Flappers, Y2K, & Capitalism are Why Women "Don't" Have Pockets 🙃🙃🙃 

Ok so let me try and explain the STEM joke (cause I know it's causing some confusion😅 ) - The STEM clip is shown after every time I mention engineering and physics. For those who don't know, STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering Math, and in the States there's been this huge push to focus on only "STEM" subjects in schools and jobs (leaving the arts behind - though whoever comes up with this stuff has since added the A into the fold for Arts and now we're seeing a more equitable STEAM being used - at least in schools). The clip is of the woman saying "Stem is everywhere" and it's true - even in places that don't traditionally fall into "STEM" categories - like sewing, knitting, crocheting, weaving, ceramics, painting, drawing, etc. Most conversations and media around STEM center on computers, cars, space, medicine, etc. So this is just a very weird way for me to point out that sewing, garment construction, and basically every fiber/textile related craft is also STEM, even though most folks wouldn't consider it such. (basically this is a very weird joke that I found hilarious that is unfortunately confusing to others, but it does have a deeper level of meaning to it.) I hope this helps explain it better! 😅

After coming out as a trans man, I went and bought me some new trousers, after wearing only high waisted skinny jeans. I was SHOOKETH to discover the almost lovecraftian, infathomable EXPANSE of space that is a man's jeans front pocket.

As an older millennial with a background of s*xual trauma, I remember the struggle of finding jeans I was comfortable wearing in the early aughts. The low rise trend made it impossible to find pants(not just jeans, but ANY pants, even sweatpants) that came up high enough to make me feel truly covered. I didn't want anyone to see my body ever, and the only clothing available to me at the time accentuated hips and butts and boobs. I hated it. I felt like the fashion industry was saying, "You will only ever be an object of physical desire, and there's not a thing you can do about it." This was why I started sewing my own clothes at 13. I wanted to take back control of my body. My clothing was my armor, and I wanted beautiful things to wear that made me feel powerful and confident. Now, I don't own a pair of jeans that I haven't made myself. So, the lack pockets are only because I'm too lazy to put them in!

(Also, I've complimented another woman in the supermarket on her amazing skirt, and her exact response was "Thanks. It has pockets" which was awesome because we *both* knew the value of those!)

I still remember 17ish years ago, taking my phone that *just* fit in my jeans pocket, and dropped it into my toddler's pants pocket, and it fit better in his pocket than mine. Because clearly my 2 year old needed bigger pockets than I did.

After losing $60 out of women's jean pocket, I aggressively enlarge all pockets in pants. And I hope whoever found that money really needed it.

As someone who graduated from high school in the very early 2000s, it was a VERY dark time for self-esteem

I never had issues with my pockets cause I've been plus size, and companies would always be like "oh you're big, you get all this extra fabric and space cause no one wants to see your shape." Then after I lost some weight and got my 1st straight size jeans, I was furious when I realized i couldn't fit more than my chapstick in them! How am i supposed to hold all the rock i find?!

"Rudimentary sizes that are kind of just based off of feelings and how the weather looks" scarily accurate!

I was a size 12 in high school and college. My mother had me in every diet and exercise plan under the sun. I was told everywhere that I was fat. I am size 16? now at 58 and am really fat. I look at old pictures and think "sweet child, you were not fat, you just didn't have pretty clothes that fit" (clothes for non-thin girls and women were horrible) and my mother was the size of a pencil. I am "fat" now and I don't care. I. Trying to lose weight for health, but I am not postponing life until I am "thin"

When my twins were toddlers, I bought them both overalls from the same popular kids brand. I turned them inside out to wash them & I was shocked at how small the girl pockets were compared to the boy pockets. For toddlers!

Also honestly the fabric quality these days means that even things with "good size pockets" become things with sagging seams or holey pockets because they just don't use the right fabric and support structures to actually have the pockets supported and bear weight (I don't think I've seen a pocket supported by a waistband seam outside of jeans in commercial fashion in recent memory).

I too was a late teenager/early 20's when the low waist thing hit which as someone with big hips and a naturally high waist just did not work at all. But because it was ubiquitous and as you say the body is now the fashion not the clothes the message I got was not 'these clothes don't work on me' but 'my body is wrong'. One of the things that first interested me in Victorian/Edwardian fashion was the 'actually my body shape would have worked then, maybe it's not actually so bad!' and it really made me feel a lot better about how I looked. And yes - damn those girly magazines like 17 for their s****y body shaming!

I will also say that more affordable clothing stores are still selling jeans with very short pockets. And unfortunately the amount of people living in poverty means they are never going to afford brands like Madewell that are now doing nice sized pockets

You didn't find much difference in your men's vs women's test but I'm a non-binary trans guy, so I have a lot of experience buying from both sides of the stores (and my weight has fluctuated A LOT over the past few years so I've had to keep going out and getting new stuff that actually fits) and I have 100% noticed a difference in jean pockets, though mainly with fast fashion brands (which I am now erring away from anyway) - I shocked my best friend once by showing her how I could fit an entire kindle tablet into the front pocket of a pair of men's jeans, whilst half the women's jeans I've owned just don't even HAVE pockets on the front and fairly useless pockets (or even one pocket, singular) on the back.

