The tie on pockets were replaced by the reticule which was more of a draw string purse on a cord or chain at the dawn of Regency fashions in the late 18th Century. Designed in France, they were called indispensables in Britain. Women often made their own. They better suited the slim, classical, unadorned style of the time. This was at the same period that pockets in men's clothes became popular as trousers replaced breeches. Heavier handbags became more practical as women began to ride on steam trains in the mid-19th Century.

"No one can see the possessions we carry behind these fabric barriers."

I chuckled when I read that because most women where I am who wear jeans have them so tight that you can see everything in their pockets...should you look.