I have actually had girl pants that had the entire lining of the pockets in them, but the pockets themselves were sewn shut. I don’t just mean a couple of stitches. I mean like someone at the factory took a sewing machine to them.
I hated those pants. Mum gave me so much shit for cutting through the stitching so I could actually use the pockets. To this day I still prefer guy pants because chick pants are fucking ridiculous.
de Combys
Wow. Talk about wasting time and material.
Jamie Crowe
I have recently learned just how bad the situation is. To the point where as of late I’ve realized I’m gonna have to sew new pockets onto all my new jeans. I feel so bad for all of you who’ve had to deal with this shit from birth. Pockets should be a right.
I was wondering the same for Billie’s a few pages ago. Do we live in a nonsense world where short shorts gets real pockets but jeans don’t ? :O
AgentKeen
Yeah, because then the pockets are for looks.
(I would not be surprised it there exist short shorts that either just have pieces of fabric sticking out to simulate the sticking out pockets, or the pockets are just unusable but there for looks).
Fridge_Logik
Given that cut off shorts are often worn skin tight the pockets would be nearly useless since any amount of material inserted in the pockets would create unsightly bulging.
Jack-in-the-Tux
Shorts with pieces of fabric meant to imitate the look of pockets do actually exist.
So do short shorts with real pockets that you can’t use because they’re too tight.
Tawdry Quirks
Yes, such pre-made cutoffs with pockets that stick out beyond the bottom do exist. Strangely enough, I browsed through many of the usual suspects (H&M, Forever21, Urban Outfitters) and couldn’t find a pair of snug cutoff shorts with protruding pocket linings. Closest I could find was this looser fitting pair from Zara.
Yeah, repurposing old “male clothes” to be less dysphoric and more girly can be a good DIY way of getting around difficulties finding girl clothes that are flattering, especially when one is first starting to transition.
Given that Carla has a pretty DIY punk aesthetic on top of that, and well… yeah.
I was recently discussing this with my non-Jean wearing sister and her reaction was that the difference between girl pants and mom jeans made no sense. Girls have as much right to usable pockets as Moms.
I’ve got some skirts with real pockets, and a dress, even. Such things exist, they’re just rare enough that that alone is enough to get my attention when shopping.
Now I’m wondering how much money I could make just selling pockets. Like a little kit where you can cut a hole in the fake pockets, velcro in my new ones, and have functional trousers at last.
The pockets peeking out under the shorts would ANNOY ME SO MUCH OMG. Carla is a much stronger person than me if this doesn’t bother her at all lol. Or if this on purpose, she’s truly a sartorial rebel (even more than the skates, gloves and statement shirts already indicate lol).
There’s a lot about her fashion choices that are just brave as all hell. She’s clearly looked at the internal “passing” debate in trans circles and decided to just nuke it into orbit with a “fuck that noise”. Shirts that hide breasts? Short shorts? Pockets of the converted jeans clearly visible? Fuck it, it’s punk and she’s never going to let herself feel miserable about how she looks ever again.
Short shorts often have pockets peeking out, even girl shorts. It’s just the difference between “I can kinda fit my phone in here” and “I am currently carrying my phone, my wallet, some gum, and the entire state of New Hampshire.”
I had a girlfriend who had a pair of cutoffs (store-bought pre-cut) that she bought partially because they visibly had pockets, only to discover the first time she wore them that the pockets were sewn shut at the top. Not only did they literally exist only to provide the “pockets hanging out the bottom” look, the manufacturer had gone to extra trouble to render otherwise perfectly fine pockets useless.
In my experience, as long as they’re functioning pockets under the stitching, that’s just there so they look good on the hanger
I buy work trousers specifically with pockets (need em working in schools) , and there’s usually a loose stitching that’s easy to unpick to get in there
trlkly
Yeah. Mail suit pockets are also often sewn up like that.
The problem is that a lot of women’s clothing has actual fake pockets–it’s just a sewn on piece of decoration. They can’t be used like a real pocket, even if you took off the top stitching.
