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What a wonderful start to the day! Three messages from colleagues urging me to read Rosie Talbot’s empowering article on the freedom and joy of pockets (A moment that changed me: I began wearing skirts with pockets big enough to hold a wine bottle, 18 January). Rosie even signed off her article with the working title of my PhD, “Thanks, it has pockets”.
Rosie captured the essence of the pocket issue perfectly, highlighting the lengths people who wear women’s clothing must go to ensure they have functional pockets.
My PhD research investigates how people talk about their pockets on social media, and the insights we can gain through the lens of the pocket into the unseen elements of everyday lives. I follow historical pocket scholars, Barbara Burman and Ariane Fennetaux (who wrote The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women’s Lives, 1660-1900), in the pursuit of pocket knowledge and disappointingly find that things haven’t moved on very much since 1900.
Pocket themes identified in my research via Twitter are like those in the existing pocket literature, uncovering women’s desire for freedom, safety and security. I find some women adopt a “no pockets, no purchase” rule, or, like Rosie, they are resourceful in sewing or adapting their existing pockets. Rosie’s approach of adopting tie-on pockets is an extreme but excellent solution to the pocket problem. Her account of the significant impact this change has made, not only to her lifestyle, but also in helping her reassess societal expectations and build a like-minded community, are inspiring. The pocket is not such an insignificant detail after all.
Ruth Eaton
Lecturer in contextual studiesManchester School of Art
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