How many times have you heard someone wearing women’s clothing exclaim, “And it has pockets!” Comparisons have shown that modern garments designed for women have about half the storage space of clothing designed for men. From their invention, pockets in women’s fashion have represented independence—so much so that in the 18th century, laws were enacted to strip women of their personal liberty by making the contents of their pockets the property of their husband. The right to have pockets went hand-in-hand with the right to vote. And people today are still speaking out about the inequality between men’s and women’s clothing based on this simple storage system.

Join costume designer Diane Johnston to dig into the pockets of the past, tracing the history of the humble pocket to determine if the battle for equality may still be decided by a few inches of extremely influential fabric.

Diane Johnston (she/her) is a theatrical costume designer who has spent the past 33 years creating costumes for productions large and small throughout the region. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Costume Design and is a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Johnston has always been fascinated with fashion history and the historic trends that find their way into our modern closets. She is currently designing costumes for Edmonds Driftwood Players.

Johnston lives in Stanwood.

This program is offered free of charge, but space is limited. Please reserve your spot HERE.

Thank you to Humanities WA for their support in bringing this event to Vancouver. Special thanks to the NAACP Vancouver for joining us as our promotional partner for our 2025 series of speaker events. We appreciate you!