After watching this, I realized I'm still holding on to some early 2000's trauma about how that pocket placement's going to make my hips look bigger. This is the year I say "no more" and buy whatever damn pants I want!!

As a teen in the 60s I can assure you that the same fashion thing happened then too. Low rise pants, jeans that were skin tight without spandex! Pockets? Only the skirts I made had pockets . The fashion rational was that pockets spoiled the line of the garment. Actually not the pockets but the fact that putting something in the pockets would be a disaster, declassee, immediately turned you into an ugly ducking. Today, yes you can get pockets IF you can afford to pay for those clothes. My daughter's wedding dress had pockets.... the pockets in my leggings can hold one key or maybe a quarter.

My husband and I theorize that my formative years in the 2000s without pockets, plus ADHD, significantly impacted my ability to keep track of my stuff. He has designated "pocket stuff" that moves from outfit to outfit...I am constantly setting down and misplacing wallet, keys, phone because I hold it in my hand or move it from bag to bag.

For the first time in a VERY long while, I have to leave the house to attend classes. I choose to wear my late 1890s clothing because I'm more comfortable wearing a corset than I am "showing" my actual body in contemporary clothing. You pointed out in your video about what you learned from years of wearing 18th-century clothing that people aren't seeing your actual body when you wear stays or a corset and how that can be mentally comforting. Thank you a thousand times for putting that into words! My baseline anxiety level is stupid high, and feeling like people will judge my body is just one more reason for me not leaving the freaking house! If I have a corset on with appropriate hip padding, that anxiety doesn't exist. There was a lot wrong with the world in the 19th century, but at least society didn't require most young girls and young women to starve themselves so they'd be worthy of being seen.

I do alterations for a living, and have noticed a trend in wedding dresses over the last few years where the vast majority of dresses with fuller skirts that are made of heavier-weight fabrics (i.e. mikaido or satin) have side pockets. There are exceptions for dresses made of lighter-weight materials like tulle and lace, as well as those with tighter, mermaid-style silhouettes, but overall the industry seems to be moving more towards pockets.

i haven't watched the video yet but like 20 mins ago as i was putting laundry to wash i remembered fake pockets with rage. i wanna sue the clothing industry bc i think fake pockets are false advertising and i think that if you were not gonna put pockets in your garments in the first place you shouldn't trick me and put fake ones. that's my two cents, now I'll watch the video

I was homeschooled on a very rural ranch. During my teens most of my pants were hand me downs or from the second hand store. One of my favorite pairs was from the eighties, I think. It was corduroy with baggy legs and tight ankles, and I could fit eleven pens, a railroad whistle, and a rock or two into the pockets. On another note, I now live in West Africa, where it is still very common to buy fabric and have your clothes made for you at a seamstress or tailor's shop. My new clothes are some of my favorites!

Pockets have definitely become waaay more common now than when I was a teen in the 2000s to early 2010s. I guess we must have made a big enough fuss about their bullcrap fake pockets lmao (and rightly so!). Companies probably only started caring when they realised the pocketless clothing weren't getting sold as much as the ones with pockets.

My biggest pet peeve is fake back pockets in women's dress pants. They go to all the trouble of sewing in fake pocket slots, but do not actually have any, you know, pockets.

I would add that buying items to put into pockets was a pain. The style and sizes of items for women differ from items for men. Until the intro of smartphones, it was impossible to find a wallet that can be slipped into a pocket. Wallets sold as woman's wallets were way too large. Producers seem to believe that women demanded wallets capable of carrying dozens of cards and a checkbook. I would wear long vest or sweater with pockets to deal with the lack of good pockets.

This was really interesting! My family sews a lot (we're larger framed & also tend to be on the heavier side in addition) & I remember wanting to put pockets in a skirt I was making as a teen & my mom told me not to because it would 'bulk out my figure'. She made a ton of her own dresses & skirts & none of them had pockets either for that exact same reason. Just goes to show that the body-shaming part of the problem was apparent for plus-size people the moment that the body type was the fashion & it only got worse from there. Personally, I'm excited to be learning how to put pockets in my skirts now.

I was born in 2006, and I’m horrified by the insane focus on thin-ness that apparently existed in the 90s-00s. Of course today we still have certain body types as the standards of beauty and everything, but we also have at least superficial body diversity in the media, many many body positive influencers/creators and just general awareness about all of this, and I’m so grateful for that. My sisters and I have never dieted, never asked whether things make us “look fat”, never wanted to lose weight. We may have other insecurities, but things have changed and continue to do so!!

I remember about 10 years ago trying on a skirt and realizing it had pockets and being so excited I was like "I have to buy this skirt!". The pocket situation has definitely improved in the last decade.

I’m a bag carrying kinda person. Maybe it’s the anxiety but my everyday pants can absolutely accommodate phone, wallet, and keys but I feel unprepared without a bag with stuff like an umbrella and medication and lotion and hand sanitizer.

i was a teen in the late 70's (argh!), laying down to zip up our jeans was a THING!!! pockets? ps does anyone else love when Abby gets that strident tone in her voice? Joan of Arc with a flaming sword of righteous indignation is our Abby. LOVE IT!

