestions! I feel like I’ve gone a bit blind to a solution on this, and it is a bit of an impossible problem for a single solution but I’m hopeful something suggested here will work for several outfits. I think not going shopping in person much anymore doesn’t help - I don’t just go browsing and come across interesting new things (that expensively fix problems I never knew I had!), it’s mainly ‘need new trousers for work, I’ll look on whatever websites’ and I do miss that part of shopping. Also losing touch with what’s current for the same reason…

https://www.marksandspencer.com/stormwear-cross-body-bag/p/clp61226788?intid=mobile_app_pdp_share
I should not be reading this thread.
I want this now
I like this because it's horizontal
I find with the vertical ones that they can be too deep and small things slip down too far to be easily accessible.
Although ...I think that's because I overfill and the vertical ones hang better on the body.

I have a couple of these bags - gold for holidays as it goes with everything & black for everyday. They fit a surprising amount!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/befen-Genuine-Leather-Shoulder-Crossbody/dp/B0FGCD5S9G/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=XL1G6FGXRARM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.B2TtDb88sKci_F3WsDaMrYMOdSO9pfHMUuR6nbEPc1IhsB623n9rU0h3suS--g8EuAzKquFZT7I1pFPcPas2ChaCnI5Dqj2C7em7f4S5yhunJGQ1hqqkW1xQ4OVSPy73vQq_5gv2fwQS70yf1AM72xq4m4L6AbuZy3gVohcZq_EQ28wP3FJU_CgDDOafB265pxAS5osxdHxjJm2kfJOod8DSO2nx96pz4yJk5oF_nCpmTRSaUz7VpAhXASmpfBY1YimvUuny3UJJ5YovDi58Kj0jxpM3owKVT5wfDBiFIKI.mLMGHV04SxMXQqSC-oPSYX3m-3n-WfuCvbMmMwOaJ_g&dib_tag=se&keywords=small+gold+phone+bag&qid=1789198349&sprefix=small+gold+phone+bag%2Caps%2C123&sr=8-3

Small utility belt?
www.etsy.com/ie/listing/768637351/tasca-marsupio-utility-belt-festival?ref=elp_anchor_listing&cns=1

Another for small cross body bag. Cross body is the only type I use, larger one for every day and a little one for going out. Love having my hands/shoulder free and I feel they're safer too.

Excellent pocket design on that one @Ultravox .
Open sleeve for phone , zipped side slot,magnetic fastening for main cover, zipped inner pocket..
I want that one .
As well as many of the others suggested.!!!

How safe do you think that one is for travelling @ultravox?
I will be going to Rio where pickpocketing/phone-snatching is rife.
A friend walked through a crowd wearing a Uniqlo crossbody bag and realised when she came out the other side that her bag was unzipped and her phone was gone!
Can you zip your phone into that inner pocket of that bag? Then a ne’er-do-well would have to get through a popper and a zip to get to the phone… and hopefully would see it as too difficult and move on.
What do you think?

If price is an issue, Primark has some good options

https://www.primark.com/en-gb/c/women/accessories/bags-and-purses/phone-bags

Accessorise is probably 4x the price, but still not too expensive

https://www.accessorize.com/uk/women/bags/phone-bags/

@RampantIvy , Why do you need to carry so much stuff around?
It's not that much and if I was nipping to the loo at work, I'd be taking my phone, wallet, house keys, car keys if I'd driven there, tampon if needed, concealer and lipstick. If I used hand cream, applying after washing hands makes sense.

I'd probably have a tissue in case I sneezed from someone else's scent or air freshener. It's not a lot.

Did you know that women used to carry their pockets externally to their dresses or skirts? A standard fabric pocket which had ties for going around the waist, and could be hidden under an apron or outer garment. A flat waist worn fabric handbag in fact!

You can still find them made by costumiers and the like.

No help, but interesting..

Have you looked at Healthy Back Bags? They're really versatile, come in loads of sizes, colours and finishes. Fully adjustable straps so can be worn crossbody, underarm, around the waist etc. They often have several in their sale too.

The crossbody camera, back-friendly and uniqlo bags are bags, and my preference would be for a slim, non-bulky pocket style one. Something about the size of a travel wallet not something more 3D.

I have one of these and was coming on to recommend

Also good for keeping phone/passport etc to hand when going through airport security.

I have a small cloth bag that holds my phone, purse and a few smaller bits. It's lightweight and fits what I need. I bought it on Amazon for about £8.
I have a small wallet size purse that I bought from Monsoon some years ago after a punch of purses were stolen on a company day out so I wanted a purse that could fit into a pocket.
I am really bad at losing my phone and purse so that was the motivation behind buying the bag.

I feel like a pocket you could attach to a belt would be better (do pocketless clothes tend to give the option for a belt?), though none of the ones I can see are very nice.

I like the hickory utility one, but the strap is very thin of you needed to wear it all day - the super cheap amazon one looks great for a thicker strap, so thank you for that!

I use this one

Chelsea Pocket Burnt Blue | Eco-Friendly Sling Bag | ROKA London https://share.google/TKZj5JKwJRUV6NYfd

@SpiralSister hence the nursery rhyme

"Lucy Locket lost her pocket
Kitty Fisher found it
There was not a penny in it
But a ribbon round it"

For those of you who like Toast, Weald Handmade | handmade leather bags

I guess I was lucky that I worked somewhere where I could leave most of that stuff in my handbag in my desk drawer and it would still be there when I got back. Do people really steal other people's keys at work?

@RampantIvy , I could have left them and they'd probably been safe, but why take risks? I wear clothes with pockets so it's not an issue.

I'm not criticising you at all. I just think it is odd to take house keys and car keys to the loo with you. Where I worked we had our own desks and didn't hot desk. The people in my team were all lovely, and if someone had come along to rummage in my handbag my workmate who sat next to me would have stopped it.

Apologies for derailing the thread BTW.

People are different, both keeping car keys on your person and in your drawer are common.

Every day is a school day 😀