Pocket The A pouch or a style statement? Robin Dutt digs deep in search of a tailor's secret art A


lmost everyone will know this quaint rhyme from the late Georgian or Regency period. And of course, the 'pocket' referred to is in fact a small reticule and


not a pocket at all. Oh and by the by, Kitty Fisher is now a restaurant. Time for a Lucy Locket? But here is something worth considering. Nothing was in Lucy's pocket. And this is a direct connection with a Savile Row suit. Pockets are sewn up to protect in transit and those left open expect to remain inviolate. But better by far to never cut any threads that seal, so the wearer never destroys the line of the garment with cash, cards, keys and the general detritus of the day. Hands should also know their place. The word, pocket, derives from Middle English meaning, a pouch. Of course, pockets can be functional but


these are usually, internal and apart from the interior breast pocket most coats today on the Row feature spaces for 'phones and a pen or a bespoke request. Imagine a garment without pockets. It seems wrong or ironically or purposefully minimalist - a designer statement. Bayode Oduwole and Claire


Pringle named their tailoring business, Pokit, a charming and endearing new spelling of a device which to many may seem an irrelevance but for those in the know, of great importance. A pocket can deliberately destroy or


fabulously finish a garment. This writer has a hatred (fear?) of jetted pockets - the Lord alone knows why. Perhaps it is because for all their neatness, they look wanting and so the garment unfinished. He adores flaps, pockets at a strident angle (Thierry Mugler), square patch pockets, rounded off square patch pockets (so 1970s), Frog mouth pockets for trousers (especially Cavalry twill varieties), or those that are allies of the silk of the silk stripe which runs the length of an evening trouser. A waistcoat pocket was once the home of a pocket watch and it is a joy to see recently, a few men bringing back, we might say, say, a timeless tradition. Then of course, there is the concealed pleasure of the pocket in the tail of an evening coat. Ah...and then the ticket pocket (only for a ticket please - single or return) in a robust tweed - so redolent of, say, 'Brief Encounter.' All good pockets have character and some, purpose. Your tailor will advise. He won't leave you out of pocket.


LUCY LOCKET LOST HER POCKET, KITTY FISHER FOUND IT;


NOT A PENNY WAS THERE IN IT, ONLY RIBBON ROUND IT


50 SAVILE ROW STYLE MAGAZINE


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