I was a Y2K teen, and last week I realized scrolling through baby bat pics of mine, I LOOKED SO THIN (a size 38- around UK 10) but everyone made me feel 'fat =ugly'. Like, stepping out from my room to school, literally everyone bullied me for being curvy, for my wide hips and boobs. Lotsa time and +20kgs later I'm finally happy with my own handmade clothing, and body type. It took me YEARS of hard work to learn to love myself. Wish we could've been spend our teenage years rather happy than uncomfortable, it seems so stupid and it feels so superficial now. Screw it, let's be all happy with our huge pockets we dare to put in our clothing 🖤🖤

Oh, the body dysmorphia memories.. I was a size 36EU (XS), but I had a pouch belly (still do) and considered myself fat. I had classmates who fainted during class because they fasted during the schoolday to keep stick thin. I think for me the most liberating year was our school uniform year (it started as a joke, but continued as a test for a year), because I made the clothes we wore to fit us.

All my life, I have had shit to put in my pockets! I begged my mother to buy me boys jeans, which she did! (YAY, Mom) There is barely a reason why pants, slacks, or shorts should not have pockets! Casual skirts should also have pockets, unless the design doesn't make it possible.

I'm 39, I turned 17 in 2000. I was 5'11 & had the metabolism of a hummingbird on coke. Low rise jeans were my enemy because shirts long enough to cover my midriff if I wore them did not exist (tunics were not a thing until later), but weirdly I did want to wear bigger pockets to add weight to my frame so I wouldn't get asked if I was anorexic every 3 days like clockwork. Of course I also had exactly no control over my wardrobe until college, and lived through highschool almost exclusively on handed down items from shorter women (except my mom, who also bought me 2 pairs of jeans a year and kept me in socks and underwear). It was miserable, but it was an unusual miserable. Not having the pocket money to buy teen magazines turned out to be a good thing in retrospect!

Over the last 8 years or so, the generic "nice office dress pants" I've bought for work went from no pockets, to 1 small watch pocket in the front , to 2 small pockets at the hips to my last pair with pockets that were too big and I had to shorten them! Thanks for explaining the science behind clothes sizes. It all makes sense now!😂

i am 53 years old. i have been overweight since the birth of my first child in 89. i am 5'6" tall with a long torso and short legs. let me tell you what a nightmare it was to find jeans in the 2000s and 2010s!! i do not wear low rise or skinny legs because they are neither comfortable or make me feel confident. i have never been a trend follower. let me just say that when "mom jeans' (hate that term) made their debut, i was THRILLED!

I love pockets. I’m moving back to long, voluminous skirts just so I can wear huge pockets underneath (even if they have pockets themselves because more pockets is never bad!)

I wish paniers would come back. I could have a basket on either hip while keeping my hands free. Heaven.

I truly appreciate that you purchased all of our teenage trauma pants and showed us how effed up the early 2000s were. I remember being frustrated with the options then but not really having a choice. I hope Gen Z can watch this and fight off any urge to bring low rise pants back. I also was pretty skinny and felt like a cow, and now as a plus size woman I'm so grateful there are more options for me (even if it's still harder to find clothing in plus sizes)

I’ve almost always been fat, except for a short period between 11-13 y/o in the early ‘00s. I remember getting so upset about the low rise jeans not fitting me and not covering all the unmentionables but being the ONLY thing that could be found! Ended up shopping for mom-jeans growing up, despite the fashion failure it was (never been much into fashion to begin with). Then even those went away with the advent of the skinny jean and as someone with serious cankles, lemme tell you, those are the *worst*. It’s like wearing compression garments constantly and calling it style - except they cut the circulation from your feet and show off every unflattering lump and bump you’ve got. After years of that, I can’t handle anything around my ankles, even the loser fit of jeans currently are too tight and aren’t enough for me now. I switched to slacks a couple of years ago but even with them, a “strait cut” leg tapers significantly on the way down and tries to mold itself to my flesh like they want to be leggings rather than slacks. Wore a skirt for the first time since I was 11 over the summer and MIND BLOWN. I can move my legs! I can go up stairs without worrying about ripping the seat of my pants! I can do a damn high kick! So now I’m devouring every sewing tutorial I can get my hands on to make my own shit that will actually fit! And maybe mix my nerd love of history and cultural anthropology in while I’m at it. Thank you so much! You’ve been a great inspiration.

I clearly remember 17 telling me the same advice about not wearing pockets to make you look thinner during the 80's, i bet pocket shaming has been a part of fitting to the body since that became a thing

I watched Bernadette's video on this and was really hoping for a follow-up so yay! Omg the trauma of the early 2000s...does anyone else remember dorina jeans? Now THAT was a war on pockets. No butt pockets, 4" zipper, skin-tight. Gives me full-body shivers now. I'm also VERY happy that the fashionable silhouette has shifted more towards higher-waist, looser fitting because that's just always been more flattering on me so now I can be in style by accident!

