Saturday, October 20, 2012

might be time for a fanny pack

i've been pondering a question for quite a while now. it perplexes me daily and annoys me often. it makes me furrow my brow and snark into the air at the stupidity of this situation.

what are women's clothing designers thinking when they don't give women pockets?! so many of my clothes (and brooke's) have either no pockets or tiny little snips of pockets that aren't big enough to hold anything but a stick of gum and an earring.

i realize that it probably appears smoother when looking at a woman's silhouette with no pockets, but honestly, i don't give a rip about that. i want to be able to stuff my phone and keys into my pocket rather than always having to carry a purse which i have to zip and unzip constantly to get things that i use often. if i feel the need for smooth lines, i can chose to keep my pockets empty, but i'd really like to be able to make that decision for myself.

i've also discovered that all workout clothes are pocketless. wait, let me take that back and revise it slightly. ALMOST all workout clothes are pocket-free except for the few that have an itty bitty credit card sized slice of a pocket with no form of closure. i wouldn't even trust a single key to stay put in that pocket and my phone certainly won't fit.

how are we supposed to go safely out into the world to exercise when we have no keys, phone, or ID on our bodies? or is it our jobs, as female exercisers, to creatively solve this dilemma ourselves? i've been stuffing my phone and key into my bra, but when i get up any speed jogging, the phone slides around and is at risk of getting sloshy in the sweatiness that is a sports bra. i usually stuff it between two of my bras to keep it from direct skin contact, but that just makes it slide more.

a couple days ago i found a little mesh necklace bag, so i put my key and phone into that and tied the strings into the drawstring of my stretchy pocketless pants. i was rather pleased with myself for my clever solution, but i caught a glimpse of myself walking past a glass door and and it looked like i had a sparkly loin cloth dangling from my groin. not exactly the look i was going for.

i tucked the whole shebang down inside my pants and then felt like a dude with a package. when i jogged i was distracted by it and i felt like i needed a cigarette afterwards. when i slowed to a walk, i almost expected to hear a throaty chuckle coming from my pants, followed by the never-classy "wham, bam, thank you, ma'am."

as much as i resist it, i think the time has come for a fanny pack. dang it.

29 comments:

  1. Yes Sherry I agree with this so much! I just can't understand clothes manufacturers who make clothes without pocket, it's so annoying! I have this pair of pyjamas without pockets and it's such a nuisance, maybe it is time you purchased yourself a fanny pack haha.

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  2. "A sparkly loin cloth dangling from my groin." Mrs. C's birthday is coming up. Where can I get her one of these?

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  3. You have spent many years living in fear of becoming your mother. Well, ha ha ha, it's happening more and more frequently as the years pile up! One day you will wake up and realize that there's nothing left of you except me. So sorry.

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  4. You may have noticed that virtually every picture of me on my recent mission trip includes my lovely pack that I refuse to be without. That's the only way to always have quick access to my camera, sunscreen, money, gum, and an emergency granola bar without having to carry a dumb purse around all day. Sacrificing fashion is worth it for convenience!

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  5. This was very interesting because I'm the complete opposite. Many times I have wondered why on earth any designer would put pockets on women's clothes. Why would I squeeze into spanx to try to slim my oversized hips, only to make them look even bigger than they actually are by attaching giant flaps of unused fabric to them? I guess it never occurred to me that anyone would want to use their pockets instead of a purse. The workout pants I can see the issue - I wouldn't want to hold my keys through a run either. It doesn't come up for me because I don't work out outside. If I were running outside, I really would consider a fanny pack, looks be damned.

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    1. i like to be hands free as often as possible, so if i can use pockets rather than purse, it makes me happy.

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  6. Yeah, I don't know why we are deprived of pockets!!

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  7. I want pockets. Even in skirts and dresses. Maybe I will ask for pockets for Christmas. Good idea.

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  8. I have this problem when I'm out running, too. I require so much crap just to get through a measly couple of miles....a phone, headphones, ipod, keys, chapstick. I'm high maintenance, and someone needs to come up with a solution to this ASAP!

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    1. what do you do with all your stuff? btw, i just read about keeping ourselves and our kids safe from predators. they say the number one thing a predatory male looks for in a snatch-n-grab situation is a girl with headphones on. makes you way easier to sneak up on. you've been warned.

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  9. Yes, especially for workout clothes! I don't want to take my purse to the gym (whenever I actually go). And I want to put my ipod somewhere when I go for a walk! Bah!

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  10. Sadly, I was just looking at them in Walmart the other day. That and the arm band that holds your phone/music.

