The pockets on women's clothing are generally smaller than those on men's clothing, sometimes almost symbolic, or blind pockets – a pocket lock without any function. Outerwear usually lacks inner pockets.
We humans have always needed to carry more than what fits in our hands. And for a very long time, men and women did the same.
One can go back to the 12th century, when people had a pouch that they carried with them, like a small bag, and there they kept personal belongings, says Emma Severinsson, lecturer in fashion science at Lund University.
This was later replaced by a type of pocket. Not sewn into the clothes, but more like loose pockets that were tied with a belt or attached to a hook. The Nordic Museum's collections include examples of such pockets, often beautifully embroidered, from as far back as the 17th century. This type of pocket was used in folk costumes for a long time and can still be seen in folk costumes today.
Slits on the sides
The pockets were carried outside or inside the clothes. Those carried outside were often decorated with embroidery, while those carried inside were simpler. Older skirts often have slits on the sides so that you can reach a pocket under the skirt.
The 1700s fashion with skirts that were wide over the hips offered plenty of storage opportunities.
Especially during the second half of the 1700s, people had poches, a device to get the skirt out. There you can put as much as you want, says Leif Wallin, curator of costume and fashion at the Nordic Museum.
But then something happens that marks the beginning of the end for women's pockets.
In the late 1700s, early 1800s, when the empire style arrives and the waistline moves up towards the bust and the dresses are no longer as voluminous, it becomes impossible for women to have pockets because they are visible, says Emma Severinsson.
The fabrics were also thinner, and the slightest thing you carried under would show and ruin the overall impression.
The solution was to move the pocket further from the body and carry it in your hand. Instead of having things in your pockets, you put them in a reticule (a small fabric bag).
It's the loose pocket that's lifted away and becomes the beginning of a handbag, explains Leif Wallin.
More width
When the fashion with crinolines came in the mid-1800s and there was more fabric in the skirts again, the pockets didn't quite keep up. There are pockets in dresses, but now they are often smaller and sewn into the garments instead of being loose. During the latter part of the 1800s, when dresses start to narrow over the hips, there are even fewer pockets.
Somewhere around here, the difference emerges in how women and men carry their belongings, although there are of course exceptions. Leif Wallin notes that older clothes were not mass-produced like today, but if you needed pockets, you simply sewed them on.
In the Nordic Museum's collections, there is a dress from 1954 that belonged to journalist Else Kleen-Möller and has pockets both on the sides and a breast pocket – another rarity on women's clothing.
The 1950s saw a resurgence of pockets, says Leif Wallin.
Then they came back big time. They were a great way to emphasize the narrow waist on Dior's New Look.
Whether they actually served a function as pockets or mainly to accentuate the hips is unclear. Blind pockets are not uncommon on women's clothing.
Self-evident part
Despite there being room for pockets when cargo pants, oversized, and workwear were in fashion, the bag has retained its position.
The handbag has become such a self-evident part, and it's reinforced by the fact that women are expected to carry more, says Emma Severinsson.
We have keys and wallets and phones, but we're also expected to carry a little makeup, maybe a hairbrush. It says something about why the handbag exists.
The handbag has also a clear gender coding, she notes.
When the "man bag" trend started about 20 years ago, it couldn't be a handbag because there's such a clear gender coding in it.
Become a status symbol
The handbag has also become a status symbol and a cash cow for fashion houses. In 1955, Chanel launched its classic quilted bag, groundbreaking because it had shoulder straps that allowed women to have both hands free.
In 1984, Hermès created the Birkin bag when actress Jane Birkin complained to Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight that there were no stylish bags that worked for a young mother.
A handbag is also something we often use for a longer period, and it's often described as an investment to buy an expensive bag, says Emma Severinsson.
Since then, the bag is also something personal. You carry the things you need in life, and a little extra for safety's sake, and you carry them close to you.
It's both something you carry with you all the time, but also very personal what you carry with you. And somehow, it also feels very intimate to rummage through someone else's bag.
On November 1, 2023, a ban on bags was introduced at all larger events in Sweden. The decision was made against the backdrop of an increased terror threat level from three to four.
All larger events for public visitors, such as concerts, festivals, and sports events that require permits, are covered by the ban. Demonstrations are not included.
For certain events, the police can decide on a ban on bags larger than 40x40x20 centimeters.
