# Why do they sew the suitjacket pockets closed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547 "2003-05-06T23:42:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/1 "2003-05-06T23:42:49Z")
Every time I get a new suit, the jacket pockets are sewn shut. Why? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/2 "2003-05-06T23:53:14Z")
If you use the pockets it messes up the way the suit hangs (and it really does on a nice lightweight suit, if the pockets are stretched out it looks like hell) and they figure you can use your pants pockets if need be. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/3 "2003-05-06T23:56:06Z")
Sometimes they are sewn shut loosely so that they stay flat, but you can easily snip the threads and have a functional pocket if you like. Personally, I think it’s silly to make what could be a functional pocket and then sew it shut. If the thing is there just for show, why not just sew the top flap so it looks like a pocket and not bother with the inside part? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/4 "2003-05-06T23:56:21Z")
Yeah. The pockets are just for decoration. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/5 "2003-05-07T00:09:55Z")
Apparently for [safety](http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/05/06/tem_ask_a_stupid.html) also…although mainly aesthetics ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/6 "2003-05-07T00:13:05Z")
The explanation I heard (from a guy who had worked a long time in a menswear shop) is that if a garment should fall off the rail in transit, the coat hanger would not hook into the pocket of another garment and tear it. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/7 "2003-05-07T03:19:45Z")
Like Astro said, the pockets are just tacked shut so the jacket doesn’t sag out of shape during the months it waits on a hanger for someone to buy it. Snip the threads with a clear conscience–Savile Row isn’t trying to impose a pocketless existence on you. and I like Mangetout’s explanation, too–never thought ot that before ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/8 "2003-05-07T03:21:20Z")
Or MLS, not Astro. Whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/9 "2003-05-07T13:48:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MLS \* > \*\*If the thing is there just for show, why not just sew the top flap so it looks like a pocket and not bother with the inside part? \*\* So that the purchaser can choose which way he wants it. Me, I like functional pockets. Other people don’t. If they start making them both ways, selection will go down and/or prices will go up. This way, the same suit works for both kinds of people. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/10 "2003-05-07T14:05:17Z")
The back pockets of most of the slacks I buy are tacked shut. I leave them that way, though, because I’m not putting anything in those pockets anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-sew-the-suitjacket-pockets-closed/173547/11 "2003-05-07T15:52:06Z")
When I saw the thread title, I thought it said “Why do they sew the **straight** jacket pockets closed?”, and I thought, "Well, that’s just mean that they put pockets on them at _all_.