In a society where everything is catered to the likes of men, it is really easy to be swept under the rug if one is not male. The clothing industry is constantly demonstrating that. For years, the effort that has been going into the making of men’s and women’s clothes has been shown numerously. One of the questions that remain standing is: “Where the hell are the pockets?” It may seem to be a minor infraction on the part of clothing designers. But, if one takes into account that this is still a debate amongst both genders that has been happening for years, that opinion may change. 

Pockets: They are a convenient yet subtle accessory that avoids the problems of having to constantly lug a bag around while going about one’s day-to-day activities. They store anything – phone (reasonably sized, of course), keys, wallet, lip balm or even a charger if there is enough room. They will remain under tender watch and care for as long as necessary. But, unfortunately, women do not always have the chance to experience these comforts. 

Presuming that women worldwide enjoy the excessiveness that it takes to walk around with a bag that they pray no one tries to steal from them, clothing designers have made it visibly apparent that no thought was put into elongating or even adding pockets. When shopping, the experience to find clothing of good quality is what people spend the majority of their time on, not eyeing every piece in the store in hopes that we can someday afford it, like the men in our lives assume. For a society that places pressure on the females to look good, it surely does not take time to make sure the clothes are long withstanding months after purchase or being worn. It does not at all seem fair that women spend more to get less.

 However, for some companies, it all has to do with clothing patterns and a brand’s budget. Affordable clothing brands usually have a certain amount of money to spend on men’s clothing and women’s clothing. Men’s clothing involves fewer clothing templates with fewer style options. Women’s clothing is a different story. 

“There are templates for dropped-waist dresses, strapless dresses, tunics, A-lines, sheaths — and we are only talking dresses here! Since the templates can get expensive, there may be less money left over in the budget to invest in materials and men continue to shop their staples (coats, blazers, crew neck sweaters, etc.) that are made to last longer … with better materials … for less money,” according to Buzzfeed News. 

While it is understandable that far fewer options of clothes dictate the more money spent on making the clothes of good quality, it does not justify the “Pink Tax” placed on women’s clothing simply because women have more of a variety, when in fact the materials in their clothing are made cheaply to save money. 

As mentioned above, the “Pink Tax” is an actual thing. For those of who are confused as to what it is and how that affects the women, allow me to break it down. The “Pink Tax” is the phenomenon that charges women-based products like hygiene, clothing, dry-cleaning, toys and haircuts simply because they are women. On average, women spend about $1,351 alone on the markup prices that brands place on feminine items. So, in their lifetimes, women have spent a couple thousand extra for some of the same things that both men and women spend money on. That does not sound fair now, does it?

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