Pleats are back, and they were never wrong
A single or double pleat gives the trouser room to move. When to choose one over a flat front.
Flat-front trousers have been the default for twenty-five years, long enough that a pleat now reads as a decision rather than as the ordinary way to make a trouser. It was the ordinary way for most of the century before that, and the reason was never fashion.
What a pleat is for
A pleat is folded-in cloth at the top of the trouser, released as you sit or step. It gives the front of the leg somewhere to go. Without it, the same room has to be cut into the width of the leg, which is why a comfortable flat front is a wider trouser and a slim flat front is a trouser you notice all day.
The three we cut
- Flat frontNo pleat
- Single pleatOne fold each side
- Double pleatTwo folds each side
A single pleat is the one to choose if you have never had one. It adds a few centimetres of room where the thigh needs it and, worn at the waist, it is close to invisible standing still.
A double pleat is a fuller trouser and does not pretend otherwise. It wants a higher rise and a jacket that covers the waistband. It looks its best on exactly the people it is most often recommended against: a heavier build, where a flat front pulls across the front and a double pleat simply does not.
How to choose
- Sitting down most of the day: a pleat, single at least.
- A slim leg you want to stay slim: flat front, and accept less room.
- A large difference between your seat and your waist: a pleat, or the front will pull.
- Wearing the trouser at the natural waist: a pleat sits better there than a flat front does.
One practical thing, whichever you pick. The trouser only works if the waistband is where it should be. A pleat worn low on the hip has nothing to open against and bags at the front, which is where the pleat's bad reputation came from in the first place.
