How important are dresses with pockets?

Pocket this: 75% of women want more dresses with pockets

You asked, we listened. Plenty of us will know the feeling of looking at a new dress or skirt, and feeling nothing short of elated when we discover that it is in fact, a dress with pockets, rather than one without.

We believe that the addition of pockets gives you more freedom in your outfits, allowing you to leave your bag at home while still carrying the essentials. Just how important are pockets to UK women though? We’re here to bring joy to your wardrobe, so the team at Nobody’s Child surveyed 1,000 UK women to see just how much a skirt or dress with pockets would impact our happiness when choosing clothes. It’s the study you didn't know you needed – and our team is busy behind-the-scenes incorporating all these statistics into future designs so you get everything you need from a Nobody’s Child dress. You’re welcome.

75% of women are desperate for dresses with pockets

Add to bag: dress with pockets

Our study found that three-quarters (75%) of women feel that pockets on a dress or skirt make it more desirable. This can actually have an impact on whether we’ll put an item in our basket or not – as almost three in five (59%) stated that if a dress or skirt has pockets they would be more likely to make the purchase.

We found that London women require pockets the most, as 68% said they would be influenced to purchase a dress or skirt because it has pockets. This was followed by women in the North East and Eastern England, as two-thirds (65%) of women in both areas said they’d be more likely to buy a dress if it had pockets as a feature. Clearly there’s a demand for female pockets, so we’ve put together our top Nobody’s Child picks, launching a brand new Dresses with Pockets collection.

Why don’t women’s clothes have more pockets?

Three in five (61%) women feel that not enough women’s clothing has pockets.

If pockets in women’s clothing are a desired feature, why is it an added bonus, and not standard? We’ve made it our mission to find out more. According to the V&A, in the 17th century, the development of tie-on pockets was revolutionary for women’s clothing.These were looped around a woman’s waist and accessed through openings in their dress and petticoats – making them difficult to reach in comparison to men’s sewn-in pockets. However, they were still incredibly popular at the time due to the functionality and independence they offered. As time went on, fashion’s changed and figure-framing cuts took over, leaving women once again without pockets. However, there have been activist campaigns to make women’s clothing more functional throughout history and as women joined the workforce, they began to wear the trousers – quite literally, with pockets.

Trying on dress pockets for size

Even if you find a dress with pockets, it still may not fit everything you need, as half (52%) of women state clothes with pockets are still too small for their belongings.

Of our study, women in the South East (67%), Yorkshire and Humberside (67%) and Scotland (66%) were the most likely to feel that women’s clothing still has a lack of pockets. Meanwhile, three in five London women (60%) find that women’s pockets are too small to hold what they want. This was followed by Northern Irish women (58%) and women in the North East (57%). Studies have found that women’s pockets are still almost half the size of men’s.

Nobody’s Child Dresses with Pockets Collection

We all need a LBD in our wardrobe, now you can find the black dress with pockets too.

To help shoppers on their journey, we’ve launched a brand new Dresses with Pockets Collection designed to make shopping for practical and stylish pieces easier. Covering all lengths from mini, maxi, and midi dresses, shop the collection now.

This is the study you didn’t know you needed… and the dresses (with pockets) you do.

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