How a viral wedding photo reminded women everywhere that dresses with pockets are excellent

Functional fashion is in 
Getty Images
Sabrina Carder31 January 2019

Pockets. Who knew they could be such a talking point?

All it took was a tweet by writer Nell Goddard about her friend's wedding for the world to discover that women feel very strongly about pockets.

The bride and her bridesmaids went viral for wearing floor length dresses with, yes, you guessed it, pockets.

Bridesmaid Nell tweeted the snap of the bridal party with the caption: "My friend got married last month and her dress and the bridesmaids’ dresses ALL HAD POCKETS." The post has garnered over 14,000 likes and hundreds of comments, many calling the bridal group's ensembles "oustanding" and "divine".

More importantly, the image gave us all a reminder about the magic of a dress with pockets.

In a world where our wardrobes mostly favour form over functionailty, pocket dresses offer the perfect balance.

There's nothing unusual about a casual frock - think a pinafore or tea dress - adorned with pockets, but slowly these handy compartments are making an appearance in bridal and occasionwear, too. The fusion of an elegant silouette and a contrasting, traditionally, masculine trouser pocket shouldn't work, but it does - and it feels powerful.

Always at the forefront of emerging trends, a slew of stylish A-listers have been championing the silouette during the 2019 awards season.

Kaley Cuoco attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards
Getty Images

The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco wore a floor-length Monique Lhuillier gown to the Golden Globe Awards in the first week of January.

Gemma Chan arrives for the 24th Critics' Choice Awards
AFP/Getty Images

Quickly following suit was Crazy Rich Asians actress Gemma Chan, who wore an eye catching floral design by Jason Wu to the Critics' Choice Awards. The feminine gown was cleverly given an androgynous twist thanks to the addition of two large side pockets.

Victoria Beckham at the British Fashion Awards 218
AFP/Getty Images

But it was none other than Victoria Beckham who started the red carpet trend when she arrived at the British Fashion Awards in December 2018 wearing one of her own pocket-laden designs.

Celebrity stylist at The Wall Group, Aimee Croysdill, who has worked with the likes of Lara Stone, Natalie Dormer and Sally Hawkins, explains that stars often love the look because it makes them feel more comfortable: "It’s like having a prop," she says."It can turn you into someone who looks very relaxed but actually most women feel quite rigid when wearing a dress as they’re out of their comfort zone."

Aimee has seen a rise in pocket dresses already in 2019. "We have even been considering adding pockets with a tailor or seamstress when working on a red carpet moment," she says.

For those of us not in the spotlight, it's less about feeling relaxed and more about function. Take the now viral bridal party, for example. Bridesmaid Nell tweeted: "Yes, we did use them [the pockets] for storing snacks, thank you for asking."

The addition of a simple pocket is liberating. Women can be hands free, all night long with no need to juggle a glass of bubbly, a phone and clutch bag all at once.

British high street brand Boden has long been supplying their customers with the pocketed wardrobe staple and stocks a wide range of styles.

Lizzie Dress, £49 by Boden (Boden )
Boden

"Our in-depth customer research has told us that it’s important to our customer that dresses are stylish, flattering and functional, so we always try to ensure our designs include pockets where we can," explains Boden Director of Womenswear Buying, Cristina Gilkes. "Our customers love them as they are super handy. They lead busy lives and need their clothes to work hard for them."

She added: "Our top 10 best-selling womenswear dress styles have pockets".

Don't miss out on the pleasure of pockets, shop our top picks below.

7 of our favourite dresses with pockets

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