Cristen,
I haven't read any "official" word, but I highly suspect that women's pockets have been shrinking and going the way of the dinosaurs in order to save the manufacturers money: smaller and/or no pockets equals less fabric and less thread, which in turn lowers production costs.
I was also shocked to find that when I bought a pair of pants a few years ago, the back pockets WERE SEWN SHUT!! "What kind of of nonsense is THIS?" I thought, and gleefully plotted to myself as to how I was going to beat the big clothing manufacturer's at their own game. Little did I know.
You should have seen my smug mug as I proceeded to wield one of my favorite weapons (my always ready-for-action, locked-and-loaded seam ripper, of course!) and tore the stitching right out of those supposedly "forbidden pockets."
You can then imagine how dismayed I was when I discovered that the doggone manufacturer actually got the last laugh: the pockets were PURPOSELY sewn shut, because it was a softer-style fabric that couldn't hold the shape of the pocket, and so with the stitching ripped out, the pockets looked half-open and sagged like a hound dog's face when I actually wore the pants.
And nothing is more flattering to a woman's behind than a couple of dragging, sagging sacks hanging down from her backside, right?
Sigh. As you can imagine, I wound up SEWING THE STUPID POCKETS SHUT AGAIN, shaking my fist at the makers the whole time.
For the past several years, I've been trying to come up with my own prototype with which to make my own pants and shorts. My biggest "wish list" would be a whole heap of pockets in varying sizes with zip closures and the grand finale would be a waterproof cargo pocket that's big enough to safely carry my phone should I get caught in a rainstorm (or on the latest water ride at a theme park!)
Alas. Fitting is a bear, seeing as patterns (like ready-to-wear clothes) are designed for rail-thin models, and as you can see from the picture below, four tries (and counting)... and I still haven't quite mastered it.
You can also see the evolution of the back pockets (going from rectangular to what I feel is a more flattering, rounded shape), because the original pattern didn't have back pockets (of course!!!) so I have had to design my own.
Never mind that on the red pair, I accidentally sewed the pockets shut (it must some kind of curse put onto my by the manufacturer of those store-bought pants!) SIGH. Last year I finally finished a 5th and somewhat wearable navy-colored pair--at least no one has stoned me for wearing them in public (yet), so maybe when I (hopefully) get around to it, the 6th pair just might finally be the charm I'm looking for.
All this, just to get a pair of decent back pockets in the way that I wanted them. Sigh.
P.S. If I lived closer to you, we could experiment with adding a little extra room to those short-sighted pockets in that perfect pair of jeans.
I haven't read any "official" word, but I highly suspect that women's pockets have been shrinking and going the way of the dinosaurs in order to save the manufacturers money: smaller and/or no pockets equals less fabric and less thread, which in turn lowers production costs.
I was also shocked to find that when I bought a pair of pants a few years ago, the back pockets WERE SEWN SHUT!! "What kind of of nonsense is THIS?" I thought, and gleefully plotted to myself as to how I was going to beat the big clothing manufacturer's at their own game. Little did I know.
You should have seen my smug mug as I proceeded to wield one of my favorite weapons (my always ready-for-action, locked-and-loaded seam ripper, of course!) and tore the stitching right out of those supposedly "forbidden pockets."
You can then imagine how dismayed I was when I discovered that the doggone manufacturer actually got the last laugh: the pockets were PURPOSELY sewn shut, because it was a softer-style fabric that couldn't hold the shape of the pocket, and so with the stitching ripped out, the pockets looked half-open and sagged like a hound dog's face when I actually wore the pants.
And nothing is more flattering to a woman's behind than a couple of dragging, sagging sacks hanging down from her backside, right?
Sigh. As you can imagine, I wound up SEWING THE STUPID POCKETS SHUT AGAIN, shaking my fist at the makers the whole time. For the past several years, I've been trying to come up with my own prototype with which to make my own pants and shorts. My biggest "wish list" would be a whole heap of pockets in varying sizes with zip closures and the grand finale would be a waterproof cargo pocket that's big enough to safely carry my phone should I get caught in a rainstorm (or on the latest water ride at a theme park!)
Alas. Fitting is a bear, seeing as patterns (like ready-to-wear clothes) are designed for rail-thin models, and as you can see from the picture below, four tries (and counting)... and I still haven't quite mastered it.
You can also see the evolution of the back pockets (going from rectangular to what I feel is a more flattering, rounded shape), because the original pattern didn't have back pockets (of course!!!) so I have had to design my own.
Never mind that on the red pair, I accidentally sewed the pockets shut (it must some kind of curse put onto my by the manufacturer of those store-bought pants!) SIGH. Last year I finally finished a 5th and somewhat wearable navy-colored pair--at least no one has stoned me for wearing them in public (yet), so maybe when I (hopefully) get around to it, the 6th pair just might finally be the charm I'm looking for.
All this, just to get a pair of decent back pockets in the way that I wanted them. Sigh.
P.S. If I lived closer to you, we could experiment with adding a little extra room to those short-sighted pockets in that perfect pair of jeans.
