Have you ever wondered why women carry purses and men don’t? It’s all about pockets… and history.

Pockets as we know them didn’t come into being until the 17th century. Prior to that time, both men and women wore bags tied to their waists or suspended from belts, a bit like modern day fanny packs. As the world became more urban and criminals more sophisticated, people began to hide these “pockets” under layers of clothing to keep their contents safe from pickpockets.

Woman’s “pockets” – mid 1700s – Victoria and Albert Museum, London

In the late 17th century, pockets began to be permanently sewn into men’s coats, waistcoats, and trousers. Women, however, continued to wear bags hidden beneath their dresses. These were often large and beautifully decorated, but terribly inconvenient. The average 17th century woman wore several layers beneath her billowing skirts. Her pockets would be tied around her waist, between her under-petticoat and her petticoat. In order to access their contents, she essentially had to get undressed! She had ample space to carry a wide variety of personal items in her pockets, but she couldn’t get at them in public!

As styles changed and slimmer, body hugging dresses came into fashion, there was no longer space to hide pouchy bags under a woman’s clothing. Instead, they carried tiny decorative handbags known as reticules that could scarcely hold a handkerchief and a coin.

Later came the suffragettes and other feminist radicals who believed that women should have equal political and financial standing with men. With them came pockets for women! “Plenty of Pockets in Suffragette Suit” read a 1910 New York Times headline. The suit, the piece explained, had seven or eight easy to access pockets.

Fast forward to today. Leggings have no pockets at all and then there are those silly fake pockets in some of my dressier pants. What good is a pocket that isn’t really a pocket at all? Women’s jeans do have pockets, of course, but my husband can easily carry his wallet, keys, some loose change, a comb, some kleenex, and a pocket knife (you can take the boy off the farm, but…) in his jeans pocket while anything larger than a credit card in mine leaves an unsightly and uncomfortable bulge. What’s the difference, you ask? About 4 inches. The front pockets on his jeans are about 7 inches (18 cm) deep while mine are less than half of that! There are women who rail against what they call pocket inequality, but am I willing to give up snug fitting jeans for the convenience of being able to schlep a lot of stuff around in my pockets? Not really. I’ll happily stick to carrying a purse!

What about you? Do you think pocket equality is something women should be fighting for?