Donald Pittenger writes:

Dear Blowhards --

How's your line?

Is it trim and sleek? Or are you like me.

I got to thinking about this the other day when I was swapping out the contents of the pockets of my blue jeans to a clean pair of trousers. I was inspecting the reverse side of the pocket where I dump coins and recalled the horror from olden days when I might notice that the cloth was wearing thin or even developing a hole due to the weight and shifting of those coins. After all, once that pocket went, those pants were finished as well.

Of course this would be a non-issue if I were of the set that never puts anything into pants pockets.

Alas, I've always believed that pockets were made for stuffin'. For example, my right-rear pocket is for my wallet. (I used to put a card-carrier in the left-rear one, but with great effort abandoned that practice and thinned down my plastic so that they fit in the wallet.) The left front pocket is for car keys and ChapStick, the right front for coins, and both might hold a Kleenex or two.

This post isn't about shirts, but I might as well add that my shirt pocket holds a dazzling array comprised of a calendar, Starbucks cards, scraps of notepaper and a few Tums for emergency aid for my poor, battered esophagus. Plus a ballpoint pen. And yes, it was a sad day indeed when shirtmakers economized by dropping the right-hand pocket.

I can get away with this because men tend to be sloppy, practical sorts and I can blend in with the crowd -- or hope I do, anyway.

On the other hand, my wife's trousers have pockets that are almost never used. This is surely because objects of any size would do strange things to her feminine figure. Conclusion: pockets on womens' pants are primarily decorative elements.

Then there are men who walk around with empty pants pockets. I can understand this where the guy's appearance is an important career maintenance factor: think executives, movie stars and such.

But otherwise...?

Let us know your take on pockets in Comments. I'm especially curious where guys put their wallets, car keys, change and so forth if they avoid putting those items in pants pockets.

Later,

Donald

Depends on the occasion. If it's a normal work day, right back pocket is for wallet, left front for keys, right front for cash and chap-stick and small pocket knife (side note: I've never carried cash in my wallet, always in my pocket, much easier to get to and keeps my wallet slimmer).

If I'm out on the town (ha! like that ever happens more than once or twice a year), then I unhook my car key from the rest of the keychain, take my driver's license and ATM card out of the wallet and travel light.

I might add, a man without a pocket knife (even better, a Leatherman type of all-in-one tool) is a bit annoying.

Posted by: JV on February 8, 2010 7:39 PM

I only use my pockets for keys and phone. The rest of everything goes into the leather satchel.

Posted by: Spike Gomes on February 9, 2010 2:21 AM

I used to keep my wallet in my back pocket, but I guess I just couldn't keep it small enough, and it ended up causing all sorts of chiropractic problems. So for the last seven years or so my wallet stays in my front left pocket, and my phone usually rides above it in the same pocket.

My back right pocket keeps my 3-4 gift cards that I keep money on and some miscellaneous coupons, and my back left is my scraps file: receipts, business cards, ATM statements, things I wrote down and need to get back to. My right front pocket is for change, my keys, a pen, a thumbdrive and a pocket flashlight. I could never remember to leave my pocketknives at home when I went to airports and kept getting them confiscated, thus I just stopped carrying one, and keep a Leatherman in my desk drawer now.

It's actually such a pain to transfer all this from one pair of pants to another, that it's typical for me to wear the same pair of pants for 3-4 days at a time. I telecommute and don't get out much during the week, so it doesn't matter much socially.

I noticed that my wife chose her phone largely on whether it would fit in her pocket without making much of a bump, and that's pretty much the only thing she'll ever put in any pants pockets, and only if she doesn't feel like carrying a purse.

Posted by: Dave in Oly on February 9, 2010 3:24 AM

I can't carry my keys in my pants pocket comfortably, there are too many of them. I only do it when I have no choice. When I'm working, they go in my briefcase when I don't need them. Since I usually wear cargo pants or shorts when I'm not working, they can go in one of the thigh pockets. In a real pinch they can go in a front jeans pocket.

Anyway, usual contents:

Right Front:

1) Silver Eagle. This is something I like to carry and fiddle with. It's a great conversation starter, most people these days have never seen a real silver coin and even fewer have seen one of the gorgeous silver Eagles.

2) Single-bladed locking knife. I collect knives and I rotate various ones. Right now I'm carrying a Boker ceramic knife which belonged to my father, who died in December.

3) Loose change, although not much and for no longer than it takes to either get in my car and dump it in the console or dump it at home.

Left Front:

1) Personal cell phone if I'm not wearing a jacket it can go in. This also goes in a thigh pocket if I'm wearing cargo pants/shorts.

2) Work cell phone ditto.

Right Rear:

1) Wallet. I only carry bi-fold leather wallets. That's just what I like.

If wearing cargo pants/shorts:

Right thigh:

1) Swiss Army knife. I collect these too - it's usually a large locking one (I had a bad experience with a non-locking knife once.) Sometimes it's one of their Cyber models which look pretty cool and are surprisingly useful even if they don't lock. When I'm working this lives in my briefcase.

