Text originally published in A Children’s Guide to Splendour by Isaac du Toit and Megan du Toit (2019).
Pockets were a separate item of clothing.
Have a look at the ones on display in
Splendour (as pictured below). From the 17th
century to the late 19th century most
women had at least one pair of pockets,
which served a similar purpose as a handbag
today. They were tied around the waist and
usually worn underneath their petticoats. Of
course there were no mobile phones or
money cards to keep in your pockets back
then.
'Pickpockets' would sometimes steal pockets by cutting the strings that held them.
In the late 18th century women's fashions changed. Dresses had a high waistline and skirts fell close to the body and legs as in the painting below of Princess Charlotte. Pockets could no longer be hidden under clothing. Women began to use decorative bags carried over the arm instead.
'Pickpockets' would sometimes steal pockets by cutting the strings that held them.
In the late 18th century women's fashions changed. Dresses had a high waistline and skirts fell close to the body and legs as in the painting below of Princess Charlotte. Pockets could no longer be hidden under clothing. Women began to use decorative bags carried over the arm instead.
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| Portrait of Princess Charlotte of Wales, circa 1817, by George Dawe. Gift of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, 1936. Te Papa (1936-0012-92) |
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