Do You Carry Your Pen In Your Shirt Pocket?

[New_Falcon]

Hello All,

 

I've never been one for carrying a pen in a shirt pocket and in fact was alway told that 'proper shirts' didn't have a pocket. Growing up, if you ever had a pen clipped to your shirt pocket, you'd be mocked for weeks. Now older and greyer, I tried it the other day and though I didn't have any comments around the office or town, I never felt comfortable and now have just been leaving the pen on my desk. It's funny how little things from your childhood, affect you as an adult.

 

What do the other males on the forum do, clip the pen to their shirt pockets, trouser pocket, leave it on the desk, etc?

 

I'd be interested in what the general practice is.

 

I'm almost thinking about trying to find the lightest jacket I can for the summer, just to solve this. A bag is not an option.

[torstar]

Carry them in my shirt pocket.

 

They are going to mock you for carrying a MB or Delta or WM???

[OldGriz]

Interesting .... I don't know how old you are, I'm 62... but when I was growing up virtually ALL shirts had pockets.... and they were used if not for a pen than for carrying a pack a cigarettes, etc.

I don't leave the house without a pen or pen/pencil set in my shirt pocket....

As for carrying in a pants pocket or clipped to a pants pocket, I can only say you are asking for a problem of breaking the pen.

[rhosygell]

A Parker 51 will normally be found in my shirt pocket.

[BrandonA]

Never in the shirt pocket. I keep my keys and coinage in one of my front trouser pocket, the other is reserved for fountain pens. Some would say you have to be careful not to damage them when you sit down but I've never had a problem. I find clipping things to a shirt pocket is too fiddly, if you leave them in the pocket loose they are at risk of falling out should you bend over. Also not all shirts have a pocket but all trousers have pockets.

[hari317]

I carry most of my pens, clipped to my shirt pocket. With T shirts, my pen is clipped to the front placket.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Also not all shirts have a pocket but all trousers have pockets.

 

 

My spandex glitter pants don't have pockets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:ltcapd:

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL -not that there's anything wrong with spandex glitter pants

[stuartk]

I often clip a pen or two to my shirt pocket. It's a convenient place to carry a pen.

[spiv]

 

My spandex glitter pants don't have pockets.

 

what about clipping it to your gold neck chain, between the ankh and the peace symbol?

[wallylynn]

Also not all shirts have a pocket but all trousers have pockets.

My spandex glitter pants don't have pockets.

Is that the difference between pants and trousers?

 

My Lamy doesn't fit in my shirt pocket (when there is a pocket). Looks funny anyway. It stays clipped to my front pants trousers pocket.

[danthemann5]

I usually keep my pens in a leather case in my pocket. Alternatively, since I wear golf shirts to work quite frequently, I sometimes clip my pen to the front of the shirt between the buttons. There is a technical term for this location that escapes me at the moment. On occasions where I wear a shirt with a breast pocket, I have no reservations about clipping my pen there, and others at my office do the same quite frequently. Within the recent past that I can recall, no one has pointed and laughed due to a pen being attached to my shirt. The pointing and laughing is always due to other reasons.

[jar]

A proper shirt has at least one pocket, better shirts also have an adjacent pen slot.

[rockspyder]

Top left shirt pocket, always.

[rockspyder]

 

My spandex glitter pants don't have pockets.

 

what about clipping it to your gold neck chain, between the ankh and the peace symbol?

:roflmho: :ltcapd:

[hbquikcomjamesl]

. . . and in fact was alway told that 'proper shirts' didn't have a pocket. Growing up, if you ever had a pen clipped to your shirt pocket, you'd be mocked for weeks. . . .

 

Out of morbid curiosity, where and when did you grow up, that this would be the case? The only shirts I can think of that don't have pockets are (1) most t-shirts, (2) some golf shirts, and (3) maybe the sort of shirt one would wear with a tuxedo, cutaway, or tailcoat (I'd hardly call [1], or a pocketless version of [2], "a proper shirt," and as for [3], a shirt pocket would be redundant in those cases).

[mstone]

I'd guess that anyone mocking the pen would be just as likely to mock you for knowing how to read and write. For most people the shirt pocket is the most sensible and accessible place, and not using it seems odd. (The exception would be someone engaged in some kind of physical activity which involves a lot of bending or jumping--you'd probably want something more secure in that case.)

[dcpritch]

Always in the pocket when I'm wearing a "proper" shirt (which by my definition has a pocket), otherwise, if no pocket, I leave the pen on my desk. I hesitate to put a pen in my pants pocket because once, by carelessness, I banged my leg into the corner of table and in so doing destroyed beyond repair the Pelikan M400 I had in my pocket - lesson learned, at least for me. I would also suspect that if your pants are anything but baggy the pen will want to bend when you sit down, putting undue pressure on the joint between cap and barrel.

[corniche]

Greetings New_Falcon and welcome to FPN,

 

It sounds to me as though you did not grow up in the States; because here, it is the opposite, proper shirts DO have pockets- but we are a blue jeans and T-shirt society.

 

At any rate, I have always carried a pen in my shirt pocket or in the inside pocket of my suit coat... or sometimes, both! (You can never carry too many pens ).

 

I'm glad to hear that nobody rides you for carrying a pen in your shirt pocket anymore; however, if any of them ever do, I'd just tell them to kiss off and wear your pen(s) proudly... in your shirt pocket!

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited May 12, 2011 by S. P. Colfer

[FLJeepGuy]

I keep my pens in a leather pen case in my briefcase when at my desk or traveling to and from work. When I need to carry a pen, I slip it barrel-end-first under the collar (above my collarbone) of my polo-style shirt and clip it to the front edge of the collar just above the button strip. It stays nicely out of the way and is just a convenient to access as if it was in a pocket. The only pens I'll throw in my pants pockets are ones like my Rotring Cores, Lamy Safaris, or Pilot Varsities.

[joshk]

I've seen shirts without pockets.

 

I don't buy them.

 

I require a pocket on my button down shirts.