Drummer's mitre cap front used as a lady's pocket, 1760 (c)

This pocket originally formed part of the woollen front section of a mitre cap, and is embroidered with emblems of the 70th Regiment of Foot. During the 18th century most women carried pockets, which served a similar purpose as a handbag does today. They were tied to the clothes of the wearer. By the late 18th century larger pockets were abandoned as they ruined the line of the dresses that were then becoming fashionable. They were quickly transformed into much smaller decorative bags known as ridicules, the predecessors of the modern handbag.