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    1. i checked out an armband thing a couple days ago and it wasn't big enough to fit my phone. my phone's not even a big one. boo.

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  11. Not the fanny pack! Noooo!!!! My mom wears one and so does my brother in law.
    All my pants have pockets. It's a requirement.

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  12. I usually have to take my purse with me when I go to the gym due to lack of pockets. I always feel weird doing that but I have no choice. I don't feel safe leaving it in the locker room.

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  13. I'm currently watching a soap on TV with the family. Ten minutes ago, Mrs Jones let out a shrill scream; her mobile phone (which she also tucks into her bra) had vibrated. Such improvisations are not without risk!

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    1. it makes for unexpected excitement at times. you should call her. she'll love it.

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  14. Dude!...."i tucked the whole shebang down inside my pants and then felt like a dude with a package."....Classic!

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    1. teehee! i liked how i worked "shebang" into that sentence.

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  15. funny--lately I've decided that I HATE purses. Yes, how can I be a woman and hate purses? I'm supposed to be in love with them. But, I don't want some big, stupid bag slipping off my shoulder every two seconds, swinging around and bumping me in the head if I go to try on shoes. Maybe it's time to invent that thing that holds just enough particulars to exercise, and still look cool and keep our crap where we need it.

    The giant purses are the worst! Yeah, they may be stylish, but you almost need a purse within a purse just to hold those 6 vital items.

    Mostly I just wear these heinous, over-sized, falling-down walmart jeans. They're full of pockets, but you're right: none of the workout clothes are.

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    1. i've been a big purse carrier for years, but i'm almost over it. either no purse or just a tiny little thing is all i want anymore.
      another thing i've noticed about pockets is that as the clothing get smaller, the pockets do too. that sounds logical, but my phone and/or hands can barely even fit into my jeans pockets anymore. i used to wonder why some women carried their phones in their back pockets, but now i understand. tighter jeans make it super hard to get into front pockets.

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  16. YES. Jeans with fake pockets in the front annoyyyy me. And I have two pair that are like that. Ugh. As far as exercise, I'm confined to a gym most of the time, so I have a gym bag...which I place in a locker w/ a lock...and then I had to sew a pocket into one of my socks to hold the key to my lock. On the rare occasion I do go running, I have an arm band for my phone (since I also use it as my mp3 player). Most of my running pants have a drawstring at the waist, so I pull the keyfob for my car (if I'm away from the house) off the rest of the keychain & just tie it onto the drawstring. Double knotted, because I'm paranoid like that.

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    1. a pocket sewn into a sock? that's a good idea! i sew pockets into pajama pants for my daughter and myself all the time. maybe i should just do the same thing with some of my gym clothes.

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  17. I don't care how a fanny pack would look. It has to be better than shoving my wallet inside the waistband of my shorts, only to have it slip through into my underwear. On the other hand, then I could come into money. ;-)

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  18. Sprarkly loin cloth- HA! Love it. And this post is so pertinent. I have especially been bothered by having no pockets since I am required to have tons of stuff all the time for baby! I found myself putting my lipgloss into my kids' jeans the other day!

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  19. Gah! I have SO totally been there with the phone and jogging and the boob sweat! I think even one of my phones was ruined this way- stopped working, and when I called Tmobile they had me check some sticker inside that had turned a color. They said I had got it wet, but I had never dropped it anywhere. Must have been the boob sweat.

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  20. LOL, not the fanny pack!! I am sad to say that I do not think they will ever come back with any sort of cool-factor. Totally relate though - at the gym, I was either putting my iPhone/ipod down the waistband of my yoga pants (rough when I'd start getting sweaty), or up in the top of my sports bra (same prob as in the waistband). Neither of these options were pleasant. I bought one of those iPod arm strap holder things and hated it. I do however, have a locker at the gym for my keys and stuff, which is good. Still quite a dilemma, at least when I'm walking I wear a track jacket and have a decent pocket to stuff my stuff in. Maybe it's time to invent something...

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  21. I hear ya! I broke down and bought an iPod Nano that I can clip to my shirt. What to do with the other stuff, I have no idea. I work out in a gym (I refuse to run outside), so I usually wear a hoodie and stuff the pockets with all my crap. Then I just carry the hoodie and my water bottle around the gym. In addition to the pockets issue, can yoga pants also do something about the camel toe, please? I'm all good as long as I stand perfectly still, but one squat with the weights and the jig is up.

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don't let me be the only one doing the talking around here. spill your guts!