A Pocket Is Permission: Utility, Autonomy, and Clothing Made for All Bodies
A pocket is more than a design feature.
It’s permission.
Permission to move freely. To carry what you need. To keep your hands in your own control. The absence of pockets in women’s clothing was never neutral — it reflected assumptions about dependence, delicacy, and visibility. This is a history lesson, yes. But it’s also a design philosophy.
At Githerments, we make gender-neutral clothing because utility should never be gendered.
When Women Did Have Pockets: Hidden, Tied-On, and Personal
Before pockets were stitched into garments, they were worn with them.
Early pockets were large, separate bags tied under skirts. They held:
Coins and keys
Letters and recipes
Tools for work and care
These pockets were private and practical — built for autonomy, not appearance. They weren’t meant to be seen; they were meant to be used. Clothing served the person wearing it.
The Disappearance: As Fashion Shrinks, Utility Shrinks
As silhouettes narrowed in the late 18th and 19th centuries, hidden pockets were deemed “bulky.” They were designed out. In their place came handbags — external, decorative, and easier to police.
Important note: there’s no firm evidence pockets were removed specifically to prevent leaflet-carrying. But many historians agree that the loss of utility aligned neatly with restrictive social ideals.
The cultural effect was real:
Carrying shifted from internal to external
Practical storage became an accessory
Autonomy softened into adornment
Fashion decided what women’s clothing was for — and it wasn’t freedom.
The Suffragette Suit: Pockets as Protest
In the early 20th century, suffragettes brought pockets back — deliberately.
Their tailored suits featured multiple, visible, functional pockets. These weren’t subtle. They were statements. Pockets large enough for keys, money, documents. Utility as a political act.
Whether remembered through documented history or inherited symbolism, the truth holds: usefulness became resistance.
Modern Fashion Still Has Pocket Inequality
Today, little has changed.
Women’s pockets are still:
Smaller
Shallower
Often decorative
Sometimes fake
Meanwhile, menswear pockets remain deep and dependable. When a designer decides a woman “doesn’t need” pockets, they’re deciding what her clothing is allowed to do — and what she’s allowed to carry.
Githerments: Clothing That Respects Its Wearer
Our philosophy is simple: use comes first.
That’s why our garments are gender-neutral — because they’re use-neutral. Designed in our Brisbane fashion studio and proudly Australian-made, each piece is built around:
Deep, usable pockets for hands, phones, tools, stories
Space to breathe and move
Silhouettes shaped for humans, not categories
Whether from our Core Range, a one-of-a-kind piece, or a commission, clothing is designed to serve the wearer — not the role society assigns them.
Sustainability lives here too. Every order includes a complimentary patch kit, and we offer an optional mending service for a small fee. Longevity is part of utility.
Pockets as Liberation
A pocket is small.
But it’s symbolic.
It lets you carry what matters — yourself included. By reinstating real pockets, we reinstate autonomy in a world that has repeatedly tried to remove it.
Githerments garments are built for humans who live, move, repair, and carry things — whoever they are.