Written by: Sauharda Bajracharya - 26010, Grade VII
Posted on: 01 February, 2022
You will be surprised to know that women's pockets didn’t exist until the 17th Century. Firstly, what even are pockets? The word ‘pocket’ came from a french word called ‘poque’ which meant bag and older days pockets weren’t like today’s sewn in pockets. They were like a separate bag. Until the 16th Century, everyone used these kinds of pockets. But, when thieves became more of a problem in the 17th Century, people began to cut slits in their shirts and pants and kept their valuables there. This was only for men though. They put things like handkerchiefs, handguns, pocket knives, money and other things in their pockets.
Meanwhile women on the other hand didn’t have pockets in their dresses until the 17th Century because of several reasons. One being that our ancestors were sexist. According to them, women were supposed to work at home and they wouldn’t need a pocket as they wouldn’t earn and they wouldn’t have anything to carry in their pockets. Some of the women’s dresses would have pockets but it would be fake. The history of the women’s pocket is surprisingly political and it signifies the freedom that women had to fight throughout history. As the women's fashion evolved, the pockets started to disappear again and there was just a slit to fit a rolled up handkerchief or a coin.
The woman’s pocket used to be 3 inch smaller than the men's. Women were discriminated against throughout most of history. During the French Revolution, women had no political rights and at that time, women's pockets were completely banned. And so this was The Baffling and Sexist History of Women's Pockets.
