Object Story: Pair of Pockets

Women’s Pockets

Humans have long used little pouches and bags to carry their tools and belongings. It wasn’t until the sixteenth century that pockets began to be sewn into men’s clothing. But women who had to wear skirts continued to find ways to dangle pouches from belts and conceal small bags under clothing.  Women’s “pockets,” like this pair in the Fielding Collection, were tied around the waist and hidden under dresses, which had an open slit to access the pocket underneath. They were a part of clothing that was a bit like underwear: not visible to the eye of the beholder. By the end of the seventeenth century, most women, regardless of their status or wealth, wore this kind of pocket. At this time, women and men also sometimes carried a small leather or cloth fold for carrying papers or bills, called a “pocket book.” 

 Just like you may carry around a few things that are useful to you, so did women who wore pockets. They carried things like scissors, pencils, needle and thread, gloves, keys, snacks, pocket-sized editions of books and lots of other useful things. Articles written around the end of the eighteenth century implore women to keep their pockets stocked so that they can always be ready to be of service to others.

For women, pockets could also be a place to keep private possessions. Because women’s dresses were not tight fitting, a hidden pocket worn beneath the dress could be the perfect place to keep something personal, such as a sentimental letter, a diary, a small portrait of a loved one, prized jewelry, or locks of hair from a deceased child. The contents of a woman’s pockets could be a source of vulnerability as they were items that represented what she cared about most or needed to keep private. Even the fabric that the pocket was made from could represent a family memory or relic. If she had the means to wear one, imagine the importance of a pocket to an enslaved woman whose life was not her own.  

These pockets were probably made between 1760–90 given that this type of canvas work, or needlework, was the most popular during that time.  They are are made of wool, linen, and cotton canvas. Given their age, these pockets are in very good condition. We do not know why or how they are in such good shape. Were they ever worn? Were they a keepsake handled with care? Pockets were worn singly or in pairs. However, it is extremely rare for a pair such as this to survive intact.

Questions for Discussion

• What would you like to know about these pockets or about the owner of them? What do you imagine she carried in them?
• Think about the pockets you have in your clothing today. How do they compare to these pockets?
• Over time, women’s pockets became smaller and smaller and even disappeared from clothing, but men’s pockets stayed mostly the same. What might be some reasons for these differences?