So, I was assigned female at birth, and wore "girls" clothing growing up. I always had a number of issues with them, not least of which, when a garment didn't come in separate length sizes, it was going to always be too short (people wonder why I never wear anything other than jeans). I vividly remember reaching a point where I could no longer wear children's sizes (which was where you still got pockets, cause kids needs space for rocks and shells and string and such), and the one time buying trousers wasn't a journey through hell was when we went into a dedicated jeans shop, and not only did they have a length that looked like it was the right size (34". I was TWELVE.), they also came with proper pockets. Luckily, I didn't really care about fashion in the early '00, and lived in a place where fashion was behind anyway, so extremely low-rise jeans were never really a thing here.

I am 100% OK with any cartoon villain plot describing the fanny pack industry's attempt at destroying pockets, then failing miserably as society deemed it bad fashion. Also, your cocktail stirrer mic holder is so *elegant* :)

That reminded me that when I was... maybe 14? Or 13? That I somehow got my mother to buy a pair of boys jeans and a boys shirt because 1) they looked so much cooler and 2) so much more comfortable than girls clothing. Ended up wearing both of them only a few times because of the comments of, mostly my siblings, sometimes from my classmates, that by wearing those I'd wanted to be a boy. (Which wasn't true. I only liked their clothing more) And they they actually were super comfy and had great pockets. I regret not keeping them. Also, it reminded me that in the mid (?) 2000s cargo pants were in fashion. And I'm so glad that they are again. I always loved having so much storage for my things to carry around without having to use a bag.

I've made myself a promise that I will only buy clothes with pockets and only buy flat comfortable shoes.

As a person with a moderate hip to waist ratio and difficulty finding my size in brick and motar stores, I've found that the Gloria Vanderbilt "Amanda" jeans have decent pockets and decent life expectancy. I've worn the same 3 pairs for 2 years now. Not an ad, just know that struggle 💗

*** I am going to write about my struggles with weight, body image and miscarriage*** Abby, you spoke to my Soul in this video. I graduated high school in 04 and turned 18 in 03, so it sounds like we are around the same age. I was a size 5 from about 5th grade through my Freshman and Sophomore years of College. I wore the dreaded low rise jeans, especially the ones WITHOUT back pockets. Luckily, I was also part of the East SF Bay Punk scene, so I was also wearing men's Dickies (before it was cool haha), so at least some of my clothes had pockets. What a weird time it was. Around 99/00 I had I had those excessive baggy pants that were covered in pockets, as all the Skaters did, but then by about 02 and beyond came the low rise. I remember high rise was not even considered, or available. My 20's was spent in a more reasonable midrise bootcut. I did not try skinny jeans until I was about 30. I must admit, I love a good highrise tummy support skinny. My Mom belly pretty much requires a high rise these days. What cracks me up is how "Mom jeans" are, or were a thing. Honestly, my 37 year old vintage/classic style self does not pay attention to whatever is current. I'm actually leaning heavily towards 80's Glam Metal attire, because it's fun and I do what I want! haha! ADHD brain went off topic there. What I meant to get to was how our age group was force fed the idea that our bodies = our self worth. Nail on the head Abby!! As I mentioned, I was a long time size 5. In my early 20's I remember going jeans shopping and discovered that I no longer fit in size 5. I cried. Unfortunately it was the first of many times crying in a dressing room. I spent most of my adult years as an 8, which was fine. I was a 10 for a bit in 2013-14 after having my first kid. At 30 I divorced and got back down to 8, which was great. After that I met my now amazing Husband but then started a toxic job (finally left after 3 years), the pandemic happened, I had a cervical cancer scare (it cleared up, yay) and then 2 back to back miscarriages. My body was not happy and therefore I gained a lot of weight in about 6 months and got to about a size 12. Luckily, I had a successful pregnancy after leaving that toxic job and my second baby will be 1 year this month. Having this baby left my body a wreck. I am the heaviest I've ever been, especially in my upper body. It is so hard for me to look at pictures of myself. The inner person inside who grew up in that time where our body = self worth is hard to ignore. This video really helped me identify and and shine light on that and now that it is up to the surface I can work on it. It's interesting how we can have all of this old programing causing issues but we cannot identify it until something triggers the memory. Also, I am working on getting my health back in line. Not specifically to "look good", but because I want to be healthy for my kids, although I do want to also look like the version of myself in my mind, haha. I do not want to look a certain way for anyone else though. I know intellectually and in my heart that our body = self worth is bullshit. I want to match how I vision myself, which is totally within reason. I want to be physically stronger and have more endurance to stick around to live life on my terms for a very long time, whilst being fabulous :) Also, I want to finally live my dream of being the singer of a rock-n-roll cover band. That requires some stamina haha. Thank you for being a positive and fierce voice for our age group!! As you can see, this was very inspiring and is opening up a path to healing some old wounds. You rock!

Abby, I know if you take extra time for you, but I would gladly watch a 30 or 45 minute video from you. You have lots of knowledge and your videos are informative and calming to watch.

