You are not alone! I love the pockets as long as they dont bulge and destroy the silhouette. As a teacher, I constantly need to carry around my keys, cards, phone, wallet, pen... This is why I am a big fan of tiny cross body purses, almost wallets on a strap, that I can carry over my outfit without ruining the look of what I'm wearing.

I want jackets and coats to have pockets, but quite frankly, when my pants have pockets, I'm too tempted to put things in them, and that's really not a great look for someone with wide hips -- especially since the item I'm most tempted to put in my pocket is my cell phone, and a big rectangular object stuffed in a hip pocket is quite obvious, calling more attention to not only that area of my body, but also for that, "hey, do you have an iPhone in your pocket are you just happy to see me?" look.

I can't remember when I last owned a dress or skirt with pockets, except my denim skirt.

Lyn D., you might be interested in Scotte Vests. They can fit water bottles in a pocket. I bet a small umbrella would fit. I have a vest and wore it a lot when we went to Turkey a couple years ago.

http://www.scottevest.com

Like you, I also wish we had more pockets in women's clothing. I hope some designers are listening in on this thread, hint, hint, hint!

Like many others, when I want to make a quick run out, I don't want to always have to carry a hand bag. Keys, wallet, iPhone are all things that need space. I remember Angie's article in that there are some parts of the world where your phone is a part of your wardrobe, you wear it. Now if there is a similar solution for keys and wallet ...