# Guys - Do you cut the threads on suit jacket pockets that are sewn shut? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 27, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550 "2009-04-27T20:35:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/21 "2011-03-31T19:26:46Z")
I cut mine open. I don’t fill my pockets with apples or rocks but I do like to be able to drop a key, handkerchief or a business card in there if I so desire. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/22 "2011-03-31T19:33:12Z")
I don’t use the pocket, but I can usually see the thread and think it looks tacky. I remove it. And I have seen back pants pockets sewn up. I also open those. Just be careful. It’s usually a women’s thing, but, on some clothes, the pocket is fake. ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/23 "2011-03-31T20:47:10Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > And **Red Skeezix** , I don’t know whether you’re being serious or not, but pocket flaps are supposed to remain outside the pockets… Tucking in one’s pocket flaps is perfectly acceptable. In fact, many pocket flaps are designed to be optionally tucked in to look like a “jetted” pocket, which for many people looks sleeker and more formal. Particularly for heavier men, tucking the flaps produces a small, but noticable, slimming effect. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/24 "2011-04-01T00:47:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Just be careful. It’s usually a women’s thing, but, on some clothes, the pocket is fake. I’m female. I’ve found on my nicer suits the pockets are real but the stitching is a lot nicer than the tacking used on men’s jackets, so if you don’t cut them it doesn’t look strange. I have, however, had the misfortune of not realizing that my new trench coat had loose tacking to make it look nice on the hanger. In my defence, the thread was the same colour as the stitching of the coat itself. I attended a classy semi-formal outdoor affair wearing the coat the entire time and had no idea until I was getting in the car to go home and wondered why it was so awkward getting in and out of the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/25 "2011-04-01T01:00:09Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > And that said, are those pockets not supposed to be used? Is it ‘low-class’ to ever put stuff in jacket pockets? Or are you expected to open those pockets right away when you buy it? Correct. Yes. No. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/26 "2011-04-01T02:41:20Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Correct. Yes. No. Wow! 3 out of 3 wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/27 "2011-04-01T04:33:59Z")
How many zombies wear suits, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/28 "2011-04-01T05:00:32Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I cut mine open. I don’t fill my pockets with apples or rocks but I do like to be able to drop a key, handkerchief or a business card in there if I so desire. That’s my feeling. I like my jacket pockets open, so such small things can be put in there. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/29 "2011-04-01T05:02:32Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > How many zombies wear suits, anyway? A lot of them. They are wearing the clothes they were buried in. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/30 "2011-04-01T16:20:25Z")
For my suits (apart from the one I bought in a charity shop), the pockets are left sewn up, as I don’t want to ruin the shape. My physique does that on its own 🙂 For the jackets I wear on a day to day basis, the pockets are open. The need to be able to carry everything is more pressing than the need to look smart, especially if I’m wearing trousers that are too tight for the pockets to be used comfortably. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/31 "2011-04-01T17:37:31Z")
Another vote for opening the pockets, but not using them to hold anything that would ruin the lining of the suit. It’s just very handy to have somewhere to put a piece of paper or ticket, particularly during weather when I’m not wearing an overcoat as well. (I use the inside jacket pockets to hold my wallet, phone and earphones, and the trouser pockets just for keys and coins.) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/32 "2011-04-01T18:15:34Z")
I always open them and tuck the flaps in. Except for the outside breast pocket; I don’t usually bother with that one since I don’t carry pocket squares or handkerchiefs. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/33 "2011-04-02T12:36:32Z")