I really appreciate that you used a bar spoon to hold your mic for the sponsor segment. I found it way funnier than I think it was meant to be

Amazing video, Abby! As a non-American I want to thank you for putting the measures in centimeters as well! It allowed me to understand and feel the impact of the difference even more! Thank you!

I have never been what you would call skinny, and I was a teen in the mid to late 90's. Finding clothes that looked nice was tricky. I remember the worry about having back pockets on my jeans and thinking it made me look bigger, and I also vividly remember having jeans where the top of the white cotton from the pocket would sometimes show slightly because I was "supposed" to have a completely flat stomach and I was always embarrassed about that and still have shame about my tummy 😕 It's like they never had anyone who wore larger sizes actually try on the clothes to see if they worked, which is probably exactly what was happening. 🙄

I'm so early for once. I was really young during the low rise jean fad, but I know for a fact it wouldn't work for me. I learned to sew just to make myself clothing with pockets. I did a Morgan Donner and added pockets to half of my dresses right out the gate. Pockets for life.

I am sitting here, remembering back to the tight jean craze of the 80's (no stretch materials, but lots of ankle zippers), but I remember nice pockets. Oh those low rise jeans, I hated them. I always felt they would fall off. And I am a skinny person, I thought they would just slide off while walking. And show parts of my body I didn't want to show.

I tried using purses, but I have the opposite response from you where HAVING a purse gives me anxiety, so my boyfriend's grandma got me a wallet thing that has straps, and I can fit my phone in it, so that is my purse. I feel like if I were to carry a purse around, I would definitely be absent-minded enough to set it down in a Wal-Mart somewhere and never see it again. Also, I wear size 6 jeans and my doctor told me I'm overweight and idk how to feel about that. .-. (I'm 25.)

At first I was going to skip the section you gave a warning about but I’m glad I didn’t because I love how unapologetically you call out that todays fashion is based on which body types are trendy. I’m in my late 20s now and I wish I had found your type of content in my teens instead of magazines. Love your videos and can’t wait for the handbag one!

I'm glad I hated magazines (too many personal reasons) but I definitely got hit with the "my body is wrong" thing by way of the only jeans available were crap jeans and pants that physically did not fit me the way the garments were designed. Yay trauma.

I have a vintage skirt, I think it might be an antique, and it took me about 10 times wearing it to discover it has massive pockets. I was so giddy when my hand slipped inside while I was adjusting it.

A moment of silence for the pants that had fake pockets, but you didn't realize till you got home. 😭

I am 53 years old and have so much body trauma. I totally understand that old feeling of if you're fat, you're not worth a single thing! It's so awful and yet we still have people out there pushing that garbage on our young people! I can't even imagine what girls today deal with growing up with the nonsense & fakeness of Instagram and other social media platforms!

I've just made my first pair of trousers... the size of the patterned pockets was so good! I can get my whole (S22+) phone in them. Have also started flatlining most of my pocket bags with firm plain woven cotton so that keys won't go through them! (Yes I have the privilege of being taught to sew by my mum (about 35 years ago).

Pockets are so important! I was in college in the early 2000s and I went through a phase then where I didn't want to carry a purse. I hated the super low rise jeans, but even the so called "regular" rise jeans were pretty low by today's standards. That didn't leave much room for pockets and it was so frustrating. Even now, I have to carry my phone with me (because I can't hear it or answer in time if it's in my purse) so that means getting a smaller phone. I hate that phones keep getting bigger and bigger. Jean pockets have gotten better now, and I have noticed several places where I can buy a dress or skirt online that has pockets. The bigger problem I've found is with dress (or dress casual) slacks. I can't wear jeans to work, though I don't have to dress in a suit. So before I started working from home that meant neutral colored dress slacks. Finding those in stores with pockets big enough to hold my phone was VERY difficult. It still is, to be honest. It's like they expect me to walk around all day with one of those ugly phone belt clip things. 😵‍💫

One of the most freeing things I’ve done was donating or repurposing all of my skinny jeans and slowly transitioning to thrifted high waisted, mom/straight leg pleated trousers and jeans. It dramatically improved my self-esteem and also helped the healing process of being a middle schooler in the 2000s; now I have actual pockets as well. My coworkers were flabbergasted when I pulled out an entire TI 89 calculator out of my pants pocket, which couldn’t even be seen through the shorts!

As a plus size person it's always a gamble weather there are or aren't pockets. I don't really expect pockets or useable pockets on skinny jeans. I get really annoyed when my boyfriend/relaxed fit jeans don't have pockets or useable pockets. I currently have a pair of old navy jeans with "pockets" that are about 1 inch deep. You can't fit a tube of chapstick in there without it falling out. On the other side of the spectrum chiffon and other light weight flowy materials should absolutely never have pockets. It ruins the line of the clothing plus is incapable of holding anything.

Love you and your video's But I specifically shop in the men's section because the fabric and build of the clothes is so so much better! Just pick two t-shirts one from the Female section and one from the Male and just feel or hold against the light... It's just not fair 😔

Idk if this is in your handbag vid, but yet another aspect of the rise of handbags was safety. Being mugged was a constant fear for women and girls, and being able to throw a handbag was far preferred to the risk of some miscreants getting their hands on you.

