Shoulder pockets on mink stole?

Hello! I recently acquired a vintage, mink stole that has shoulder/upper arm pockets. No one in my family can figure out what the shoulder pockets could be for and I can’t find any answers online. I’ve attached some photos here with my hand in the pockets and not inside. We tried to wrap the longer front pieces up into the pockets, but that didn’t really work. There is nothing in the lining that would allow pieces to go through the pockets and the pockets are closed and not shown in the lining. Any thoughts or insights are appreciated!! Thank you!

 

Blair,

That is very interesting. Caryn, our fur maven, may come along and have the answer. In the mean time, I have a couple of questions.

How deep and how wide are the pockets? They look rather shallow in the photo. Also, are these pockets lined, and with the same lining as the interior of the stole?

 

Hello!

Thank you for your reply! The pockets are about 8 inches long and go as deep as the outer edge. They are lined with the same fabric as the inside lining. It won’t let me add photos to the post for some reason, so let me edit it to try to add more.

UPDATE: For some technological reason, I cannot add anymore photos now. I will continue to try to add photos displaying the pocket in more detail.

 

The only thing that I can think of is that they might be to put your gloves in, or a lipstick/mirror. Some pockets never get opened because the owner didn't ever use them (they are typically sewn shut for sale), or because they didn't like the way they gaped open.

 

Hi there,

When you're able to can you please lay the stole out showing the lining itself please?

Thank you.

 

Hello! I’ve tried to post others, but cannot unfortunately. I was able to get a full shot of the stole with the lining. It’s flipped on the left side to show the lining and monogram. The pockets are on the upper arm.
I’d be happy to email photos since I cannot get more to upload here!

Best,
Blair

 

Thank you for that thought, Melanie! That’s the only thing I can assume also.

 

Seeing as the pockets are so shallow (?) as they appear in the photos with your hand, I cannot imagine anything like a compact or such staying in there securely. To me, most things would fall out when the lady bent over to get out of a car, adjust her stockings, etc. I would think that pockets for small items would be on the inside of the coat or stole where they are more secure and would not make a bump/lump. Even gloves would stick out of the "pockets" as they are so shallow. And anything placed in there, would (or might) make a lump or bump and spoil the smooth lines of the stole at the shoulder and upper arm? Even if someone wanted to put pockets on the outside of a stole, wouldn't they be better suited if placed lower on the stole and not up by the upper arms?

It seems so odd to me. I really want to know. Maybe Caryn will figure this out for us!

 

Hi there, thank you for that.

I am fairly certain that the pockets were not there when the stole was first made. The most likely scenario would be that there was a split at one of the seams and instead of just repairing the split the pockets were created.

Something was done to the lining as well. I can see where an uneven triangle was added. This could be an pocket that was added or a patch to cover a prior monogram.