Dear All -

I have received permission from my father to spend a hefty sum of money getting a custom made velvet Dinner Jacket made, with special pockets et al.

I am definitely going to get one made, but the problem is that I don't want to get LOTS of pockets made and load them all up, as then the jacket will hang and sag, and won't look right with bulging and sagging pockets. If I am going to have one it has to look and feel a great fit.

1) So, if I am going to spend serious money getting one made, where should the pockets be placed? Inside breast pockets? At the back? Outside pockets?

2) If I don't want to load up my pockets with stuff, how else can I carry props? I looked at pocket pocket + Klamm Magic's organizer, but surely these either add bulges to pockets or add weight to the inside of a jacket, adding to the sagging? I got a camera case the other day but have realised that it sticks out far too much to use.

Any help would be much appreciated, and for the record I would be carrying -

- 2 decks of cards
- 4 Sponge balls + Jumbo
- Ring and Rope
- Professor's Nightmare rope
- Packet Tricks
- Sharpie
- Coins, half dollars + Jumbo.
- CTW.

Thank you VERY much in advance to all who reply.

Why not just get a waistcoat (UK) Vest (USA)
There has been many posts on this topic.
You can wear it under a jacket and it will have all the pockets you will need.

Isn't it easier to just make the stuff appear by magic when you need it, rather than carrying it around with you?

Sorry ... couldn't resist!

James.

Nothing that you list requires special pockets to be made in a jacket. However, if you want to have pockets within pockets made and an additional pocket or two (or more) inside the jacket then you will need to perform your act. What do I mean?

Ok, get out your favorite sports coat. Now lay all your props on a table. Lay your script or your outline in the order you perform your act/tricks. Take trick one, your opener, and decide where it has to start (what pocket it comes from). Put it there.

Now do the trick. Now really do it as if you are performing for an audience. At the end of the trick, notice where your hands are, ask yourself, where do the props need to go? Put them there.

Now pick up the second trick. Where are you going to start with it? In the same pocket that the first trick came from? Woops! Maybe a conflict of props (one set gets in the way of another, and so on.

Basically look at the start and finish of each trick and figure where they go. Ask yourself if any prop gets in the way of another. That is when you will discover if and where you need a pocket or a pocket within a pocket. It takes time and thought.

Now if you expect to wear the coat for different acts using different tricks then that opens up a whole different can of worms!

I have different acts built for different venues. Each requires different props (with some overlap or replication).

In general, for close-up and walk around work I don’t carry a case. My sports coat is my case. I have two pocket organizers (one on each side) that hold whatever I need to carry. And they are made of a stiff material and help keep the pocket bulge down.

Here is an example of a set-up for a long night, (tonight at my bar gig to be exact)

Inside left jacket pocket – 1 Red and 1 Black Sharpie pen (to sign things with), one wooden pencil (used for ring on stick routine).

Inside right jacket pocket – 1 Wallet [Which one depends on the venue. Usually (tonight) I am carrying an ungimmicked wallet that is set up for either “Out of This Wallet” or for “Kolossal Killer”. Otherwise my Barry Price, Kaps/Balducci wallet for signed card stapled in a sealed envelope routine or my Elite Himber Bombshell Wallet for the two signed cards to wallet routine (Mendoza).

Note: If I am performing my redneck character then it is a hip-pocket wallet (Switchback or Viking Simplex) and the inside right jacket pocket is left empty].

Outer left jacket pocket –
(in a Klamm organizer, each item to its own pocket in the organizer)
Color changing knives,
Five silver dollars
One expanded silver dollar shell
Miss-made bill pre-folded (no TT method - $100 bill switch)
1 Deck of cards

Outer right jacket pocket–
(in Klamm organizer, each to its own pocket)
Sponge balls/rabbits (whichever).
Non-reel ring flight
Bic lighter

Rear-left pants pocket – bandana/handkerchief
Rear-right pants pocket – wallet (if using hip version) empty if not.

Left-front pants pocket – preset for sponge ball/rabbit routine.
Right-front pants pocket – empty (park stuff here).

The belt loop behind the right front pants pocket is used to anchor a Pull.

Pinned to jacket inside back above right rear pants pocket – Squash gimmick.

There is a Toppit (Pat Page pin-in style) on the left side of the jacket.

Ok, that is more than I am going to use, but I am prepared for three to four hours of walk around close-up magic.

With that load, I can also perform a small venue (bar/parlor/club) stand-up magic act.

And that is only one set-up of many.

The reason I went into such detail is to point out that I have all the pockets I need (including several empty ones) without modifying my coat at all. I just add the organizers and props and go. Each trick resets and goes back into its spot in whichever pocket/organizer it came from.

What you are going to perform, the order you are going to perform it, and where you need to ditch a prop will dictate how you configure your jacket. Only you can discover that.

Great idea Harry about laying everything out and checking your hand positions, never thought of that.

If you are getting a jacket made, make sure you have a topit put in, without a doubt it will be the best investment in the jacket...