My design teacher in Portland said pockets ruin a dress line, but I think she's wrong

We had a project last week to make a simple summer dress, and I added deep side pockets to mine. She marked me down, saying it 'destroyed the silhouette' and was 'purely functional, not fashion.' But I wore it to the park on Saturday and got three compliments from strangers who loved the pockets. It made the dress actually useful, not just pretty. Has anyone else fought for pockets in their designs and won?

3 comments

3 Comments

craig.piper14d ago

Yeah, it's like... what's the point of a dress you can't live in? @the_robin's friend's skirt selling out shows that. A ruined silhouette is just a stiff, unused dress hanging in a closet. The real design flaw is making clothes people don't want to wear all day.

shane_morgan14d ago

That "purely functional, not fashion" line is exactly what I used to believe. I saw pockets as a design flaw. Then I made a simple linen dress with pockets for myself, and it became my most worn piece. It just works. @the_robin's story about the skirt selling out proves people vote with their wallets for good design that includes function.

the_robin14d ago

Purely functional, not fashion" reminds me of a friend whose pocketed skirt sold out first.