Benet
Trust, I know.
Contrary to my name on here, I’ve been wearing women’s clothes all my life.
It’s pockets. You can see the lines of the top of the pockets on the shorts themselves.
On rare occasion, the Fashion Gods will deign to give ladies legwear with the proper amount of pocketage. It’s just that because ladies’ pants are usually made to be tighter, there’s not as much room to put pockets, so they’re either a lot shorter or nonexistent. Pants made with practicality in mind over fashionability will have better pockets.
(Also purses probably factor into there somewhere. Why should the fashion industry give ladies proper pockets when it can corner them into having to buy pants to wear AND purses to keep their stuff in?)
The worst part of all is when the pockets are fake. Fake pockets were probably designed by Satan or something. WHY MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A POCKET IF YOU CAN’T PUT ANYTHING IN IT.
Phone manufacturers are getting in on the game too, by making phones bigger and bigger so they won’t comfortably fit in anything but trenchcoat pockets. (They sell more cases that way.)
N0083rP00F
Welcome to the return of a lady/man purse just to be able to hold a phone that holds everything else you need, except that manicure kit where you only ever use the file. Or mini Swiss army knife.
WolfLann
Hehe. Dunno about that. I have a note 4 which is big for a phone but still fit in my jeans pockets. And I have a pretty big case covering an extended battery.
Not easy to get out when I’m sitting but still comfortable. I usually get it out before sitting when I need it though.
They are real pockets, but those are some tight shorts. She can’t use them. Real pockets are a damn rarity in women’s pants and when they are there the pants are too tight to actually put anything in, let alone a cell phone if you don’t want to press every single button.
I used to have a pair of shorts with cargo style pockets. They were attached at the top only and I had to add a tack stich near the bottom to stop them from flopping around BUT they were AWESOME because I could put anything I wanted in them, including a PB&J in a ziploc. Like I said AWESOME!
Fashion trends have changed in the 6 years since this comic started. I see girls wearing short shorts with protruding pockets all the time now. My guess is that it is done to make the shorts look shorter than they really are.
278 thoughts on “Machinations”
DarkoNeko
One thing I was wondering ; Dorothy said girls don’t get real pockets,so what’s the white tissue area below Carla’s minishorts ?
Mr k
Her panties?
DarkoNeko
Buuu. Answer rejected.
Doctor_Who
Maybe they make panties with pockets?
Shaunock
BILLION. DOLLAR. IDEA.
Silvester Crow
Panty pockets, because it’s harder to steal from them than a purse.
Silvester Crow
Holy shit, they exist.
http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Travel-Zipper-Pocket-Panties/dp/B00K0WZ8UU
Bagge
+1
Deanatay
Great place to keep a vi-
-vacious life-affirming scripture!
Captain Button
I’d think emacs would be better in such tight quarters.
Rowen Morland
Those must have smuggled so many drugs.
de Combys
Probably a lot more so than money.
Cerberus
That’s actually a thing: http://www.amazon.com/Womens-6-Pack-Pocket-Underwear/dp/B00K0WZ97C/
WolfLann
I thought there was some kind of rule of that internet thingy that anything you can think of already exist.
Opus the Poet
It applies to porn and it’s Rule 34.
Dragon_Nataku
I have actually had girl pants that had the entire lining of the pockets in them, but the pockets themselves were sewn shut. I don’t just mean a couple of stitches. I mean like someone at the factory took a sewing machine to them.
I hated those pants. Mum gave me so much shit for cutting through the stitching so I could actually use the pockets. To this day I still prefer guy pants because chick pants are fucking ridiculous.
de Combys
Wow. Talk about wasting time and material.
Jamie Crowe
I have recently learned just how bad the situation is. To the point where as of late I’ve realized I’m gonna have to sew new pockets onto all my new jeans. I feel so bad for all of you who’ve had to deal with this shit from birth. Pockets should be a right.
Doctor_Who
She bought boy shorts and cut the legs off?
