1916 Travel Skirt Pocket
by Cora Atkins
About the Patent
- NAMECora I. Atkins
- PATENTUS1196324A
- DATEAugust 29, 1916
- LOCATIONPatented in the United States - inventor residing in West Hartford, US
- INVENTION"Lady's travelling-skirt"
- THEMEConcealing [more about our themes]
About the Inventor
Cora Isabell Parsons was born in 1864. At age 20, she marries widower Frederick C Atkins and joins him and his two daughters in Deerfield Massachusetts before moving to New York City. In 1898 Frederick co-founds the Taylor-Atkins Paper Company, located in East Hartford and the family soon relocate to Connecticut and accumulate a lot of wealth. Perhaps Cora accompanied her husband on business trips, or was accustomed to travelling for holidays. Cora was also involved with Christian missionary work. Either of these, or perhaps the influence of the start of WWI in Europe, could have been the impetus for the invention of the travelling skirt. We haven’t found evidence of the skirt going into production, but in 1923 Cora was granted another patent for a parcel carrier bag. The paper company had also filed for multiple patents and we wonder if she was able to tap into expertise from here.
About the Invention
PROBLEM
Atkins’s patent details the features of her invention in such a way that it sounds like not only does she have particular need of keeping a lot of valuable items safely about her person whilst travelling, but also that she has tried multiple solutions before and found them to be severely lacking. It seems that it was not enough for Atkins to have – as many did – simple pockets hidden in her underskirts, but that she also required the solution to be light; inexpensive; neat in appearance; well hidden but readily accessible; suitable for a wide range of valuables from bank drafts to jewellery; not disruptive of the shape of the outer skirt; and to not be annoying to the wearer whilst standing or sitting. Doesn’t that sound like someone who’s disappointed with everything she’s tried already?
SOLUTION
Atkins’s solution was to place a number of differently constructed pockets along the back and sides of an underskirt, all placed along the lower hem. The different shapes and styles of pocket were suited to carrying different types of valuables. The placement intentionally avoided the front of the underskirt so as to ensure “a smooth front that will not detract from the appearance of or show through the outer skirt” and that “there will be nothing heavy or stiff for the limbs of the person to strike in the forward movement thereof.”
Open Access Patent Document
See the complete US patent.
“The object of the invention is to provide a skirt which is light in weight, inexpensive to make up, and neat in appearance, having concealed yet readily accessible receptacles for conveniently and safely carrying money in the form of bank drafts, travelers’ checks, bills or specie, also for jewelry, tickets and the like valuables.”
— Cora Atkins, inventor
More Quotes from Atkins’s Patent
Speculatively Sewing Cora Atkins’s Invention
Learn more about speculative sewing here
Atkins is very specific about the style and length of the skirt and the location and volume of the pockets. In her patent she tells us that the skirt should be knee-length with the front kept plain and ordinary. The invention is concealed in the inside back of the skirt. Here a “concealing flap” contains “numerous individually fastened pockets” which are all “made one within another”. This skirt has pockets within pockets!
We started with a simple yet mid-volume A-line skirt on a waistband with side placket for entry. The lower edge of the inside back of the skirt holds a “long pocket” which is divided “into sections” to create smaller pockets. All have fasteners or flaps to ensure the security of the pockets’ contents.
Each pocket was made separately and sewn into any containing pockets and the hem. They were designed to afford the greatest security for documents such as travellers’ cheques, bills and money, and less security – but easier access – for less valuable goods. The most difficult part was fixing pockets in the correct order so as to achieve the cross section of pockets-in-pockets shown in the patent.
Atkins was quite specific about not putting pockets in the front of the skirt. This was not only to ensure the smooth line of the skirt but also to minimise any difficultly in walking. She says: “By omitting the flap and pocket from the front of the skirt there will be nothing heavy or stiff for the limbs of the person to strike in the forward movement”.
Having made this invention, we tried it out with various items in the pockets. The multiple pockets-in-pockets invention worked very effectively at carrying a range of valuables. Perceiving the weight in the pockets at the back of the knees offered a feeling of security, without it being too annoying.
However, we noted how accessing these pockets was not easy when standing up. To avoid looking too ungainly, the wearer would have had to be seated or out of the public view to be able to get into the most concealed and secure pocket. This might well have been another element of security built into the design.
You can read our open access journal article about speculative sewing here.
More Research Relating to Atkins’s Invention
Below is a selection of research activities relating to Atkins’s invention and pockets more generally. Click through to learn more.
The Speculative Sewing Inventory is part of the Politics Of Patents project, which has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Grant No: 819458. Politics Of Patents is hosted by Goldsmiths College, University of London.
