Pleats or No? [Maybe Yes in 2022?]

After 15 years of being the object of scorn in men’s clothing, pleats on pants have infiltrated their way back into the collections of ever more mainstream brands. It started with the mini single reverse pleat like these at Alex Mill sometime around 2015—a pinky toe dipped back into the water. Virtually indistinguishable from plain-front, mid or low-rise pants in favor for a decade, it was an attempt to reintroduce the pleat to a generation who still remembered the horrendously baggy double Dockers of the late 90s and early aughts. (Though let’s be honest, those never really went away—they’re still sold and the men who owned them still wear them.)

The slim fit, low rise trend started giving way to a more comfortable fit, including a higher rise—because after all, properly sitting down is very difficult in slim fit, low-rise pants (I mean properly sitting, where your pelvis is at the right angle for your spine to stack how it’s supposed to). Those baby single pleats got a little deeper, a little more self-assured, but designers still keep the leg fairly slim. If done right, you almost can’t even tell the trousers are pleated at all when worn with a long enough tailored jacket, like on Instagrammer dapperclassic.

But lo and behold, we’ve jumped in the deep end. Say hello to Natalino’s double reverse pleat trouser. Still tapering down to a remarkably narrow 15-3/8 inch leg opening, they’re trying their mightiest to maintain a slim appearance with that ginormous top block introduced by the pleats. More power to whoever wants to wear them, but I simply can’t do it. am now maybe on board?

In 2017, I thought to myself, “Give pleats a chance.” I’d sworn them off forever after the terrible taste Dockers had left in my mouth in my youth. But there is great utility in pleats, and I try to keep an open mind.

First, when they lay correctly on your body and your trouser is a high-enough rise, they make your legs look longer by extending the long vertical line of the trouser crease all the way up to the waistband. It’s the same as how interior designers hang curtains all the way at the ceiling, rather than simply right above the window—it makes the ceiling seem higher.

Second, they give space in your trousers for your body to fold in half when you sit down, thus reducing the chance of tearing your pants at the seam. The only other way to get this functionality, if you prefer the slim flat-front look, is to add stretch fabric (which indeed nearly every mainstream brand in the world has done now).

So I went all-in, getting a pair by Eidos in a more classically Italian double-forward pleat configuration. Yet like these Natalino’s, they tapered dramatically down to about a 15.5-inch leg opening.

In photographs at the right angle, they looked outstanding. And from the comfort standpoint, they were great. But ultimately I just did not like the silhouette they cut in the thighs when seen from any angle other than straight on from the front. So I sold them off and have since doubled down on my plain-front-only wardrobe.

Yet here I am considering pleats once again now owning and wearing pleats in 2022 in the form of these higher-rise, single-reverse-pleat Spier & Mackay covert twill trousers. Covert twill came on my radar after a piece Derek at Die, Workwear wrote a couple years ago saying how they are his favorite winter weather trousers, more so than flannel. I love flannel trousers for their softness, warmth and fuzzy nap, but have admittedly not been able to try proper covert twill to make the call for myself. (In fact, they also have a handful of flannel trousers in the same higher-rise, pleated model as the covert twills if you are interested.)

My trouser game is basically: cotton-linen for summer, flannel for winter. I had to sell my line-up of gray flannels earlier this winter after some weight gain and subsequent body shape changes from the workouts I was doing to wrestle that back down, so I ordered a pair of charcoal flannels in my preferred mid-high-rise flat front during the last seasonal sale of the year. I threw these and a green pair in the cart to finally examine the fabric for myself, and also to get a feel for the sizing of the high-rise model for possible future MTO orders.

The fabric blows me away. It’s bulletproof, and drapes like iron. I’m not sure what I expected but it exceeds those expectations.

And as for the pleats, I can’t believe I’m typing this, but I think I’m a fan. I still prefer the flat front of the charcoal flannels I bought. And the higher rise of these barely registers to me when I put them on (a half inch difference in the front rise; not nothing, but not dramatic in how they feel either). But with the right, heavy, draping fabric, there is great visual appeal in that pleat when it peeks out from behind your jacket.

I got navy because my winter trousers are split evenly between blue and brown jackets. These pair great with the browns. The charcoal flannels pair well with everything.

Covert twill is not a common fabric in pants made for under $150, and last winter when they were first introduced by Spier & Mackay, I hesitated because of the pleat, and missed out on my size. This winter, I’m still reluctant, but am once again thinking “Maybe I should give pleats another try.”

Natalino, by the way, also has some twill trousers in their normal single-pleat, high-rise fit: one in cream cavalry twill, then covert twill in navy and gray. They’re a bit more expensive and ship from overseas so returns would be a hassle, but the silhouette I’ve seen on them is pretty impressive. Look at Graham for an example—he’s said on Styleforum that his body type is quintessentially slightly overweight, like many people, yet the trousers create a magical slimming effect.

Cavour has covert twills as well, in their more mainstream mid-low rise with the single baby pleat. Cavour’s trouser fit looks much more like a plain front from all angles, until you see that tiny baby pleat in the front. And the rise is lower than the Spier or Natalino versions, if that’s your preference.

If I do decide to try pleats again, I’ll be sure and report on my findings. In the meantime, I’m wondering, what are your opinions on pleats? Are you a fan, or dead-set against them like I have been most of my adult life?

The original version of this article was published in Oct. 2020.

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