How I judge a pocket

1. Depth — does a phone sit fully in?

If a phone sticks out of the bag, it will bounce, flash, and eventually dump. I want the top of the phone below the pocket opening. Reviewers who say “holds my iPhone 15” or “deep enough that nothing falls out” are doing my job for me. “Cute little pockets” is a fail.

2. Placement — hip height, not mid-thigh

A pocket that sits too low forces you to hike the garment to use it. A pocket set too far back looks like you’re searching for a tail. The opening should land where your hands already rest at your sides. On dresses and skirts that means the side seam at the hip. On pants, high enough that sitting doesn’t pull the bag open.

3. The phone test

This is the whole site. Can you walk, sit, and — for shorts — jog without clutching your phone? I look for photos of a hand actually in the pocket (not a posed pinch of fabric), and for reviews that mention a specific phone. If nobody has tried it, I don’t list it.

4. Zipper, or not

Open pockets are fine on a midi dress. They are a liability on 5-inch running shorts. I want a zipper when the inseam is short or the motion is athletic. I do not want a zipper as a substitute for depth — a two-inch zip welt is still a two-inch welt.

What never makes the list

• Fake flaps, stitched-shut welts, or “for show only.”
• Pockets that gape when you sit (the pants crime).
• Bags so shallow a phone becomes a second hemline.
• Listings that never mention pockets, even in reviews.