Why Dresses With Real Pockets Are So Hard to Find (and How to Spot a Good One)
There are few small joys in getting dressed quite like a dress with real pockets. Somewhere to slip your phone, your glasses, your keys. A reason to leave the handbag on the hook by the door. Ask any woman who has found a dress with good deep pockets and she will tell you it is the one she reaches for most. So why are they so hard to find?
Why so many dresses skip pockets
It comes down to cost and shortcuts. Pockets take extra fabric, extra stitching, and extra time to make well, so a great many dresses simply leave them out. Worse are the ones that pretend. A decorative flap sewn onto the front with nothing behind it. A shallow slit at the hip too small to hold anything. A pocket so thin it gapes open and adds a bulge exactly where you do not want one. All of it looks like a pocket in the photograph and disappoints you the day the dress arrives.
What a good pocket actually looks like
A proper dress pocket is set into the side seam, where it sits flat and hidden until you need it. It is deep enough to hold a phone, a pair of glasses, and your keys without them tipping out when you sit. It is cut from the same easy fabric as the dress, so it does not add bulk or pull the line out of shape. And it is positioned where your hand naturally falls, so reaching for it feels effortless. When a pocket is made properly you stop noticing it is there, which is the whole point.
How to check before you buy
- Read the description. Look for the words side seam pockets, not just pockets. Decorative pockets are rarely described in any detail.
- Look for a photograph with a hand in the pocket. A seller proud of a real pocket will show it in use.
- Check the depth if you can. A pocket that only reaches the tops of your fingers will lose your phone. You want it to reach the palm at least.
- Mind the fabric. A pocket works best in a cloth with a little body, so it lies flat instead of gaping.
Why we take pockets seriously
We put real, deep side seam pockets into our easy dresses on purpose, because they are the detail our customers write to us about most. On the days you wear one, the handbag stays home, and your phone and keys ride along with you. It is a small thing, and it changes how a dress feels to live in.
You can browse our dresses with real pockets, take a look at the Kwani cotton dress with its deep side pockets, or read our guide on what to look for in a summer dress after 60.
The Sanibel Boutique Style Desk