I agree about the “pockets = bigger” thing - I remember. I would add that most pockets were made and positioned badly and so DID make your hips look odd or bigger 😒 Which is why I avoided pockets! Now at the ripe old age of 52, I don’t care!! So I wear what I want as long as it fits properly

Abby, I love you so much for talking about the magazine articles and clothing that was being sold for women in the early 2000's! I was in my late 20's and early 30's at that time. It is still traumatic to me to think about what the expectations were for my body. I was at my heaviest, getting up to 292 lbs at 5'6", and all I knew as an adult was that I was not good enough. I could not find anything beautiful about myself because clothing was so horrible. Plus sizes were not any better than regular sizes in clothing. Now I sew my own clothes as much as I can. I knit and am actually working on making a pocket pattern that works best for me. I did a ton of work on myself, and by 2007 was owning my own beautiful self! So, I love when you do these topics, makes my heart sing!!! ❤ Thank you so much!

My current favorite pair of jeans used to be my brother's, and he didn't like how they fit. But they fit my WHOLE HAND in the pocket, while my other jeans can only fit about half my hand in the "bigger" back pockets. Maybe it's because I'm still wearing a lot of skinny jeans, idk...

Thank you; the history was very interesting and not anything I had previously heard. I believe you when you say you have pockets, but I have to tell you this is not my experience. My work trousers have pitiful little 3-inch things(I measured). Now I wear plus-size, so perhaps that is why I still don't see decent pockets in most clothing. None of my bought clothing(including a linen dress procured from a small manufacturer)has pockets that will fit my whole hand. I do not know if leaving pockets out of or giving tiny pockets in plus-size clothes is supposed to make the clothing "flatter" us, maybe? However, I still have great frustration around pockets and hope decent pockets make it into clothing available to me soon. In the meantime, I will continue to suffer pocket envy.

As a plus-size woman, I hate that the common type of pocket in pants made "for my size" tend to be these slanted in-seam pockets that bulge just from my hips. So annoying.

Great video! Once more I am so grateful that I was born exactly when I was ... 1946. I never quite reached 4'11", and while I was tiny until my 30s, age (and 3 babies, the last when I was 42), along with a real appreciation for eating, means that for at least the last 25 years, it's been utterly impossible to find ready-to-wear jeans ... my primary wardrobe staple since my hippified 20s. I had little use for a purse in that decade, but over time, it got preposterous. At one point, I was in a shoe store in Chattanooga that was having a weird contest ... the woman with the heaviest purse would win a significant coupon. My purse weighed over 16 pounds! That's more than many bowling balls! No wonder my shoulder was having problems! I reformed, got a small wallet with attached keychain, and it fits nicely into the front pocket of the jeans I have custom made by a group in India. I get to say what pocket styles, zipper or buttons, the width of the legs (last 2 were a sort of bell-bottom), even the color of thread and the style of the rivets. And the cost is actually less, even with shipping, than I'd pay for all but the least expensive ready-made jeans. I also wear my now thinning hair in braids with yarn woven in. Just sign me, "Not a slave to fashion, but a much happier old woman!"

This was fascinating and I love it. Also, ever since I started embracing more 1940s/50s fashion, not only have I been SO much more comfortable (autism and denim are not good playfellows), I've also been finding more skirts with actual functional pockets. Which, like, I love.

I remember a cute skirt set i had with pockets in the 80s. I wonder what happened to it. Ugh, what happened to some of the nice clothes I had? 😂😂

I remember my mother in the 90s literally cutting the hip pockets out of her pants and sewing up the slit. She said they were unflattering. Mum was a lovely curvy lady and made every effort to look even 3 ounces thinner. Makes me sad to think about it because I was self conscious as well but I wore baggy clothes to hide, because I was skinny, and I didn't understand her struggle.

I hated low rise jeans, just ugh. I never read 17, but growing up I never went a day without hearing "you are lucky you are skinny." It was usually the first thing that was pointed out about me. Also, there really is so much math in crochet, which I never truly processed until I started designing. Fun and educational as usual.

THANK YOU so much for talking about the weird pockets=fat analogy. I haven’t heard about that concept for a long time, and I loved your analysis of it as a marketing ploy. I felt fat and (therefore) ugly as a 14 year old wearing size 2. I spent my teens trying to hide my hips from the world since I somehow thought they were a shameful feature. Pockets added maybe a centimeter to my middle, but it felt like they added a foot. It definitely took me years to realize that it doesn’t matter at all. Glad to be on the other side of that.

I was a teen during that time too. I still catch myself with that mindset. I wanted to try the wide leg trousers and was nervous because they had pockets. I already have mom pouch, I was worried about adding to that bulk. Welp, it was absolutely a silly thought as they looked lovely.

I totally remember peering through Seventeen magazine and reading all about pockets not looking good on my specific body type (muscular but still had curves/hips). They even said that if you had pants with the trouser type pockets, to see them shut for a cleaner line and to not draw attention to your hips!

