Clothing Arts: Pickpocket Protection at Home and Overseas

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

No Comment