Women do talk a lot about the lack of pants in pockets, but they don’t actually seem to buy pants with pockets.
This is a perfect example of revealed preferences. Pants with pockets are out there for sale. They’re not even rare. Especially in the modern world where you can order clothing online, it’s easy to find and buy just about anything you want. Women could exclusively buy pants with pockets, but they don’t. Why not? Probably because pockets are important, but when it comes right down to it, pockets aren’t as important as other things like fit, style and price.
I’ll definitely agree that the major fashion houses might refuse to make pants with pockets. For them fashion is the only thing that matters. In fact, they’d probably only add a pocket if they could justify as a part of the style. And, there are going to be other designers who just copy the major fashion houses, maybe with minor modifications. But, they might not put in pockets because they’re trying to copy the major designer.
But, do a web search for “women’s pants with pockets” and tell me if you don’t find all kinds of results.
As for societal norms, I completely agree that the current world is one where women are expected to be pretty and men aren’t. That wasn’t the case in the 1700s where men wore makeup, tights and high heels. But, in the current world, it is women who society expects to make themselves look pretty, where that’s not expected of men.
I work with a lot of women and I also have a sister. All of them will complain about pockets being too small, but all of them also wear form fitting clothes that were clearly built to appeal to a fashion sense, rather than a practical one. Even the more practical oriented women amongst them opt for something that looks nice, but isn’t the most practical it could be
But here’s the thing. I’m not telling them what to wear. In fact, every woman is free to shop in the men’s section or to choose pants with actual pocket from the women’s section. You can buy CARGO PANTS. You are legally allowed to do so as a woman. The patriarchy is not stopping you.
Whenever the pockets thing comes up, I love to show them what I’m carrying. XL size phone, large wallet, Airpods, knife, keys… I can literally stick a Nintendo Switch in my pants pocket. And those are just casual jeans. If I had cargo pants, I could carry a backpack’s worth of gear.
So why don’t women do that? They literally have a term for ‘boyfriend jeans’ but refuse to wear something actually practical because it’s not as feminine. I imagine they don’t want comments from other women, because I as a guy am utterly delighted to see a woman wear something practical.
Women do talk a lot about the lack of pants in pockets, but they don’t actually seem to buy pants with pockets.
This is a perfect example of revealed preferences. Pants with pockets are out there for sale. They’re not even rare. Especially in the modern world where you can order clothing online, it’s easy to find and buy just about anything you want. Women could exclusively buy pants with pockets, but they don’t. Why not? Probably because pockets are important, but when it comes right down to it, pockets aren’t as important as other things like fit, style and price.
I’ll definitely agree that the major fashion houses might refuse to make pants with pockets. For them fashion is the only thing that matters. In fact, they’d probably only add a pocket if they could justify as a part of the style. And, there are going to be other designers who just copy the major fashion houses, maybe with minor modifications. But, they might not put in pockets because they’re trying to copy the major designer.
But, do a web search for “women’s pants with pockets” and tell me if you don’t find all kinds of results.
As for societal norms, I completely agree that the current world is one where women are expected to be pretty and men aren’t. That wasn’t the case in the 1700s where men wore makeup, tights and high heels. But, in the current world, it is women who society expects to make themselves look pretty, where that’s not expected of men.
The whole pocket fiasco is wild to me as a guy.
I work with a lot of women and I also have a sister. All of them will complain about pockets being too small, but all of them also wear form fitting clothes that were clearly built to appeal to a fashion sense, rather than a practical one. Even the more practical oriented women amongst them opt for something that looks nice, but isn’t the most practical it could be
But here’s the thing. I’m not telling them what to wear. In fact, every woman is free to shop in the men’s section or to choose pants with actual pocket from the women’s section. You can buy CARGO PANTS. You are legally allowed to do so as a woman. The patriarchy is not stopping you.
Whenever the pockets thing comes up, I love to show them what I’m carrying. XL size phone, large wallet, Airpods, knife, keys… I can literally stick a Nintendo Switch in my pants pocket. And those are just casual jeans. If I had cargo pants, I could carry a backpack’s worth of gear.
So why don’t women do that? They literally have a term for ‘boyfriend jeans’ but refuse to wear something actually practical because it’s not as feminine. I imagine they don’t want comments from other women, because I as a guy am utterly delighted to see a woman wear something practical.
Are they useful pockets? One of the problems I hear is the pockets are so small.