By Bobbie Leigh

This is a true story.  The scene is  New York City.  The  time is evening rush hour.  On the downtown  E subway, a well-dressed man  gets on a super-crowded car. As the train is about to approach the next station, he feels something strange happening around his (foolishly unbuttoned) rear pocket. He  automatically checks his pocket and  (no surprise),  his money is gone.   He starts to look for the culprit and sees a young  boy, perhaps six or seven, next to two menacing-looking men standing behind him.  The more sinister of the two men says  something unintelligible such as “you wanna make some trouble.”  The subway doors open  and the men and the boy make a swift exit.

Travelers in any city  are used to such stories— pick pockets at the Coliseum or at the Eiffel Tower  are commonplace.    Savvy travelers know to  keep their valuables in a hotel safe and some even wear a money belt. But if you go to work every day on a crowded bus  or a  standing-room only metro,

Pick-Pocket Proof Pants are a welcome precaution.

One  solution  to slippery fingers  in  unwelcome places comes from Adam Rapp who had a run-in with a team of pickpockets in Xian, China. That experience led him to develop theft-resistant clothing.  His company, Clothing Arts, has rather handsome nylon and canvas blend trousers  suitable  for   the  daily commute  to an office.  They offer seven  multi-secure pockets including  a triple secure passport pocket and  hidden mini-pockets for  a  smartphone.  Front pockets are zipper-closed with retractable button flaps.  No seven-year old or  someone seventy could  ever slip  a wallet or cell phone from one of Rapp’s pants without being noticed.

According to Rapp,  the  Pick-Pocket Proof Pants can safely secure a cell phone, wallet,  change, and other valuables.  They come in various colors and sizes and cost about $100.  Best bets for  weekend biking  or hiking are Rapp’s Adventure Traveler cargo pants or shorts, also with  hidden mini-pockets. Women for the moment have to do with cargo pants, but Rapp says he is meticulously expanding his line.  In the works are a convertible women’s line which might run from short to pants.

Panhandlers  like to tell sob stories on the subway…at least in Manhattan.  If you’re moved to help them, when you reach for your wallet, it will be there if  you’re wearing Pick-Pocket-Proof pants.

To order, go to www.clothingarts.com