My wife cuts them for me. She doesn’t trust me with a scissors. And I want to always have a paperback with me. However, I don’t wear suit jackets very often. When my daughter married in 2004, both she and my wife hit the roof when I said I would wear the suit I had bought in 1990 and worn maybe three times. So I blew $400 on a new suit, wore it at the wedding and never since. I do have a couple of sport jackets that I have worn a few times. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/34 "2011-04-03T20:32:32Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > In Eastern Europe in the 90s and here in Afghanistan now, men purposely wear their suits with the little tag on the left sleeve left in place. Often it will be a polyester suit that maybe cost $30 and the tag will say Bill Bass, or Ralph Lauren. Here in the USA, the only men who do that are ones who plan on returning the suit after whatever weding or other event they needed the suit for. Or they don’t know any better. Also, real Ralph Lauren suits are like $1000 and not made of polyester. It’s seems like suit jacket pockets are sewn shut (or are outright fake pockets) on my cheaper “sit around the client site all day” suits like you would find at Men’s Warehouse. I don’t recall the pockets being sewn shut on my more expensive “important client interview” suits. Doesn’t matter really because the only thing you should ever put in the front pocket is a pocket square. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/35 "2011-04-04T11:32:11Z")
I’m not a guy, but I do this (cutting the stitches holding a pocket closed) on suits and jackets that came like that. And chalk me up as another woman who HATES HATES HATES the fake pocket thing that so many women’s clothing designers seem to love. What the hell am I supposed to do with my wallet? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/36 "2011-04-04T13:09:26Z")
Blazer, off the rack: Cut them open. Use for train card, or to put business cards in (mine, left; others’: right) Suit, tailored/fitted: I let the tailor make the call. If it’s a good jacket that’ll hold shape well with open pockets, he opens them but sternly warns me against putting anything in there. > [@SecondJudith](#): > > I’m not a guy, but I do this (cutting the stitches holding a pocket closed) on suits and jackets that came like that. And chalk me up as another woman who HATES HATES HATES the fake pocket thing that so many women’s clothing designers seem to love. What the hell am I supposed to do with my wallet? Why, of course it’s a designer wallet that you should keep holding in your hand so everyone sees the label, or put in your designer handbag. 😃 Or better yet your accesory should be a a full-time paid flunky to hold your wallet and keys. But yes, it’s one of those annoying elements of fashion also for men - how you’re not supposed to put anything in your pockets that will “break the line”. My solution is to wear looser-cut clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/37 "2011-04-04T16:13:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Why, of course it’s a designer wallet that you should keep holding in your hand so everyone sees the label, or put in your designer handbag. Or better yet your accesory should be a a full-time paid flunky to hold your wallet and keys. Yes, we should all have full time paid flunkies, apparently, who also somehow manage to look good while holding our possessions. I really need to go sew some pockets on some of my clothes. I prefer to drop my keys in my pocket, rather than my purse, so I can dig them out quickly. I have given up trying to put my phone in my pocket, because it always falls out when I get into or out of my car. Instead, I open it slightly and put it on my neckline. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/38 "2011-04-04T16:21:20Z")
I just rip them open. Then I can amuse myself at weddings and such by pulling out the individual threads. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/39 "2012-03-28T07:16:27Z")
Y’all wear ‘suits’? Regularly? ☹ Voluntarily? :dubious: Hmph… About the only time you’ll catch me in a ‘suit’, is either a wedding\* or a wake\*. 😃 \*(And that’s only if they’re ‘next of kin’!) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550/40 "2012-03-28T09:00:34Z")
Unholy cow! I’ve never in a thousand years known that suit coats came with pockets sewn up. To be sure, I’ve only had one suit in the past 40 years. Lemme go take a look . . . [sup]:: Runs to closet to check suit coat :: . . .[/sup] Nope, pockets NOT sewn shut. And they’re real pockets too. Suits confuse me anyway. I went out on a date once. We got talking about suits. Date was dumbfounded when I said I didn’t have a sport coat. I didn’t even know what a sport coat was, but I was pretty sure I didn’t have one – I had to ask someone later. (It happened to be my doctor that I asked.) I guess that’s why I only went out on a date once. [sub]I’m allowed to post in this zombie thread because I AM a zombie. How else do you think I could have known or not known anything for a thousand years?[/sub] ETA: And don’t even get me started about neckties! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-do-you-cut-the-threads-on-suit-jacket-pockets-that-are-sewn-shut/494550.md?page=3)