There was a conversation, and a side discussion cropped up, as they do, about my perennial joke that I am a hobbit. I’m short, and I have big feet for my stature.
I’m not kidding about the feet, the First Reader and I can share boots, as we wear the same size in shoes.
But what made me laugh was the comment, after I shared my whimsical rendition of myself as a hobbit, of ‘I knew those were fantasy clothes because they have pockets on women’s clothing.’
I can always use more pockets. Problem is, if I had all those pockets, I’d fill them up with stuff. Pretty rocks, shells, a small bright green frog… Whatever that thing is.
Anything too large to go in a pocket I’ll have to sketch, so pockets for a sketchbook, pencils, maybe a watercolor kit. Oh, and of course knives for sharpening pencils or cutting off a bit of string – crucial stuff, string.
Mustn’t forget a pocket lens, to inspect the tiny things even more closely before putting them in a small tin to keep them from being crushed in a pocket. Should be a pocket for an apple, and a squashed sandwich or cookie, to sustain me on my rambles. Oh look, there’s a feather…
Ah, yes, that’s why I shouldn’t have all the pockets. I’ve got to be able to move! I mean, I can always carry a bag, and do. What’s in my pockets is usually the minimum. But still. A lot of pockets would be nice when I’m out rambling in the woods. Like the vest I have for carrying camera lenses. Sigh
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13 responses to “All the Pockets”
My EDC includes a couple knives, flashlight, a rather nice set of lock picks used in my job, various guitar picks as they get found laying here and there, the more mundane comb, notepad (waterproof paper), wallet, and space pen… and a stone given me by a shaman to absorbe ills so they can be disposed of later. The artillery varies by season or whim but the Leatherman wave, snips, and aforementioned flashlight have a nylon case on my belt to save room in pockets. My “firehose” pants have cargo pockets, sub pockets, and velcro closures able to cover the side pockets or fasten inside to leave the tops open.
There is no telling what else might be there on any given day as I tend to toss things in at random to carry till I can put them in more appropriate places…
I’ve developed an affection for cargo pants and cargo shorts. Pockets!
Hobbits are not known for a love of pockets
What has he got in his pocketses?
Reminds me of my field adventures while a biology student doing plant collections as part of my Plant Taxonomy class with Dr. Magrath at USAO. Along with a lot of my time growing up pre teen years in Grady County…
Plant taxonomy is very much my favorite hobby.
I remember my joy when I discovered the history of pockets in women’s clothing (England) — as separate pouches tied to the waistband and accessed via slits in the covering dresses/underclothing. That’s how “Lucy Locket lost a pocket” in the nursery rhyme, something I had always wondered about as a child.
Now, if only there were an easy way to externally stash a conventional cellphone, like a velcro-fastened pocket on an upper arm, or a fashion for vests with a lower-torso pouch, life would be complete. But nothing that doesn’t require “part of each garment” or “allows only tiny devices” or “reasonably safe from harm” has really won the ordinary clothing world. The last time we were satisfied on that front was during the beeper era (I fell like I’ve been waiting a long time). Folding phones, especially as they fatten up, aren’t any more successful as attached-to-body devices. Perhaps we need to bring chatelaines back into fashion as an approach.
I have a chatelaine. I wouldn’t trust my phone to it – it’s too heavy. On the other hand, I do have elegant little scissors, and it would hold many other things as well. I used it as part of my performing costume, holding balloon tools and face-painting stencils, for many years and it was terribly handy for that.
I used to favor a many-pocketed vest when I fiddled for dancing — tuning forks, rosin, hand-wipes, etc.
You could put a vertical pocket on a vest directly below an offside breast, sealed w/velcro on the inside line, but there would be length restraints for shorter women (like me). Under an arm on a vest would avoid the length issue, and the velcro slit could be toward the front on the offside. But would one get used to that, as one does for a shoulder holster? Alternatively, an actual shoulder holster concept could be used, but that’s awkward for most women’s clothing anyway.
While very casual clothing could support, I suppose, any sort of pocket configuration, business or equivalent attire offers fewer choices, and I think a universal solution (as for gun carry) is best. At least there’s less of a concern if your cellphone “prints” (vs a gun).
If a clothing item (other than shirts) offers no safe place to stash a large cell phone, a small wallet and my auto fob, no sale. If I really need something new, though, I can always just make it, with all the pockets I want. Being able to sew makes me truly independent of fashion’s stupidity.
I seem to have gotten past the need to stuff rocks, twigs, and small beetles into my pockets, fortunately.
I, er, don’t anticipate getting past my magpie collection phase. Shiny rocks! Shells! LOL
You absolutely need a photographer’s vest. And midjourney made a great picture of you. You should save that one for avatar purposes. You should save that one for general purposes, it jus says Cedar.
What she said ^^