Why do men’s clothes have so many pockets, and women’s so few? For centuries, the humble pocket has been a flashpoint in the gender divide of fashion. Now, with a #WeWantPockets hashtag gaining momentum on social media, is that finally set to change?
When pockets do exist, they’re usually shorter and narrower than those on men’s clothes. Or, at their most maddening, nothing more than sheer illusion. Earlier this year an eight-year-old schoolgirl wrote to UK supermarket Sainsbury’s asking why their girls’ school trousers had fake pockets and the boys had real ones. “Girls need to carry things too!” she said. A representative from the retailer promised to look into the issue.
At the autumn/winter 2025-26 fashion shows earlier this year, which set the trends for what we’ll be wearing in the coming months, there were signs that the industry is taking note. Many models swaggered down the catwalks with their hands pushed firmly into deep pockets – carrying an extra dose of confidence compared to those with their arms flailing freely.
All the things that might go in pockets – money, keys, notes – symbolised things that weren’t meant to concern women, like property, power and privacy. Some women started carrying small bags instead. “That was another thing that made you more vulnerable because it meant you couldn’t really use your hands,” says Stevenson.
While a lack of pockets was no doubt as frustrating to women then as it is now, it didn’t really emerge as a political issue until the early 20th Century. “The suffragettes demanded votes for women, but also pockets,” says Stevenson.
This is still a factor today. “The fashion industry is invested in women having handbags, so it makes sense for them to push this idea that women should be carrying their belongings in something that’s very separate from their garments,” says Stevenson.
Source: ‘Girls need to carry things too!’: How women’s pockets became so controversial
