Why Are The Pockets On Mens Jackets Sewn Up?

[spudqueen]

Why is it that when you buy a mans jacket the pockets are sewn up?

[Zacs-Master]

To stop us stuffing them with thinks which would make them look baggy and misshapen. We can do that on our own.

[Zacs-Master]

ThinGs.

[sandyRoe]

A few years ago I used to think they were sewn up to stop small incendiary bombs being left in them.

[EcclesCake]

In my experience all tailored suits and coats have the pockets tacked up. I've always assumed it is to keep everything aligned during the assembly and pressing.

[gness]

They wouldn't get too baggy if stuffed with men's thinks, Zacs....☺

Probably just to keep the line of the jacket looking good when trying on, Spudqueen.....x

[Zacs-Master]

How very sexist Gness. ;-)

[sunny-dave]

I have at least one relative who seems to have all his pockets sewn up when it's time for his round ...

[gness]

I'm old, Zacs......so I can be sexist with panache! Well there has to be some advantage in aging .....☻☻

[FredPuli43]

I think sandy is right. This practice is universal for suits bought in stores. I first noticed in when the IRA took to inserting incendiary devices in suits and jackets in stores; they did this at least once in London.

Savile Row suits were never, and aren't now, presented to the customer with the pockets tacked shut.

[Zacs-Master]

^^^unless the customer is a banker.

[jno]

it does raise the question: why have pockets at all, then? Since they aren't.

[boxtops]

That is the reason - it's not only men's jackets, ladies' too. I remember when it first started, i was buying a jacket in BHS just after the Birmingham bombings (40 years ago this year...) and al the pockets were stitched up. It was the first time any of us had seen that.

It does also keep the garment hanging nicely on the hanger in the shop - and it's usually only a running thread, very easy to unpick.

[starone]

I have just unpicked the pockets of a coat I bought and wondered the same thing. Damn nuisance! Incidentally this is a ladies coat not a man's. It is now stuffed with keys, paper hanks etc. so perhaps it is not such a bad idea.

[Mosaic]

It's to keep the multiple layers of fabric aligned during manufacture and to prevent the pockets from sagging before it's bought. You'll find there is a little wiggle gap you can get your small scissors or seam-ripper in to free up the useful pockets.

[spudqueen]

Thank you all for your answers. I guessed that it was to keep the jacket looking neat until purchase, but never would have given a thought that it may have been to keep incendiary bombs out of them! I have an unpicker (as my Mum always called it) and have this morning unpicked the pockets of a new jacket for youngest spud son, it was him who was asking why so I thought I'd ask you knowledgeable lot!

[sandyRoe]

I bought a cheapish jacket in BHS years ago and when I saw the pockets stitched up thought that it had been made without them. It wasn't until a few months later and the tacking had started to unravel that I found somewhere to carry my cigarettes and matches.

[boxtops]

I must admit, sandy, that when I saw the jacket in BHS in 1984, I pointed it out to the assistant and she told me it must be a manufacturing fault, and I could exchange it!

[spudqueen]

sandyroe - that sounds like something Mr Spudqueen would do!

[FredPuli43]

And the sock mystery! Why do good socks come with tissue paper inside BUT only in one sock?

In case you have ever wondered about such a significant question, as I had, well,I wrote to a hosier; I have an exciting life; and got the reply that the paper causes the sock to hang neatly and uncreased. That done, the second sock hangs alongside without the need of paper, thereby saving the hosier money on the supply and fitting of tissue.

[Next week: why loose black socks in a drawer never turn out to be exact pairs]

[CokeTulip]

Also..
Apparently the smaller (sleeker) something looks on a rail the easier it is to sell. (as pockets are designed to have room to hold things, some pockets will gape naturally if not stitched and moreso when people try them out).

The sock news will be interesting Fred!