Style Poll: Where do you keep your phone when you’re out?

From the Mailbag:  Where to store your mobile phone when out?

What do you do with your phone and keys when you’re not wearing a jacket?  I hate to go to all the trouble of choosing a sleek-looking pair of slim pants only to ruin the look with bulging pockets full of necessities?

– John
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Full honesty here.  I’m the wrong guy to ask.  Because I really like wearing jackets of all kinds, and I don’t see my phone as a necessity.  Pull up a corner of the porch fellas, and please help yourself to some nice ice-topping*.  Grandpa Joe is going to self indulgently wax poetic about the world.  Feel free to skip the next two paragraphs.

We now live in a society where it’s almost expected that we have a smartphone on us at all times.  And by all times, I mean every waking moment.  Without exception.  For awhile there I was conditioned to grab my phone before heading to the bathroom.  You have no idea how many celebrity deaths I found out about via twitter while sitting on the can.

People used to exist and even socialize without mobile phones.  Somehow we got by without texting each other while in transit, checking into foursquare upon arrival, or uploading a pic of the night’s activities via instagram during the evening.  As convenient as they are, mobiles have led to plenty of us developing some bad habits.  You can text that you’re going to be “just five minutes late” instead of actually being on time (I’m guilty of this.)  Instagram and taking video (concerts?) is nothing more than the 21st century version of camcorder guy.  It doesn’t all have to be documented.  Setting your phone aside means you’re in the moment, and the people in the moment with you are the only priority.

All right, enough Amish talk.  Cells aren’t going away.  I usually do one of three things:

1. Leave it in the car or at home.
2. Stick it in a coat pocket if it’s fall/winter/spring, and find somewhere to hang the jacket up.
3. Tuck it in one of the inside pockets of my blazer/sportcoat/suit jacket.

For keys, I once slimmed down by ditching the remote fob and went with a wallet insert.  It’s old fashioned, but it works.  If one of those three scenarios is impossible, I surrender to the cell phone shaped pocket bulge.  But I’m not a skinny jeans/super slim pants guy either.  I prefer straight fits, so it’s not as bad as it might be on others.  Still, that’s admittedly a crappy answer, so, it’s time to turn to you guys in the comments section for alternatives.  Poll is there for you to vote as well if you so choose.

*That’s a joke.  Love the commercials.  Hate the liquid.  Phone photo credit.