MALE CALL

Pleats make subtle comeback to redress lanky-fashion gaffe

Newer, less bulky pleats will be a !attering look for more of today’s body-conscious men.
Newer, less bulky pleats will be a !attering look for more of today’s body-conscious men.

Q. Are pleated trousers out of style? I like the way they make my waist look but I don't want to wear something that stands out as outdated.

A. If you had asked me this question a year or two ago, I would have responded, "Yes, pleated trousers have been out of style for several years and still are." But this year my answer is a bit different. Now, I would say that while pleated trousers have been "out" for a while, the style pendulum has begun its swing in the other direction and some fashion-forward designers are introducing a few pairs with pleats into their newest collections. The handwriting is on the wall.

Oddly, this return to pleats is so recent that it may not be totally clear whether a man you see wearing pleats is very stylishly up-to-date or so far out of the fashion awareness that he's still wearing his old pants from 10 years ago. A subtle clue might be the overall silhouette of the trousers he is wearing -- that is, are they cut rather full, are the pleats too many and too deep as was the style in the '90s and turn of this century? Or, it could just be his overall look. Does he come across as so current that he would wear what is looming on the fashion horizon, or is he merely a clueless dresser?

Despite the dramatic changes we are seeing in men's recent casual dress and the current crop of popular street-styles, traditional dressing is another story. As I have said before, much of men's dressy clothing remains the same from year to year and from decade to decade. "Classic," "constant," and "unchanging" are words that have for years described the business and dressy wardrobes of America's well-dressed men.

In truth, to the frustration of men's clothing designers, there are only a small number of changes in traditional menswear, and even those few changes are usually subtle. The width of a necktie varies by only fractions of an inch. A suit's or sport jacket's lapel widens or narrows in tandem with the width of ties.

Some changes are more obvious. The popularity in past years of men's clothes that draped nicely with an Armani slouch waned, and the more elegant retro cut of the Mad Men era took hold. The next trend was the extreme too-tight, too-skimpy, and too-short styles with skinny flat-front pants introduced by the iconoclastic designer Thom Browne and latched onto by a lot of "downtown" dressers.

Some of these were flattering to the average guy; some were definitely not. Many men wonder why clothes have become so tight. It's a trend, one that I have always found hard to understand. Men don't usually embrace styles that are neither comfortable nor flattering. Now, as we near the end of the tight, body-hugging style cycle, men seem ready to welcome this new slightly more relaxed silhouette.

These more flattering looks that work for guys with normal builds include a return to the easier fit of a shallow pleat. So, yes, you can wear pleats but not your old ones. Pleats are about to return, but they will be a somewhat different cut -- something between the old far-too-full and bulky pleated pants and the more recent trim plain-fronts. Part of this new look will not only be the addition of single, shallow pleats, but also the comfort of added space in the trouser leg.

My guess is that since you like the way pleats make your waist look, you are probably built like a normal guy, and not like a male model. Not every modern male is in perfect shape. Some flat-front pants only look great on guys with true "flat fronts." The reason men liked pleats in the past -- and have missed them since they've been out -- is that they are very effective in disguising a bit of a belly. Still, this is only true if the pants are well cut. Too much fullness accentuates extra pounds. And pleats that stretch and pull open definitely call attention to a man's waist and make him look larger.

Depending on the fit, the depth and number of the pleats, and the thickness of the fabric, the newer, less bulky pleats will be a flattering look for more of today's body-conscious men.

Send men's fashion queries to Male Call:

lois.fenton@prodigy.net

High Profile on 05/28/2017

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