The Pocket Once Lived Beneath The Dress
A pocket in modern clothing is usually sewn into the garment. Many European women in the 1700s used a different system. Their pockets were separate fabric containers tied around the waist and worn beneath a dress or petticoat. These tie-on pockets could carry money, keys, sewing tools, letters, food, and personal objects. They served some of the same purposes as today’s pockets and handbags while giving women a portable place of their own.