The Joy, the Anxiety, the Love of Pleated Trousers

Never thought I’d buy pleated trousers on purpose, yet here we are. It’s kind of a one-off pair of pants I pre-ordered from Eidos through No Man Walks Alone. Eidos’ two normal trouser cuts are the mid-rise UAB and the high-rise Sal, both flat front. But this model is their rarely sold Lorenzo model, only available as a made-to-order option (FYI Marcus Malmborg is currently taking made-to-order trouser orders through April 9, including the Lorenzo, in a variety of summer fabrics). 

I somehow convinced myself it would be a good idea to buy these—having never even tried on the flat-front, high-rise Sal trouser—sight unseen, non-refundable, non-returnable. I’m glad to say they worked out beautifully. I took my normal size for dress trousers.

I’m not sure I’ll get another pair, but I’ll say there are two things about them that I really like, and that helps them not look like a pair of 1997 Dockers from Kohl’s

1—Forward pleats

Forward pleats are rarer in the world of pleated pants. Almost every pair of pleated pants you’ll see on the rack are reverse pleats (where the pleats face toward the pockets). I’m not sure I can overcome the years and years of bad, baggy, ill-fitting, crappy reverse-pleated trousers in my childhood and youth. Forward pleats feel classier—and more visually appealing—to me.

2—A fairly aggressive taper

These have a leg opening of just 7.75″ across—meaning they taper down fairly aggressively. That helps avoid any bad ‘90s-’00s Mens Wearhouse connotations because the narrow leg opening is the typical look nowadays. So you get the pleats and the high rise for comfort (which are often not even visible if you’re wearing a jacket, which I plan to do most of the time when wearing these), and the long unbroken line that elongates your legs, but most people probably will not notice anything is different because your shoes aren’t swallowed up by a 12-inch leg opening.

Here’s to a loose, comfortable, pleated summer 🍻