Dangerous Coats. April 30, 2025

Dangerous Coats

I’ve found myself searching the classifieds for a job lately.

I don’t really want a job. I don’t think I’m very good at them, first of all. And I wouldn’t be able to balance making jewelry, teaching classes at the studio and doing shows if I had a job. Still, though. Sometimes, it would be nice to just show up somewhere and get paid.

Especially now. Jewelry feels so… unimportant. Who is thinking of buying something so discretionary when they can’t buy eggs?

All this unease, concern with tariffs, rising prices, unrest. It’s presented me with a major case of burnout and has turned me towards the classifieds.

A form of resistance to the path.

Until my mom sent me a poem that sparked inspiration that turned into an idea that I made into a piece of jewelry.

Maybe jewelry is a luxury.
Maybe it isn’t important.

But hope is, as are symbols of hope.
Resistance is, when it’s keeping you on the path.

This is the poem my mom sent me:

Dangerous Coats by Sharon Owens
Someone clever once said
women were not allowed pockets
in case they carried leaflets
to spread sedition
which means unrest
to you and me
a grandiose word
for commonsense
fairness
kindness
equality
So ladies, start sewing
dangerous coats
made of pockets & sedition

I’ve never met a woman who didn’t get excited about pockets. Especially large ones that will hold more than a tiny tube of chap stick and loose change. Pockets on a wedding dress that can carry tissues, your lipstick and something blue. Pockets on a jacket for dog treats and your keys. Pockets large enough to hold your phone.

But pockets also have a political history that I hadn’t realized until I embarked on these paper doll coats: Pockets, in many ways, represent the freedom and independence that women have fought to gain throughout history.

Pockets represent a means of portable privacy that women lacked for centuries. Mens clothing had pockets long before women’s did, and the expectation was that the husband would carry money and any small necessities in his own pockets. And even when women did start to “carry” pockets in the 17th century, they were pouches worn so close to their body, and under so many layers of fabric, that they basically had to fully undress to access the contents.

There are even rumors that during the French Revolution, women carried pamphlets and revolutionary material in them, so pockets were banished from women's clothing...

And so, I made these Dangerous Coats. But, I made them as only I know how, with a little bit of whimsy and nostalgia thrown in. Paper Doll Coats.

Leopard Print Coat
Fine silver and 24k gold — this coat reminds me of my grandmother — she always knew how to tie leopard print into her outfit.

It has POCKETS!
A little pocket in the back where you can tuck your favorite word, poem or mantra.

A simple little silver swing coat (with pockets!)

And a nifty little plaid number.

I also made... pockets! Reminiscent of the ones on your very favorite pair of jeans, and you can tuck a little piece of paper in these too.

Thanks so much for your time, reading this, reaching out and replying! It’s so appreciated ❤️

erin