2 Dec 2019

The history of women's pockets

From Afternoons, 1:32 pm on 2 December 2019
Pockets of History

Pockets of History Photo: Supplied Otago Museum

In the 18th and 19th centuries there were no visible pockets on women's clothing. So to carry things, British women wore a pair of detachable pockets that served a similar purpose to a handbag.

Dr Ariane Fennetaux is an Associate Professor at the Université de Paris, and she has co-written a book about detachable pockets, entitled The Pocket, A Hidden History of Women's Lives 1660-1900, which explores the social and cultural history of women's pockets.