"Fake pockets are literally the bane of my existence." said Barbie Hawkins, a tailor at Primo Tailoring.

"I see men walking around with their phones in their pockets, jealous. because we can't." noted Elizabeth Kessler, an employee at Jo's Brooklyn Bagels.

"So it's very inconvenient when I'm trying to put stuff in my pocket that i might lose, easily. and, there are no pockets." said Madeline Emerson, a Gannon student. 

"It will seem like it has a pocket, but they aren't usable. You can't use them," said Dina Csir, owner of Dina's Authentic Dominican Kitchen. "So that's a little strange, I think."

In past centuries, pockets in women's clothing were unnecessary as women left the house much less than men. Pockets also disrupted the sleek and fitted design popular in women's fashion. By the time women started getting out of the house more, they had something else to carry their belongings; purses. And style wise, sleek and fitted has stayed popular.

"So to have a sleek and fitted type of look your not having the extra layers, accessories, coats," said Daisy Clark, manager at Dollhouse at Pointe Foure. Clark studied fashion design and manages the shop that specializes in vintage clothing. "You don't want anything disrupting that nice, clean cut form that your trying to pull off in your outfit. so pockets most of the time, they will give you some extra width in the hips or on the backside area."

Over the decades, pockets entered women's fashion, but more for aesthetics than practicality.

"They want to keep the same features of the pocket aesthetic, to keep that same psychology going, but its more about being form fitting," said Louis Geramita, owner of Primo Tailoring. "So just by removing them, you keep the aesthetic, drop the function. So don't give women deep pockets or they'll fill them and the pants won't fit as well anymore."

Past disrupting the 'look' of an outfit, the chance to fill a pocket would result in less reason to buy accessories.

"In statistics, you can definitely see that the typical consumer that buys the majority of things are women, not men," said Clark. "If we can keep women in a box some way where they can't carry everything they need, it just creates a new need. which would be a handbag, or a purse, or a book bag."

Fake pockets help keep the handbag industry thriving, but also meets the diverse style preferences of women today.