Who gets pockets and why can't I have pockets? If you've ever raged about not having pockets, this book will soothe your soul with historical accuracy.

Pretty dry and the last third went in a direction I was t really interested in. More of an academic feeling text that and engaging nonfiction.

In a recent conversation about women's athletic clothing, a friend recounted a conversation with her husband:

“What do you get for (premium price)?”
“Pockets!”

While the question of who has pockets and the unequal distribution of functional pockets is one that I think many women are familiar with, the question of how pockets arrived in our clothing at all isn't one that I had ever considered. Carlson takes readers back to the Medieval era, a time before pockets, when everyone carried their necessary ephemera in a bag. With art, photographs of historical garments, and illustrations from history helping to guide the story, the progression from coin purses to tie on pockets to the modern standards is clear. Along the way, Carlson highlights the social aspects of who has pockets and who does not. It turns out that modern women wondering where on earth their pockets are have good company: women have been asking the question for literal centuries.

This was definitely an interesting microhistory. While I was less curious about modern use of pockets as artistic statements in fashion, I appreciate that Carlson takes readers up through the present day, addressing couture and everyday clothing. This book is a solid recommendation for microhistory fans and those interested in the history of dress.

I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.

I loved this book! I loved both the history of the pocket as well as the politics in deciding who or who is not “pocket worthy”. Ms Carlson does a superb job of tracking the history of pockets and their use and evolution over the many centuries. My wife and I have discussed pockets and her purchase of garments with “faux pockets” that do nothing and this book is a testament to the empowerment that pockets provide.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my honest review.

Delighted to include this scholarly and well-researched but accessible (and engaging!) title in The Globe and Mail newspaper’s extensive annual Holiday Gift Books package in the weekend section of Globe Arts.

As someone who has often ranted about pocket inequity, I was delighted to read Hannah Carlson's Pockets, a fun and engaging examination of the invention, development, and eventual ubiquity of a (not so) simple clothing feature that simultaneously illustrates the role pockets play in shaping culture, I especially loved the breadth of resources the author utilized in her analysis—from artwork and literature to newspaper ads and estate inventories, it seems that no potential source was neglected. To put it plainly, the endnotes are a veritable treasure map (I would say treasure hunt, except Carlson has already done the hunting).

Pockets is an excellent choice for fans of Sophie Thanhauser's Worn, and even though the titles are thematically diverse, I'd also suggest it to readers who enjoyed Mark Kurlansky's Cod or Mary Roach's Stiff.

Hannah Carlson brings a critical clothing element -- the pocket -- to life in this fascinating history on the subject. Drawing on centuries of historical clothing and textile history, Carlson traces the evolution of the pocket and its historical purposes through the modern day. Including a fascinating and enthralling selection of historical images (both practical and humorous), Carlson’s history of the pocket brings context and information to the modern complaints about female pockets and the rise of the handbag and purse. An excellent example of historical research methods on a fascinatingly niche topic, Carlson’s use of historical methodology and document analysis, as well as mixed media and various types of documents, adds to the depth of information present in this book. Carlson even explores the potential future of pockets and a hypothetical future desire to continue to study the contents of purses, wallets, and pockets in our currently object-heavy (though also smart-object) culture. This book provides an interesting insight into the evolution of historical clothing and fashion as defined by various social, economic, and aesthetic preferences, and Carlson has created a fascinating history of a simple element of clothing and its evolution from medieval times to the twenty-first century.

This was a delightful and informative read. Well-researched and well-paced, I learned a lot about a subject I already had a fair amount of knowledge in. Recommended.

A fascinating and thorough dive into the meaning of pockets as fashion and pockets as politics. Because of how many images are included, reading this as an ebook was not the ideal experience, but it was still very thought-provoking and informative. While the tone could lean academic, there's still so much to appreciate in this book, from thinking about pockets as dangerous places to hide things, to ways of carrying protective things, to thinking about the future and how much physical stuff or lack thereof we will be taking into it.

A fascinating look at how pockets have evolved in fashion and the social implications of their placement and inclusion. As pockets became increasingly valued in men's clothing, they were often left out of women's fashion despite being equally desired. Even with the constant refrain of "more pockets" for women's clothing, there is still a deficit in number of pockets as well as pockets of an adequate size and with useful function. The style of this book leaned a little more academic, but the writing was clear and the chosen images helped show the changes in pocket fashion.

POCKETS by Hannah Carlson shows how little we know about a clothing feature we undoubtedly take for granted. Carlson teaches dress history and material culture at the Rhode Island School of Design so she has sterling credentials to research and describe "An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close." And this history spans centuries; she says: "since the first pockets were incorporated into men's breeches almost 500 years ago, tailors and dressmakers have stitched them in every conceivable location, most assiduously in the three-piece suit, where they have appeared from the interior breast of the coat to the tip of its tails." In example after example (often accompanied by colorful photographs), she looks at origins, purposes (e.g., for specific trades) and gender differences related to pocket placement, design, and functionality. In its review, The Wall Street Journal points out "As sumptuously illustrated as it is learned, POCKETS is nearly compact enough to be the first pocket-size coffee table book."

