TOKYO -- Where are the pockets? Some women wonder this when choosing new clothes. Instead of resigning to the lack of functionality, a resident of the Japanese capital last month held a flea market in the Ikebukuro district to help shoppers get pocketed items.

Ayako Urasawa, 37, began to notice the inconvenience of women's wear after starting to work at a company in 2022. Previously a freelancer, she had not noticed until then. But working in the office, the problem became apparent with every trip to the restroom, requiring her to hold onto personal items by hand or in a bag. She visited stores in search of casual office wear but couldn't find very much that featured pockets.

Around that time, her partner went off to attend a wedding without a bag because there weren't "any that suit wedding clothes," hiding their smartphone and wedding gift in their pockets.

She was stunned when her partner said to her, "inner pockets are so convenient." The same couldn't be said of women's clothing.

Urasawa wrote on social media, saying, "I want women's clothing to have pockets, too." Some countered her by arguing that some womenswear already has them. And to be sure, there is a growing number of such items. However, they can be hard to find.

There is also no shortage of items with "fake pockets," decorative stitching that resembles the useful feature at first glance.

When shopping online, Urasawa couldn't narrow down searches by the presence or absence of pockets, and no judgment could be made by just looking at the photos. Attempting to search by the keyword "pockets" showed results with non-pocketed articles as well.

Since Urasawa is also in charge of operating an online shop for a cosmetics maker, she knows it isn't ideal how companies fail to cater to consumers who want pockets. She wants them to provide a better selection and an easier way to find the right items.

To deliver that message to major online fashion outlets, this March Urasawa began a signature drive.

Urasawa's other activities include talking about her experiences as a victim of sexual violence, holding events on the topic of "sex and life" and creating places for young people to belong. Right after starting the drive, she sought the opinions of those in a reading group she coordinates. Women in their 20s to 30s enthusiastically told her they wanted "pockets on everything" from cardigans to skirts.

Urasawa also heard from men, including at least one who said they had worn women's articles of clothing before because they had slim builds, and found the lack, or small size, of pockets inconvenient. She keenly felt there was high demand for access to items with pockets.

Urasawa landed on the idea for the flea market when wondering how to hold an event in tandem with the signature drive. "With a flea market, those who like fashion can have fun and there isn't a big financial investment for participants, while also allowing for an exchange of views," she said.

The flea market was held on Nov. 23 at the "Miraikan Taimei Bookcafe" youth support facility. The conditions for selling one's clothing included that at least two items of women's fashion with pockets be displayed and the items with and without pockets were separated. On the day of the event, the clothes had tags indicating pockets or the lack thereof, and the non-pocketed pieces were sold in a separate space.

Those selling articles and others participating engaged in heated discussion with comments such as, "It's inconvenient to not be able to insert my smartphone" and "If only it had pockets, I'd be able to go out with my hands free (without carrying a bag)."

There was also a spot where women's and men's items are lined up, showing the difference in the number and size of pockets, eliciting surprise from one or more participants with comments along the lines of, "Does men's clothing really have so many pockets?"

Urasawa commented, "I hope this will be a chance for people to change the idea that no pockets is 'expected' and 'can't be helped' into 'something can be done to change it.'"

(Japanese original by Maki Nakajima, Digital News Group)