Wow, I guess I'll believe that pockets are back, I eventually basically gave up on shopping for anything new at all like a decade ago after years of frustration and just going to thrift stores trying my luck against the darn frustrations. The whole thing's been a massive point of quiet infuriation for me this whole century. Especially with the seemingly-interminable bare midriff whether you like it or not thing, between tops not being long enough and jeans meant to show off hips I didn't really have, (They were kind of a problem if if you were too twiggy as well, never mind trying to get physical work done. I was always like, 'Once they take the fabric away, they don't want to put it back.' Basically there was a bit of a sweet spot where you could get a bit of flare at the bottom for boots and not too low a waist and after that, it was either 'Show tummy or wear 'Mom Jeans' with tiny leg openings.' So, like a lot of others, apparently, I kept taking good jeans out of the 'work clothes' drawer and putting em back in service. I think someone thought it was a trend: the next time I saw something cut right, with workable pockets, I like howled in the store when they came pre-frayed and messed-up like that was the point of us wearing the old stuff. And of course quality's gone in the toilet since then. (So therefore I been back to oversized boy-jeans, and being like, 'Sorry to stereotype the lezie mechanic thing but you made it too hard to look good at it too long! Ironically when the corporatebacked politicians are trying to make more gender-conformity happen. ) Anyway, so much of everyday fashion has seemed to be a major illusion of choice when there's really none at all, unless maybe you're living a life when everything you need is purportedly on a smartphone. The pockets are a major barometer of that, I think. I remember laughing when they tried bringing military-style cargo pants back as a 'look' and ...sure enough, fake pockets and fragile materials. So, there's some of decades worth of ranting. Especially about 'distressed' ie pre-f'ed up clothes. I mean, I never wore ripped clothes in my life even when I was punk rock, but you could see people needing a head start if they wanted to do metalhead, cause jeans would otherwise 'frustratingly ' last decades pretty unscathed. This is no longer the issue when things only last a season or two before fraying all on their own. It's part of why like Dickies had a fashion thing going on in some scenes, cause 'work clothes' but still practical every day.... Then you notice little details like the clothing industry clearly hasn't picked up a hammer since the early Eighties at least, cause those little 'hammer loops' on the side are no longer big enough for actual hammers people use these days with the rubber grips and all. And they make 'smartphone-sized' pockets that kinda hold half of one, ...if they don't bend over or sit down, so it's not even working for that. So, out of touch, whoever makes the clothes. So focused on appearances that they thought a lot of us gals were wearing our old jeans cause it was some visual statement, so therefore, people must want more old-looking jeans, instead of it being 'No one will sell us suitable *new* jeans so how about something like these were when we bought them, only, err, new?'

Here's an idea just wearing men's pants my mama put me in boys jeans because I was growing too fast and they didn't have any size that worked for me and in girls and my mom said she wore men's pants 👖 and she like the pockets and her sweatpants have pockets

I really love the topics you choose. I noticed though that you skipped right over my favorite style when I was younger (specifically late eighties and early nineties) when Ralph Lauren’s safari look took off and cargo pants became popular (real cargo pants not the skin tight disgrace they became). Functional pockets!

My current jeans can't hold anything bigger then a ring in the front pockets, and I hate sitting on my phone. I've never even liked skinny jeans. Even as a teen in the early 00's I wanted to wear mom jeans while everyone wore hip higgers...

This is one thing I haven't run into until professional clothing, I required a 34in inseam so as a teen my mother basically just went to the men's department where at least a 32in was close-ish, the women's 28in basically fit like capris. However, having to ask my guy coworkers if they can toss something in their pockets since mine are too small to hold a pocket watch I definitely could live without 🤦 Edit: oh that 17yr old's head in 2003 bit hit quite hard. Ouch. But right there with ya...

Ohhh that video idea about handbags and purses sounds really interesting, I hope you'll end up making that video! Amsterdam used to have the Tassenmuseum (Bag museum) which sadly closed due to lack of funds during the pandemic. I walked into it once with my mum not really being interested, as bags aren't really my thing, but it turned out to be more about the chronological history of bags and others objects used to carry stuff around. So they had 18th century pockets, regency reticules, and lots of other stuff. The information provided with all the objects was great too and I learned a lot. So I imagine a video of yours being something like that. (also I feel kinda dumb, but I don't get the 'Stem is everywhere' joke. Can someone explain?)

I brought my first pair of work pants (like blue collar workers we call them tradie pants here) and there are pockets everywhere now I live in these pants when I am not at work. As Abby said kinda, buy the things that match your pocket expectations

I recently bought a pair of work pants from a company known for making work pants. The pockets are functionally useless. I was shocked.