WSJ link: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/pockets-review-carrying-capacity-2245357a

In 'Pockets', Hannah Carlson takes us through the history of pockets and dissects the reasons for every step in their evolution, and I hadn't even gotten to the oppressive reasons yet. (Read: oppression of women). If you're someone who loves reading about such things, this is one book you should definitely not miss.

But this book is unfortunately way too academic-sounding for my taste and I recognize that it's a me issue and not the book's fault.

This was such a fascinating, entertaining, and also highly informative read! We all know that pockets and women’s clothing are something that according to clothing designers does not go together. At. All. Women do not deserve pockets. Only fake mock pockets. We have all been there and we all have been annoyed by it.
So, this book dives deep. Into the pockets. Both men’s and women’s. POCKETS.

How fascinating! I read an ARC on the history of skirts earlier this year and was enthralled at the politics and power plays behind it all, so when the chance to read about pockets arose, I jumped on it. I must confess, the writing style here wasn't quite as engaging and narrative as the skirt book, but I was equally intrigued by the history and insight that this history of the deceptively simple pocket offered. I've long thought that the placement of pockets (and their conspicuous absence) in traditionally gendered clothing styles was a more intentional decision than it's commonly considered, and this served to confirm that suspicion! Fascinating stuff...

Pockets by Hannah Carlson is a rollicking and informative look at pockets throughout history with fascinating illustrations and photographs. The writing is witty, engaging, deftly-crafted and sharp as scissors. I learned, giggled and was disappointed when it ended. Such an intriguing topic to get into, as I have done with several people. We take pockets for granted but we didn't always have them. In fact, it wasn't until five hundred years ago when men first started using pockets. It was a male thing even then when little boys had them in which to store their treasures but girls didn't.

So many bits stand out in my mind but amongst them are the chagrin pocketless chain-mail-wearing knights felt on hot days, difficult laundering which forced ripping apart seams to re-attach the opposite way for increased wearability, gorgeous embroidered purses, the differences between measurements of male and female pockets even to this day, uniforms, multitudinous gentleman's suit pockets, links to famous writers, pickpockets and other crimes. Every page holds a plethora of treats to discover!

If you are beguiled by pockets and their secrets and what they say about us as human beings over the decades, this book is for you. Talk about a delightful experience riddled with lightbulb moments galore! I feel smarter after reading it.

My sincere thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this outstanding book.

This was a entertaining fascinating read about pockets.The history of the reasons for and of this piece of material.I enjoyed learning about them the authors style of writing all the information really wonderful book.#netgalley #algonquinbooks

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy!
This is an excellent and fun history book!
I am obsessed with pockets and specifically the ways in which patriarchy has influenced them in gendered clothing, and this book didn’t disappoint in giving me more fun history facts fodder for my next rant on this topic.

If you know my reading habits at all, you know I love obscure history, so this title absolutely grabbed my attention. A history of pockets?!? Yes, please!
Pockets were invented - which I never thought about. Men and women both originally wore them as bags tied to the waist under any clothing. Men's clothing gradually developed modern pockets and women gradually developed handbags, although this wasn't always completely gender-specific.
There was so much I found interesting, but I'll just share one thing I don't think I'll ever forget. Beginning in the nineteenth century there was a fascination with the things little boys stored in their pockets. Novels and magazine articles included detailed lists and parents kept actual inventories of stuff they took from their boys' pockets.
A couple of decades later, it became great fun to talk about the stuff women keep in their purses. You'll be shocked to know that the variety and seeming uselessness of the items in boys' pockets was considered a sign of their ingenuity and budding genius while the variety and seeming uselessness of the items in women's purses was considered hilarious proof of their absent-mindedness and lack of practicality.
Now that women's clothing is gradually gaining pocket equity, there is even a movement demanding that little girls' clothing have pockets like little boys' have, which I love. Now their parents can inventory their pockets.
I could go on and on, but I'll let you read the book.

I am obsessed with pockets and the reasons why women's clothing lacks them. Especially when cell phones are massive - are these things made for gorilla hands? How am I supposed to carry my massive phone around all day with no pockets? Or too small pockets. Women have keys too.
Anyway, that is why I picked this up. I liked learning tht men's pockets were invented 500 years ago. That must be where they keep the patriarchy.
We learned about cod pieces and why pants became fashionable.
Can you imagine keeping your giant phone in your codpiece? I mean I guess a lot of us ladies are hiding things in our bras.

I also wasn't expecting all the wonderful photos.

Thank you for his ARC. I love it so much!

This was a fascinating history of something you might never have considered before- the pocket. They haven't always been in our clothing and any woman can tell you that pocket equity is still far from here. But how did they evolve and why are women still fighting for equality in what seems like an obvious issue?

Full of photos and illustrations, "Pockets" takes us through the fashion history, the psychological history, and the social history of this seemingly mundane object. I loved discovering the historic development of the pocket in men's and women's clothing. Carlson's analysis of women's fight for pocket equity, how pockets ranked on the suffragists' platform, and are still an issue faced daily was really interesting.

This is a book I will definitely read again, there's no way I will remember all the interesting tidbits of information in just one read! I recommend it to anyone interested in fashion history, or looking at social history through small or mundane objects. Booksellers should definitely check this out as a book that will interest people who like to follow history through unusual paths.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review