I basically want clothing slash library

March 10, 2015 7:01 PM

I'm looking for a decent three season men's warm up jacket with a large inside pocket that can fit a decent sized book (two paperbacks or a larger hardcover). Does anyone make this? I carry a book with me everywhere and I don't always want to carry a bag, but many lighter jackets don't have pockets big enough. Can I find this anywhere?
posted by history is a weapon to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (9 answers total)

I think you could easily extend a pocket in a jacket to be large enough for a book. If you aren't comfortable with sewing yourself, a tailor would do it quite cheaply.
posted by lollusc at 7:15 PM on March 10, 2015

Yeah, I think you find the jacket you really want and then take it to a place that does alterations and explain what you want. It would really just be a matter of opening up the lining and adding a square of fabric then binding the opening.
posted by dawkins_7 at 7:21 PM on March 10, 2015

These people make clothing with tons of pockets of all sizes including pockets big enough to accommodate an ipad.
posted by leslies at 7:40 PM on March 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

I sort of agree with the "find a jacket and get it altered". But not any jacket.

A lighter jacket, depending on the material, will sag & not necessarily have a lining through which you can insert a pocket, though heavier jackets will.

A heavier jacket might be structured to insert a pocket more easily. You might find one with a pocket that can be merely expanded using the existing infrastructure.

Ultimately, depending on the jacket you prefer, you might end up with a light lining added to the jacket; pocket on one side & nothing on the other.

If I were doing this, I'd do it that way with a mid weight jacket. It's not just a pocket patched onto a lining; as it would be a very stressed point. Maybe a heavy bit of fabric frm which to hang the weight of a full bagged pocket behind the lining.

If you can, also go ahead and tack it through the jacket to the outside of the jacket and cover with a jacket colored thread in a pattern (matched on the non pocket side) as a decorative support camouflage.

Whatever you buy, keep the receipt in case the tailor says it can't be done.
posted by tilde at 7:46 PM on March 10, 2015

Yeah, my worry here would be that the book will be heavy enough to cause problems with any lightish-weight fabric. Maybe look for something like a canvas work jacket (Carhartt, Cabelas, that kind of thing), which will have a skeleton of less-deformable fabric, and then see about getting the pocket you want added.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:43 PM on March 10, 2015

Get a levis jean jacket. Huge pockets in side. Small hardback, a couple paperbacks and a phone and beer fit nicely.
posted by kittensofthenight at 11:24 PM on March 10, 2015

Came in to recommend Scottevest, so seconding leslies. Not cheap, but this is what they do. How about this?
posted by corvine at 6:46 AM on March 11, 2015

Not sure what you mean by warm-up jacket, but you might look into cycling jackets, which often have a large pocket in the small of the back which easily fits a book. A little awkward for pulling the book in and out, but the cycling jackets I have with that pocket fit books.

I always recommend Nau for jackets, repeatedly even, even while I bemoan the sad decline in their clothing line, but their jackets are really high quality with excellent utility, good looks and a very good cost-to-wear ratio. A couple of their current offerings have book-sized pockets.

tilde's caveats about having a huge pocket added to a jacket are only the start of it. I'm not sure I'd go that route, personally.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:08 AM on March 11, 2015

I have added a book pocket to a jacket and it hung nicely--but I added the pocket just above the small of my back so that it didn't mess up my symmetry.
However, this wouldn't work for thick books, or for frequent car-riders or backpack-wearers. And (I just now realized) what made it work was that I have a round backside above which books could be easily tucked--it probably wouldn't work so well for many men or flat-bottomed people in general. So, YMMV, I guess.
posted by Edna Million at 9:24 AM on March 11, 2015