Woman with hands in pockets

A friend and I recently had a gorgeous shopping day in Guildford (naughty, naughty Anthropologie).

I love personal shopping, but I love shopping for me even more!

We spent the day trying things on and giving each other feedback on how we looked. My friend and I both have a good knowledge of the colours and shapes that suit us, so it was fast work finding LOTS of things to buy, but, being sartorial perfectionists, we also spent plenty of time discussing the details of the clothes we were trying on.

In particular, the pockets.

Now, my friend, let’s call her Lucy, and I have very different body shapes and therefore we have completely contrasting requirements when it comes to clothing.

Our pocket requirements in particular are totally different.

This may sound odd to you. You are probably sitting there thinking: “‘Pocket requirements’? What the heck? I know I require food, drink, sleep and Netflix, but I am not aware that I have a specific requirement for pockets.” This is understandable, I do realise (my husband tells me) that most people don’t think about clothes on the same minute by minute basis that I do.

Let me explain.

A pocket, for women at least, is no longer simply a useful addition to a piece of clothing in which to store loose change, chewing gum (used and unused), tissues (ditto) and receipts (just me?) Since tailoring has slowly diffused from the hallowed streets of Mayfair to unhallowed and less pleasant streets all across the country (namely, ‘The High Street’) pockets have come to feature on our clothing for design reasons. They are often added to clothes to add interest and detail.

But and it’s a big ‘butt’ (literally in some cases) what many people don’t know is that an ill-placed pocket can add pounds to your figure.

If you have large boobs and would rather have people (men) talk to your face instead of your chest, you will benefit from avoiding shirts, tops and jackets with pockets on the bust.

If you have a large tummy you really should avoid tops and jackets with pockets that sit there. Likewise, if you have large thighs, don’t make them appear larger by wearing trousers with pockets (cargo pants) or long coats/cardigans with gigantic pockets in the general thigh area.

You get the gist….

My friend Lucy was delighted to find a dress with pockets that didn’t add any volume at all, because they were positioned just below the waist where she is naturally tiny. She loved the dress and twirled around in it a few times for me to agree before finding the pockets (of joy). When she found them she explained that she was now even more thrilled with this item of clothing because she usually has to wear very structured clothes to highlight her waist and hide her bottom, but the unusual position of the pockets give the dress a more casual feel.

I, on the other hand, was delighted to find a silk shirt without pockets on the bust. I find it quite hard to find a pocket-free blouse, but they are so much more flattering on women with big boobs. There is nothing more disconcerting than a pocket button that appears as though it could pop off and blind the beholder at any second.

So, my advice to you today is to make pockets work for you by following two simple rules:

  1. Don’t have a pocket on any part of your body that you’d prefer to look smaller.
  2. Say yes to pockets that add padding where you need it or on parts of your body where you are happy to draw attention.

That’s all folks. Just off to explain my ruinous credit card bill to my husband.

 

 

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