I worked for a vending company. I couldn't be carrying around a purse, and needed to keep things in my pockets. I had a couple of pair of pants that were going unused because they had none. so I took them to a seamstress. I asked if she could put pockets in my pants. She corrected me. She said, "you mean take them out" and proceeded to start telling me the cost. I interrupted her and said, no, I want pockets put IN the pants. She looked at me like I had 2 heads and said.."no one woman wants pockets anymore. Why would you want pockets?. I gave up and left. I was pissed. 😠 To this day, I don't care for purses. It takes away the use of one hand/arm. Even the ones with shoulder straps are a pain by falling off your shoulder. Ugh. 🤦‍♀ I have a little purse that has a wrist strap, that is just big enough to hold a pen and my small wallet. The only time I use a bigger one, is if I need to bring a hairbrush. I like pockets. I currently have a lovely pair of grey pants..but sadly they have no pockets. I'm almost afraid to ask around if anyone could put pockets in them. 😥😥 (Side note. I know I'm overweight, and I dislike it. But due to physical health issues, there's not much I can do about it. So I just wear loose fitting clothing. I'd never wear anything that hugged my form. (except maybe from the upper ribs up, or from just below the hips down.) I especially won't wear any top that won't cover my tummy. So, pockets in my pants wouldn't be a problem. They would be hidden like the rest of me. 😉)

I was a teenager in the 90's, and had one of my favorite pairs of jeans ever when I was 13. They had a pair of pockets on the front of the thighs just above the knees! They had a slanted openings, and the higher side was deep enough to hold a pen with the cap clipped to the edge. It was when grunge was getting big. I'd wear those things with my flannel shirts and Payless combat boots. Loved them.

I dont know if they count as fast fashion honestly, but I get all of my jeans from Levi directly and they have great pockets, at least in their currently trending styles. I go to work in black sport leggings that have pockets I use to bring my 26oz water bottle to work with me. Comfortably. But I really feel it took fashion to swing back to loose and high waisted for pockets to be deep enough to hold more than a chapstick again.

So glad to talk about this because I rant about this all the time! I now work a “mens” job and wear men’s pants/shorts and I can’t stand having to wear “woman’s” clothes……even brands like carhartt who make woman’s pants for the exact jobs I am working, but also remove the much larger pockets that the same styles in men’s line have for no reason! Why! It’s so frustrating! I need my damn pockets!

This was super informative and made me realize I’m part of the misinformation problem of believing things don’t have pockets/only have tiny pockets 😅 I always assumed it was a symptom of purses but I see there’s far more direct connections to be made to how styles are constructed. I notice that, while I’ve tried (and even own/recently owned) plenty of women’s clothing with no or too-small pockets, those are also items like skinny jeans, body-fitted shorts, lightweight dresses and rompers, a body on dress, and above-the-knee flared skirts. They’re not items that can have better pockets. If I wore longer/fuller skirts and dresses and loose/looser jeans I would likely find the pockets you demonstrated in the video. My own holy grail of pockets I own is my one pair of cargo jeans but while I assumed they have great pockets cause cargo pants are known for pockets, they’re also very loose pants so they have tons of room for large pockets, and they’re a sturdy material. I will definitely be looking at clothes with the lense of what pockets could this material or style work for now.

I want decent pockets.

Ahhh..pockets. My female flight attendant uni has pockets so shallow to be unusable. The MEN'S uni has plenty of normal pockets!😡

I was a size 4 from age 12 through high school, and these magazines made me think I was enormous. I would in fact cut out the pockets in a lot of my skinny jeans to “reduce volume”.

OMG…. 😣 I was traumatized by similar articles about pockets and jean cuts and body size (gasp!) in the 70s, when I was a teenager. BAD Glamour and Mademoiselle magazines!!! 😡. Thank you so much for talking about this, Abby! 🙏 I was shamed about my body size and shape back then, and thought I was fat, too (I wasn’t). Oh, the insecurity! Oh, the body dysmorphia! I’m 64 now. When I look at photos of myself at that age, I see a teen and young woman who was a perfectly normal size and shape. The magazines were peddlers of body shaming!

I HATE that y2k is coming back into style now because I suffered through middle and high school in that time period! I'm so glad I learned to sew and that I have the privilege of being able to make my own clothes with big Victorian pockets and natural waistlines. That fraying on the jean hems really threw me back 😂

10 years ago I was buying "professional" clothes like trousers and blazers for basically the first time. The ones I could afford did not have pockets but they did have insulting fake pocket flaps where the real pockets should be. I complained about this to my mom. She said that pockets in women's clothing "ruined the silhouette." I replied (as I still do!) "Screw the silhouette! I want functional pockets!"

I have noticed it's getting somewhat easier to find pockets, and they're definitely better than they were ten years ago. But they're still not always great. I have several pairs of pants which, although they are relatively loose fitting, have pockets that are too small for my phone. I have a couple of other pairs where the pockets are technically big enough, but the angle is wrong, so my phone tends to fall out when I sit down. And then I have a few pairs from a fantastic designer on Etsy where the pockets are completely functional and useful and everything I need them to be. Unfortunately, she doesn't make clothes suitable for winter, but in the summer her pants are the absolute best, all because of the pockets.

I didn't expect to have such a reaction to the low rise jeans but they really did make me feel some kind of way. I hated them as a teen because my not perfectly flat tummy would hang over the top and I felt disgusting. I can't imagine trying to wear them now with my mummy tummy and how much of a hit to my self esteem that would be.