Can a shalwar or trousers have pockets?

How it works in each style

• Shalwar: the pocket sits in the side seam just below the waist gathers, and the fullness of the leg hides both the opening and whatever is in it. On a belt shalwar the opening starts at or below the flat band.
• Straight trousers: the natural home for a side-seam pocket. The leg is wide enough to hide a pocket bag and plain enough for the opening to lie flat.
• Palazzo: the roomiest of all. A deep pocket vanishes in the folds of a palazzo.
• Cigarette pants: possible but less forgiving. On a slim leg the outline of the bag can show and the opening can gape over the hip, so a shallow pocket, or none, is often the wiser choice.
• Churidar: cut too close to the leg for a pocket to sit unseen.

What shows, and under which kameez

Under a kameez that reaches the knee, a trouser pocket is invisible. That raises the practical question of reaching it. Your hand goes in through the side slit of the kameez, so the pocket opening should sit where the slit is open. If your slits start low, mention it, so that the two can be lined up. The side slits guide explains where a chaak usually begins.

Under a short kurta or a top, the trouser hip is on show. Three things can be seen: the opening itself if it does not lie flat, the pocket bag as a shadow through pale fabric, and the bulge of a phone. A bag cut from thin lining in a shade close to the trousers, and a pocket placed slightly towards the front of the thigh, deal with the first two. Only a wider leg deals with the third.

Weight and the waistband

Trousers worn with a kameez mostly have a drawstring or elastic waist, and neither is designed to carry much. A phone and keys in one pocket will drag that side down. Asking for a firmer elastic, or elastic with a drawstring through it, helps. So does choosing a fabric with some body: cambric and cotton carry weight far better than fine lawn, which can pull at the seam.

If the trousers are lined because they are pale, the pocket bag sits between lining and outer and shows even less. Our page on whether white trousers need lining covers that side of it.

What to put in your notes

A few specifics save a round of questions. Put the points below in the notes with your trouser style and measurements when you ask for a quote. We confirm in writing what is possible on your fabric and cut. Pockets can be requested whether the fabric is yours or ours, and the custom stitching overview compares the two routes. The trouser styles page compares the cuts.

• One pocket or two, and on which side if only one.
• What it needs to hold, so that the depth suits a phone or only a key and a tissue.
• Open, or closed with a small zip for travel.
• The length of the kameez or kurta you will wear over it.