Cristmas gifts included some articles of clothing. And therein lies a problem (or two or three).

First of all, why do clothing makers refuse to put pockets in womens' clothes? They will sew in faux pockets, even add flaps with buttons (so much for sleek silhouettes), but not add the bit of cloth that would create a pocket.

Real women do need pockets. We don't always want to carry a purse, but are forced to do so when clothes don't have pockets. I suppose that one could also mention that carrying a purse makes a woman less able to use her hands and arms, the way a man can (and is expected to).

Secondly, most women's clothes are made with fabrics that wrinkle and need ironing, or fabrics that must be dry cleaned. What's with that? Men got no-iron shirts decades ago. We can get no-iron blouses, but have to pay a premium for them. I don't think my husband even owns a shirt that needs ironing.

And goodness gracious, have you noticed how thin (read: sleazy) the material in women's clothing has become in the last couple of years? Women are expected to dress in layers, two or three, at $20 to $60 each, so each layer is translucent and could not be worn alone (at least not by me).

Even pants are lighter weight, for the most part. I hadn't realized it until yesterday when I put on a pair of regular jeans for warmth and noticed how much more substantial they were than the new pants I had been given for Christmas.

One complaint I've had about women's clothes for a long time is how much skin is exposed in clothes that are intended for winter wear--deep necklines, skimpy material, waist-length sweaters. Men's winter clothing actually covers, protects, and keeps warm. And has a plethora of pockets.

I'm not even going to do much more than mention the weird way women's sizes have been manipulated, while men's pants are bought by inches of waist, inches of inseam....

I wear tee shirts all the time (washable, no iron, not see-through). But for women, there is no such thing as a regular tee shirt. They all have deep necklines, and are skintight, or semi-fitted. Men's tees are baggy, but at least they don't feel like a scooped-out, v-neck, super short sleeved cocoon.

So in my search for regular clothes (not some fashionista nightmare), I've looked everywhere, but they all seem to have fallen prey to the idea that women want bubble skirts, exposed midriffs, plunging necklines and sheer see-through fabric.

I guess good looking, classic clothing is a thing of the past.