Can a maxi dress or shirt dress have pockets?

Where the pocket sits on each dress shape

• Tiered maxi dress: the pocket goes into the side seam of whichever tier falls at your hip. The gathers hide the pocket bag completely. The one snag is a tier seam that crosses exactly where your hand lands; the opening then has to sit just above or just below it.
• Flared or A-line maxi: the easiest shape of all. The extra width at the hip swallows the bag, and if the dress has a waist seam the top of the bag can be caught into it, so the pocket hangs from the waist and does not drag on the side seam.
• Straight or column dress: possible, but only with some ease over the hip. In a close cut the bag shows as a ridge and the opening gapes when you sit.
• Shirt dress: a side-seam pocket sits above the top of any side slit, so there has to be enough seam between your hip and the slit. A shirt dress also suits patch pockets, on the chest or low on the front, because they belong to the shirt look.

Sheer, lined and lightweight fabrics

Fabric changes the answer more than shape does. In chiffon or georgette worn without a lining, a pocket bag shows through as a darker patch on each hip, whatever it is cut from. Most people either skip the pocket or add a lining.

With a lining the problem goes away. The bag is cut from the lining fabric and hangs behind the lining, so nothing shows from outside, and the two layers are joined round the opening. Our guide to when a garment needs lining helps with that decision, and chiffon vs georgette vs organza compares the sheer fabrics.

Weight is the other limit. A phone in the pocket of a light dress pulls the side seam down and swings as you walk. Light fabrics do better with light loads such as keys, a card or a tissue, while cotton, linen and other firm weaves carry a phone without complaint.

Height, depth and which side

Pocket position is personal, and a made-to-measure dress can follow your arm and not an average one. Stand straight, let your arm hang and bend the elbow slightly: the top of the opening should sit about where your wrist is, which for most people is a few centimetres below the waist. Measure from your waist down to that point and give the number. The waist and hip points are explained in how to measure for a maxi dress.

• Opening: wide enough for your whole hand, usually about 15 to 17 cm.
• Depth: say what it has to hold. A pocket for a phone needs a bag a little deeper than the phone is long.
• One or two: two is usual. If you want only one, choose the side of the hand you use most.

How to ask for pockets in a dress

Write one line in your design notes: the type of pocket, one side or both, the height below your waist, what it needs to hold and whether the dress is lined. If you are sending your own idea through Send Your Design, add the line when you ask for a quote. We then confirm in writing whether it can be done on your fabric and design, before anything is cut.

Our own tiered maxi dress and shirt dress are shown on their pages as they are made, and the changes offered on them are the ones on the order form. If pockets matter to you, the surer route is a dress planned around them from the start.