2) Keys.

Left thigh:

1) Work cell phone.

2) Personal cell phone.

If I'm shooting outside, I try very hard to put anything I might want access to fast (lens cloth, lens cap, stuff like that) in my thigh pockets, which means the phones and keys get moved up to the waist pockets.

Posted by: MarcW on February 9, 2010 10:00 AM

I fill my pockets. If they're unavailable, I fill my sporran.

Posted by: dearieme on February 9, 2010 2:11 PM

Right front pocket, handkerchief and loose change.

Left front pocket, cell phone, almost always set to vibrate so I don't annoy other people.

Shirt pocket, USB drive.

Everything else goes into my man-bag,

Posted by: art.the.nerd on February 9, 2010 4:24 PM

Right front pocket: empty, unless driving when it has my wallet.

Left front pocket: keys. However, I own 4 pairs of pants that have a double right front pocket. consequently I often carry keys in interior pocket to lessen bulge and keep a flatter look.

Left rear pocket: ironed white handkerchief and very slim all metal Swiss army knife. Almost a lady's knife.

Right rear pocket: wallet

Posted by: Larry on February 9, 2010 6:56 PM

No offense, but this place is turning into some kind of spoof, what happens when an old man gets a blog. Pretty funny, actually.

Posted by: MQ on February 9, 2010 8:07 PM

Left front: wallet and any loose change.
Right front: keys and cell phone.
Usually nothing in back pockets.

Posted by: Peter on February 9, 2010 9:45 PM

Left front pocket - wallet

Right front pocket - keys, change, pocketknife (if I have one)

Back pockets - temp storage of misc documents (parking/checkroom receipts, ticket stubs, etc).

Posted by: Rich Rostrom on February 9, 2010 10:05 PM

MQ:

I'm kinda digging it. It's like a conservative version of American Splendor, only interactive!

Posted by: Spike Gomes on February 10, 2010 1:31 AM

@JV:
Carrying a pocketknife is a tough if you travel a lot. The TSA has stolen two in the last few years when I forgot to take them off my keyring before the trip. If I remember to hide it in my luggage, they usually don't see it, but usually I forget that too!

Posted by: crazytrainmatt on February 10, 2010 2:23 PM

Left front: personal key ring (about ten keys) and a tiny Swiss Army knife I bought at a checkout counter at a discount store almost as a joke, but which has served me very well since.

Right front: Car keys and two rings (connected to each other) of work keys--an e-fob and thirteen keys to spaces in three separate buildings. Only the fob and three keys get any kind of regular use. And spare change.

Right rear: bifold wallet that's bulky enough to eventually wear a hole in any pair of pants I own.
(Some of my old friends make fun of me for putting my bills in order from largest to smallest, not understanding how convenient it is. Worse, they think I make them all face the same way. I mean, how silly would that be? And besides, one of them uses one of those little rubber coin pouches!)

Posted by: Narr on February 11, 2010 6:17 PM

Good point about the pocketknife and traveling. Still, there have been so many times when it's come in handy, I try not to leave home without one.

MQ - I love this particular post of Donald's. Very practical and an overlooked topic. Plus, I think you can tell a lot about a man by what he carries with him and where he carries it. Care to share?

Posted by: JV on February 11, 2010 7:52 PM

Left front - keys
Left back - wallet
Right front - change (rarely used)
Right back - 3x5 card, pencil (rarely used)

Posted by: Ed on February 12, 2010 4:46 PM

Guide (and some exemplars) for improving silhouette and "personal economy," folks.

Side R/L pockets: empty, often as possible
(except diminutive items like Chapstick; single piece, individually-wrapped gum or mint; MarcW's lens cloth, indeed; or art's USB drive I suppose)

Any trousers with Front pockets: always empty.

Rear subordinate pocket (infrequent access):
slim leather ID case (never wallet) with
1 ATM & 1 Credit card; License, Occupational ID (e.g. my university, which serves doubly as Library and Fitness ID -- daily access for me, but respective to cards essential for routine, only); Health Insurance card; minimal cash.
(Note, smartphone vCard replaces business card, which could be carried in small quantities if absolutely necessary -- but even then, better in jacket.)

Rear prevalent pocket: smartphone.
(note logic of Dave's wife, above; I just "downsized" to HTC Hero/Android.)

If necessary, sans jacket, on rear subordinate pocket's belt loop: micro carabiner
(non-climbing grade for me, but this is merely preference for lightweight)
with ring of keys (2-3 max; ancillary set of infrequent use stored securely, e.g. tote, car, office).
Otherwise, keys belong in side jacket pockets, like high-quality pen and accoutrements (e.g. Chapstik, gum/mint, handkerchief/tissue, 1 oz. anti-bacterial or moisturizer in winter, if desired/needed).

Posted by: Gary on February 18, 2010 2:31 PM






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