Pockets News
One Old Navy store in Dallas to hide gifts in pockets of spring dresses
Old Navy knows that a dress with a pocket is everything.
A national retailer is giving women exactly what they want: pockets.
Old Navy, the clothing and accessories company owned by The Gap, is hosting an event at five stores across the U.S. including a Dallas store at The Shops at Park Lane.
The chain is inviting customers to join their celebration of dresses with pockets at five of its top-selling locations, where shoppers can find tokens worth $20 hidden in pockets of their new spring dresses.
This event will take place on April 1 at these five locations:
- Dallas: 8170 Park Ln. #124
- New York: 150 W 34th St
- New York: 610 Avenue of the Americas
- Roseville, California: 1244 Galleria Blvd.
- Jacksonville, Florida: 10261 River Marsh Dr.
A spokesperson did not reveal how many $20 tokens would be at the store.
Old Navy is so down with pockets that it is doubling its inventory of dresses with pockets in its Spring 2023 line.
Pockets are actually a political thing, tied to women’s independence, and have countless memes dedicated to their liberating effect.
Centuries ago, men were in charge of holding money, documents, and keys, and got pockets. According to London's Victoria and Albert Museum, women didn't merit pockets because they did not have their own money to put in them.
The London Spectator demeaningly reported that "women had four external bulges already – two breasts and two hips – and a money pocket inside their dress would make an ungainly 5th."
It wasn't much better in the 20th century, when fashion designer Christian Dior allegedly stated that "men have pockets to keep things in, women for decoration."
"If a 20th century woman wanted to bring anything with her, the only option was to carry a bag," notes CTV News.
To prop up its pocket initiative, Old Navy conducted a survey in February 2023 and found:
- Over 50 percent of women say their favorite dresses have pockets.
- 73 percent say pockets are an important haven for their hands, for warmth, or as a place for them in awkward situations.
- 71 percent say discovering that a new frock has pockets is an instant mood booster.
- 88 percent say they love the surprise of finding something they forgot about in a pocket.
Another survey conducted in 2018 found that women's pockets are nearly 50 percent smaller than men's pockets — a size difference that "perpetuates and reinforces gender inequality and is a manifestation of patriarchy," said Chair of Ryerson School of Fashion Ben Barry in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca.
U.S. website The Pudding measured the pockets on 80 pairs of men's and women's jeans with the same waist size and found that women's front jean pockets are 48 percent shorter and 6.5 percent narrower than men's.
Only 40 percent of women's front pockets were able to fit the iPhone X, 20 percent a Samsung Galaxy, and 5 percent the Google Pixel. Less than half of women's front pockets would fit a wallet specifically designed for front pockets.
And while 100 percent of men's pockets could handle the average male hand, only 10 percent of women's could fit a woman's hand.
Old Navy to the rescue, who've created an entire website for their pocket-clad dress styles at www.oldnavy.com/pockets.
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