Are Pleated Trousers In Style?

After 18 months of lockdown leisure wear, you’re going to need a friendly pleat when you go back to the office!

Since the mid-2000s the pleated trouser became an oft-scoffed at styling feature in men’s fashion. As trousers waist sat lower and lower till they reached our hips, every man’s desire for “slim and trim” no matter what his body shape resigned the pleat to the scrap heap.

But after a near year and half in lockdown wearing athleisure and comfy shorts, many of us are going to have a sharp (and tight) little shock when we get our slim fitting flat front trousers on again… not necessarily because of weight gain, but when you’ve spent a good number of months in clothes that are looser fitting, you get used to the comfort.

I and a select number of good clients and friends recently made the transition to pleats in our new suits recently. And I am LOVING THEM.

Visually they look so cool - the higher waist position makes my legs look longer and consequently I look & feel taller. The extra inch of room the pleats give me around my hips and seat just make things SO comfortable compared to my plain front trousers. I smile whenever I put them on.

I was with a friend and client, Andrew Spence from Sony, just yesterday trying on his new suit with pleated trousers for the first time. Boy did he just have the biggest grin on his face! He had walked in wearing a pair of his go-to stretch cotton chinos (he’s not in a typically suited work environment), but I had such a hard time getting him to take his new pleated trousers off and give them back to me so we could get his suit finished!

And it’s not only the comfort. The pleats add impact and gravitas to the trouser that has just been missing for the best part of two decades now.

A Brief History of the Pleat

Look back to pre and post war and pleated trousers were the norm. Our grandfather’s wore pleated trousers - for one thing they knew how to dress but also they knew that luxury & comfort went hand in hand which is what pleats did for them.

The pleat fell out of favour during War times when, due to fabric rationing, it was removed to save cloth. This resulted in a pleat less trouser (the flat or plain front that we know today), that was a much tighter fit around the backside as a result and hugely more uncomfortable to wear.

More fabric was saved by shortening the trouser length so the plain front was worn a little lower, below the natural waist. Now during War time the aesthetics didn’t really matter when daily survival was top of mind. But the visual impact even today results in men looking longer in the torso and having SHORTER legs. More about this later.

The pleat made a comeback post-war along with with high waist position, taller waistband and more elaborate fastening mechanisms such as the straps used on Gurkha style trousers (which are also making a comeback by the way).

A move away from the need to ration swung the pendulum back in the favour of exuberance, and tailors were able to go back to creating trousers that not only were comfortable to wear, but had more work and features put into them in the form of pleats, turn ups, fastening and strap details.

Gents wore their trousers higher up the waist again, often with braces (suspenders if you’re one of our American cousins), which had the effect of visually lengthening their legs, adding perceived height. Add to this the visual flair created by the pleats and other features and you had a striking, impactful garment that looked amazing but had all the comfort you don’t normally get from items of clothing that are highly fashionable or stylish.

Flat Front Trousers still have their place…but the Pleat is King

Flat or plain fronted trousers of course still have their place. Jeans? Obviously. Chinos? Depends. If you are going for cottons which are soft, brushed and with a fair amount of stretch, I’d probably go plain front. But cottons that are not stretchy and are perhaps a little stiffer… a single pleat with a tapered leg would be a good style option to consider.

Wool trousers - single or double pleat. Linen - a single pleat at the very least… the practical consideration being that the pleat helps to break up the horizontal creasing you inevitably get when linen trousers are worn for a time.

Do you fluctuate in weight? Pleats it is my friend. Even I’ve had the unpleasant experience that comes when you put on a few pounds, your ass gets a little fatter and suddenly your plain front trousers are just tight enough that putting your hands in your pockets can lead to sever skin burn on your hands.

SO - are pleated trousers in style? You bet your bottom dollar they are. And I truly believe the pleat is here to stay.

Welcome back old friends. Our asses have missed you.