Results: Fashion Quandaries

Tiny pocket on jeans - Perhaps you put small change in it, but may tend to forget it even exists. The original purpose was a place to put your watch. Jeans were originally called waist overalls when Levi Strauss & Co. began making them in 1879, and their jeans always had this for pocket watches. They only had three other pockets (one on the back and two on the front) making the watch pocket especially prominent. "As for why it has stuck around, people were used to it and no one felt inclined to phase it out." Have you ever wondered about the purpose of this tiny pocket within a pocket?

V-stitch or V-insert on sweatshirts - Most early American sweatshirts (from the 1930s and 1940s) had a 'double V' on the front and the back of the neck. The purpose was to act like a sponge, as those shirts were used as athletic gear. The reinforcement also controlled the stretch of the neck when the garment was pulled over the head. On later sweatshirts (the late 1950s, for example) the 'V' is still there. By the 1960s, it often became just a flat overlock stitch on the collar, just for decoration. Did you ever notice the V-shaped stitch or insert?

Loop on the back of button-down shirts - Check your closet and you might find something surprising: a small loop of fabric, also known as a locker loop, an inch or two below the collar. The origin involves sailors, the Ivy League, and the mid-20th century. They were for hanging shirts, a way to store them, as well as time-saving and efficient. I checked my husband's shirts and sure enough, he has some (but not all) with loops on them. Have you noticed this little loop?

Extra eyelets at the top of running shoes - Those extra shoelace holes on tennis shoes actually have a brilliant purpose. They help runners tie their shoes extra tight with a "lace lock" or "heel lock" with the extra holes. They can help make shoes fit better, and prevent blisters. This method is said to create extra friction between the laces at your ankle, keeping the ankle and heel area nice and snug. Have you ever wondered about the purpose of those mysterious holes?