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Pockets "showcases the best features of cultural history: a lively combination of visual, literary and documentary evidence. As sumptuously illustrated as it is learned … this highly inventive and original book demands a pocket sequel.” ―Jane Kamensky, Wall Street Journal
Who gets pockets, and why?
It’s a subject that stirs up plenty of passion: Why do men’s clothes have so many pockets and women’s so few? And why are the pockets on women’s clothes often too small to fit phones, if they even open at all? In her captivating book, Hannah Carlson, a lecturer in dress history at the Rhode Island School of Design, reveals the issues of gender politics, security, sexuality, power, and privilege tucked inside our pockets.
Throughout the medieval era in Europe, the purse was an almost universal dress feature. But when tailors stitched the first pockets into men’s trousers five hundred years ago, it ignited controversy and introduced a range of social issues that we continue to wrestle with today, from concealed pistols to gender inequality. See: #GiveMePocketsOrGiveMeDeath.
Filled with incredible images, this microhistory of the humble pocket uncovers what pockets tell us about ourselves: How is it that putting your hands in your pockets can be seen as a sign of laziness, arrogance, confidence, or perversion? Walt Whitman’s author photograph, hand in pocket, for Leaves of Grass seemed like an affront to middle-class respectability. When W.E.B. Du Bois posed for a portrait, his pocketed hands signaled defiant coolness.
And what else might be hiding in the history of our pockets? (There’s a reason that the contents of Abraham Lincoln’s pockets are the most popular exhibit at the Library of Congress.) Thinking about the future, Carlson asks whether we will still want pockets when our clothes contain “smart” textiles that incorporate our IDs and credit cards.
Pockets is for the legions of people obsessed with pockets and their absence, and for anyone interested in how our clothes influence the way we navigate the world.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
September 12, 2023 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781643755489
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781643755489
- File size: 65066 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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August 1, 2023
Award-winning researcher, lecturer, and conservator of textiles and costumes Carlson brings readers an in-depth exploration of pockets throughout Western history. The very beginnings of pockets inclusion in Western clothing are outlined, followed by pockets' usage throughout the centuries to the modern day. Similar clothing additives, such as codpieces and purses, are also examined, their own histories inextricably intertwined with that of the pocket. Textile and clothing history are not all this tome holds, however; the book explores much beyond textile history alone. Discussion of the ways pockets' inclusion and lack thereof in various articles of clothing affect culture and how we stand, move, and carry ourselves as well as how gender and age are perceived, and the ability to commit crime and hide weapons provides fascinating insight as to how something as simple as a pocket can influence culture, gender, and society as a whole. Full-color images and photos are abundant throughout the text, wonderfully illustrating that which is being discussed. Perfect for readers interested in history and textiles as well as culture, sociology, and gender.COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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September 22, 2023
In her fascinating first book, Carlson (dress history and material culture, Rhode Island Sch. of Design) addresses the history, sociology, and politics of pockets. The richly illustrated title discusses those who routinely "get" the fashion component (men) and those who must beg, borrow, or sew their own (women). Carlson posits several theories about this imbalance (patriarchy, fast fashion), but that's only part of the fun of this book, which has nearly 50 pages of endnotes and an index. In chronological order but with plenty of cross-century commentary from the likes of Mark Twain, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, journalists and observers of the times, and contemporary fashion commentators, the book details the development of pockets in Western attire. Roughly 500 years ago, pockets began to develop from pouches. As they became more prevalent, especially in men's apparel, pockets and their contents engendered many reactions: fear of concealed weapons easily accessed; fascination with the casually defiant "hands in pockets" stance of Walt Whitman and W.E.B. DuBois; wonder at the treasures in boys' pockets; envy and frustration among women who craved the ease of pocketed clothing. Carlson's side trip discussing smart textiles, however, feels tacked on. VERDICT This erudite, enjoyable book about pockets delivers.--Liz French
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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