DarkoNeko
I was wondering the same for Billie’s a few pages ago. Do we live in a nonsense world where short shorts gets real pockets but jeans don’t ? :O
AgentKeen
Yeah, because then the pockets are for looks.
(I would not be surprised it there exist short shorts that either just have pieces of fabric sticking out to simulate the sticking out pockets, or the pockets are just unusable but there for looks).
Fridge_Logik
Given that cut off shorts are often worn skin tight the pockets would be nearly useless since any amount of material inserted in the pockets would create unsightly bulging.
Jack-in-the-Tux
Shorts with pieces of fabric meant to imitate the look of pockets do actually exist.
So do short shorts with real pockets that you can’t use because they’re too tight.
Tawdry Quirks
Yes, such pre-made cutoffs with pockets that stick out beyond the bottom do exist. Strangely enough, I browsed through many of the usual suspects (H&M, Forever21, Urban Outfitters) and couldn’t find a pair of snug cutoff shorts with protruding pocket linings. Closest I could find was this looser fitting pair from Zara.
K C
I think this is right. She’s trans, and dressing as trans is hard, but and making boy shorts that already fit into short shorts is practical.
Palamdrone
My sister isn’t trans, but growing up she stole my clothes all the time.
Cerberus
Yeah, repurposing old “male clothes” to be less dysphoric and more girly can be a good DIY way of getting around difficulties finding girl clothes that are flattering, especially when one is first starting to transition.
Given that Carla has a pretty DIY punk aesthetic on top of that, and well… yeah.
Plasma Mongoose
Boy pants have decent pockets, something that many girl pants lack.
Needfuldoer
We may not have as much stuff to carry around, but it has to go somewhere.
showler
Bad television tells me that you store all your stuff in your bra.
Needfuldoer
Women might do that, but they generally have purses to carry things in. Guys usually don’t have either of those.
And it’s a bro, thankyouverymuch.
Willoughby Chase
It’s a braw if you’re north of the border. D’ye no ken hen?
showler
Whoops, lost track of the comments and got my girl pants and boy pants mixed up.
Needfuldoer
And I misspell my email address and get another female character as a gravatar, further confusing things…
Context for the second comment)
de Combys
I would’ve never thought you were the same person before you said so… I guess I identify people more by the grav than anything else.
petroden
broad city – nature’s pocket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upK3vFNOvEI
kelticat
I was recently discussing this with my non-Jean wearing sister and her reaction was that the difference between girl pants and mom jeans made no sense. Girls have as much right to usable pockets as Moms.
Betsumei
I’ve got some skirts with real pockets, and a dress, even. Such things exist, they’re just rare enough that that alone is enough to get my attention when shopping.
Doctor_Who
Now I’m wondering how much money I could make just selling pockets. Like a little kit where you can cut a hole in the fake pockets, velcro in my new ones, and have functional trousers at last.
Silamy
All the money. Patent that now.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
Black market pockets?
Romanticide
On rare ocasion someone has pity on us women and we get real pockets…
Bagge
Still pending on those civil rights things. Here, have some pockets while you wait.
Carms
They are ornamental pockets, which no joke exist.
But probably they’re actually pockets. It happens.
caesaria82
The pockets peeking out under the shorts would ANNOY ME SO MUCH OMG. Carla is a much stronger person than me if this doesn’t bother her at all lol. Or if this on purpose, she’s truly a sartorial rebel (even more than the skates, gloves and statement shirts already indicate lol).
Cerberus
There’s a lot about her fashion choices that are just brave as all hell. She’s clearly looked at the internal “passing” debate in trans circles and decided to just nuke it into orbit with a “fuck that noise”. Shirts that hide breasts? Short shorts? Pockets of the converted jeans clearly visible? Fuck it, it’s punk and she’s never going to let herself feel miserable about how she looks ever again.
caesaria82
I just fucking love her the most.
