Why are women's jeans pockets smaller than men's pockets?

Wome have purses to carry stuff, men well, most men don’t. We use pockets.

I would think that womens hands are smaller and thus smaller pockets.

Women’s pockets aren’t meant to be used for coins, phone, keys, betting slips etc, seeing as women are sensible and carry such stuff in a bag.

Most women don’t use their cargo pants in the literal sense of the word.

So in light of the previous answers.. why do they put pockets on women’s pants at all? Fashion? (I simply MUST have 3-side-stitched rectangles on these trousers!)

Because they are used sometimes, and might be used, so why not?

Size, size, size. Men use their pockets to carry things in all the time——their wallets, their keys, change, etc. Women usually have purses. Therefore, pockets on men’s jeans are logically bigger. Also, big pockets on women’s jeans look “unfeminine” and not dainty. It also makes their bottom halves look bigger. Men are generally a lot bigger than women, physically, so bigger pockets don’t look “out of place” on jeans for them.

Guys carry a lot of things in their pockets, since we mostly don’t carry purses, mostly.
I would find it kind of amusing to see a woman with her front pockets filled with stuff. It’s probably sexist, but it isn’t what I am used to.

@filmfann It’s not sexist at all. It’s just common sense.

As we say this, @filmfann, my pants are bulging with a cell phone, a set of keys, a USB drive, and some loose change. Of course, most of my older jeans and shorts have holes worn in them from such objects. ^_^

You know, on most women’s clothing (that is, just about everything other than jeans and casual skirts) the pockets are “false” pockets. They’re literally sewn shut.

Probably because some arbitrary fashion rule says that women’s clothing should be tight and form-fitting while men’s should be looser. No room for nice storage in skinny jeans.

I fill with jealousy whenever I see a male friend pull an entire bag of chips from his pocket. I doubt I could fit even one chip in my jean pockets. :(

The best is when my hubby sneaks bottles of rum in to concerts. $15 a beer? Screw you. I’ll buy a Coke and make Cuba Libres. ^_^

I agree with @filmfann. It is quite sexist to assume that a woman will carry a purse. I know I don’t always carry a purse and it is inconvenient that my pockets are so small. They’re so small that my entire hand doesn’t fit in them. So the small hands=small pockets suggestion makes little sense.

Men have pockets for carrying things…
One reason ladies have boyfriends…

@everephebe Hit the nail on the head, you guys.

In the fashion world, smaller pockets denotes the feeling of more feminin. While big & blocky suggests masculinity.

I recall hearing about some style called ‘boyfriend jeans’. I’m assuming those have larger pockets.

@Mariah Hahahah! A nice challenge: put one chip in your pocket without breaking it and you’ll win a prize.

They carry purses to put their things in.

Also, it’s to scale. I’m sure if a woman wore size 38 jeans I’m sure her jeans would have big pockets.

But a girl with size 0 or even 6 jeans with man sized pockets on them would look caricaturish.

I’m old enough to remember when women’s jeans had reasonably sized pockets. Still smaller then men’s, but only proportionately so. These days, all the trendy jeans (and maybe just cheaper jeans) have these tiny freaking pockets that won’t even securely hold my little cell phone. I blame it on cutting corners to increase profits.

Women’s clothes tend, more than men’s clothes, to emphasize form over function.

What @XOIIO said. I never have anything in my jeans pocket. It’s so hard to put stuff in since they’re so tight. I always have a purse/bag with me. Men need ‘em.

Such are the dictates of the fashion world. Practicality has little to do with it.

Womens clothes are always a case of “Form over function”.

Case in point: the enormous numbers of women suffering from foot deformities, back problems, joint problems from a lifetime of teeter-tottering around in high heels simply because men like how they look. Form over function indeed.

If they made womens jeans with larger pockets, they wouldn’t sell enough to make a profit. Plain and simple.

A few of us on this Q might buy them but not a whole lot more in the real world. Most women would far rather be inconvenienced with small pockets than to look lumpy.

So my woman, who works in the fashion industry, said it depends on the type of jeans you buy and what your goal is:

- If you have a big butt, that you want to make look smaller, you put bigger pockets on it, b/s smaller pockets will make the ass look even larger.

- If you are petite, or otherwise want to make the trunk look larger, you put smaller pockets on it (like when a man wears a smaller shirt to make his muscles look larger)

Simple enough!

@mrrich724: I think she means interior pockets (the white cotton inside pockets that you cannot see from outside) and I think you are referring to the outside pockets (i.e. jean pockets that are on the butt).

@jca how’d you get that, b/c I didn’t, LOL

But yea, I might be confused.