FASHION & JEWELLERY FEATURES
Pockets
Lucy Locket lost her pocket
Kitty Fisher found it
Not a penny was there in it
Only a ribbon round it
This is a well-known nursery rhyme, but what does it mean? How can you 'lose' a pocket and why would it have a ribbon around it? The rhyme refers to a time when women's pockets weren't sewn on the outside or into the seams of their clothes as they are today. Until the middle of the 19th century, pockets for women were a separate item and they were worn tied around with waist with a tie or string.
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Pockets at the V&A
Pockets could be worn singly or in pairs. Some were very decorative, embellished with embroidery and ribbons. Others were quite plain.
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Share Your Pockets
Browse the database to see pictures of pockets people have created.
Send us a picture of a pocket you have created, explain a bit about it, and we'll add it to our pockets database.
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Wearing Pockets
Most women had at least one pair of pockets and men didn't wear separate pockets.
See where they were worn. -
Contents of Pockets
No mobile phones, car keys, credit cards or palm pilots in the 18th century!
Nevertheless, women kept a wide variety of objects in their pockets. In the days when people often shared bedrooms and household furniture, a pocket was sometimes the only private, safe place for small personal possessions. -
Buying and Losing Pockets
Many pockets were handmade and they were often given as gifts. Others were stolen.
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Pockets Go Out of Fashion
Is the bumbag a modern version of the pocket? In function, it resembles the pocket by tying around the waist and keeping valuables, such as money, passport and credit cards close and easily accessible.
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Make Your Own Pocket
A step-by-step guide to making a pocket.
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Pocket Expressions
Look at some expressions using the word 'pocket'.
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Spot the Pocket
Can you spot the pocket in these paintings?
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Acknowledgements
This website is a collaborative project with the Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.