Bagge
“But Carla, maybe you should dress less provocative”
“I could do that… but then again I’M AWESOME”
*Skates off, flips double bird*
Shiro
Short shorts often have pockets peeking out, even girl shorts. It’s just the difference between “I can kinda fit my phone in here” and “I am currently carrying my phone, my wallet, some gum, and the entire state of New Hampshire.”
John
I had a girlfriend who had a pair of cutoffs (store-bought pre-cut) that she bought partially because they visibly had pockets, only to discover the first time she wore them that the pockets were sewn shut at the top. Not only did they literally exist only to provide the “pockets hanging out the bottom” look, the manufacturer had gone to extra trouble to render otherwise perfectly fine pockets useless.
DarkoNeko
This…this is so stupid 😐
StClair
Seconded. 🙁
Benet
In my experience, as long as they’re functioning pockets under the stitching, that’s just there so they look good on the hanger
I buy work trousers specifically with pockets (need em working in schools) , and there’s usually a loose stitching that’s easy to unpick to get in there
trlkly
Yeah. Mail suit pockets are also often sewn up like that.
The problem is that a lot of women’s clothing has actual fake pockets–it’s just a sewn on piece of decoration. They can’t be used like a real pocket, even if you took off the top stitching.
Benet
Trust, I know.
Contrary to my name on here, I’ve been wearing women’s clothes all my life.
Cheshrin
It’s pockets. You can see the lines of the top of the pockets on the shorts themselves.
On rare occasion, the Fashion Gods will deign to give ladies legwear with the proper amount of pocketage. It’s just that because ladies’ pants are usually made to be tighter, there’s not as much room to put pockets, so they’re either a lot shorter or nonexistent. Pants made with practicality in mind over fashionability will have better pockets.
(Also purses probably factor into there somewhere. Why should the fashion industry give ladies proper pockets when it can corner them into having to buy pants to wear AND purses to keep their stuff in?)
The worst part of all is when the pockets are fake. Fake pockets were probably designed by Satan or something. WHY MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A POCKET IF YOU CAN’T PUT ANYTHING IN IT.
Lawzlo
https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/wet-h_pds_025_h-cropped-1.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600
DarkoNeko
AUGH
Needfuldoer
Phone manufacturers are getting in on the game too, by making phones bigger and bigger so they won’t comfortably fit in anything but trenchcoat pockets. (They sell more cases that way.)
N0083rP00F
Welcome to the return of a lady/man purse just to be able to hold a phone that holds everything else you need, except that manicure kit where you only ever use the file. Or mini Swiss army knife.
WolfLann
Hehe. Dunno about that. I have a note 4 which is big for a phone but still fit in my jeans pockets. And I have a pretty big case covering an extended battery.
Not easy to get out when I’m sitting but still comfortable. I usually get it out before sitting when I need it though.
Reltzik
I think she’s just tucked her shirt in and it goes down that far.
Amias
They are real pockets, but those are some tight shorts. She can’t use them. Real pockets are a damn rarity in women’s pants and when they are there the pants are too tight to actually put anything in, let alone a cell phone if you don’t want to press every single button.
N0083rP00F
I used to have a pair of shorts with cargo style pockets. They were attached at the top only and I had to add a tack stich near the bottom to stop them from flopping around BUT they were AWESOME because I could put anything I wanted in them, including a PB&J in a ziploc. Like I said AWESOME!
Griffin
I mean I do have short shorts with pockets. It does happen. It’s not like girl’s shorts never have them.
Ahecht
Fashion trends have changed in the 6 years since this comic started. I see girls wearing short shorts with protruding pockets all the time now. My guess is that it is done to make the shorts look shorter than they really are.
Captain Button
Willis is a Secret Master of Fashion?
Or just a fashion seer?
Recycle
how did this entire thread happen without someone telling you they’re called daisy dukes
they’re called daisy dukes
butts
“my revenge will be TOTALLY SICKNASTY, yo”
Mr k
What will it be?
JessWitt
More like SNACKTASTY.
gkheyf
more cookies plz or taking cookies for granted or some such?
Doctor_Who