The laughter of birthdays, of money found in an old pocket

By Jill Lowe

“The laughter of birthdays, of money found in an old pocket”
Ian Rankin

Such a delicious feeling if a new garment has pockets. It conjures ideas of venturing forth with nary an encumbrance of a purse, as one can always stash a phone, driver’s license, “lippy” and handkerchief.

Now I speak as a female and the surprise and delight at finding a pocket in clothes is not true for men as men’s clothes so often have many pockets and women’s have so few, which are often too small.

This whole notion is explored by Hannah Colson in her 2023 book Pockets: an intimate history of how we keep things close.

Hannah is a lecturer in dress history at the Rhode Island School of Design and the book showcases the best features of cultural history. It is a wonderful book for people obsessed with pockets and their absence, and for those interested in how our clothes influence the way we navigate our world.

Putting one’s hands into pockets can be seen in different lights, occasionally seen as a sign of laziness or casualness. The late Queen Elizabeth was almost never seen with her hands in her pockets and in later years we hear she was delighted in having a photographic session being photographed with a certain demeanour of a model with both hands in her pockets.

Likewise one’s hands in the pockets can be a sign of disrespect and some world leaders and celebrities have indeed thrust their hands in pockets to avoid shaking hands with adversaries. In some countries too it is considered a disrespectful action. Hanna Carlson reveals some of these views in her book.

The word pocket used as an adjective is prolific

The pocket umbrella

The pocket roaster for s’mores

The pocket watch

The pocket notebook

Pocket money- usually denoting small amounts

Pocket doors for specific applications

Pita or pocket bread

Pocket handkerchief or pocket square

Other uses of pocket as an adjective can be found in real estate terms eg a pocket listing in real estate is one known before the actual listing.

Expressions using pockets

Deep pockets – denoting a company or person with abundant financial resources in ones pocket

To be “in one’s pocket” means someone has control of has power over you.

In the USA, there are figurative expressions:-

A pocketbook is one’s budget.

In the early 1600’s a pocketbook was a book small enough to fit into a pocket.

In the early 1800’s a pocketbook came to mean in some areas a “woman’s handbag or purse.”

Items using pockets

A shoulder brace using an ice pocket

Of course we need pockets!

In an era of buying new clothes rather than repair, this dated photograph for the alteration industry speaks of a holey jacket or trouser pocket as indication of need for repair.

Some wonderful quotes using pockets

Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.
Norman Vincent Peale

He reached for his pocket, and found there, only reality.
Victor Hugo

Money is always there but the pockets change.
Gertrude Stein

You can’t take it with you. There are no pockets in a shroud.
Elsie de Wolfe

A last word…..

“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket”
Chinmayananda Saraswati

By Jill Lowe

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