Suit Question - Pleat or not?

I'll try to keep this short.

I'm debating between single pleat and flat front pants. I'm in my early 30's professional and I've always worn pleated pants.

I'm 5 foot 10, 185 and around a 44 coat with a 36 inch waist. I have very broad shoulders and very big thighs. (I'm an ex football player and I still lift and run a lot).

Flat front pants in "athletic" cuts look like I squeezed my thighs into them. Flat front pants in regular 44 drops require a significant amount of tailoring and still don't look quite right after all the work done on them.

So. Is a single pleat really that bad for someone moderately young?

Anyone around my size know of anyone who makes a good flat front suit that doesn't make them look like they bought the pants a size too small?

I don't mind a single pleat, but a lot of people do. So what, exactly is the fashion faux-pas with a single pleat?

I mean, I get that Z. Cavaricci's are bad and I don't care for double pleats, but when I wander around Nordstrom's or another men's store, most of the Hickey Freeman's et al. I see have at least one pleat, usually two.

Thanx in advance.

There's nothing wrong with a single pleat if you've got big thighs...

Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum

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There's nothing wrong with a single pleat if you've got big thighs...

+1

I'm a similar size - ex-cyclist and regular walker, pleats work a lot better

Its only Single Pleats and FlatFronts for me. Double (or gasp, triple) look very bad on me.

Go with what works best for you, not what other people want you to feel best in. Pleats are neither for people in a certain age nor a question of fashion. It simply depends on what works best for your body.
Personally, I always order my suit pants with single outward pleats and I am significantly younger than you are.

Thanks guys.

I agree, I don't really like the way I looked in flat front pants, I thought maybe I just had not found a brand that worked, although I tried pretty much all the ones I could find and nada. They all seem to be cut for people with thin legs, which I do not have.

Sterling, I agree.

Like I said, I've always had pleats in my pants. I just wanted to see if there was a suit made in flat fronts that didn't make me look like I was smuggling my pads attached to my legs, under the suit just so I could have one in the closet. I'm willing to buy into one fashion trend a year.

It's just when I go into stores I get the "you need an athletic cut, try brand XYZ" and they always seem to come in flat fronts. Then they tell me I look great in them, when I know I don't. Then I wonder why I'm even shopping in that store and I leave.

I just don't get why so many people abhor pleated pants of any sort. I'm told constantly that it's a faux-pas and I just don't get why. I can understand the 80s football shoulder pads though.....

Thanks for posting this question as I've struggled to find flat fronts that fit me well. I'm a similar build and almost all of my pants have a single pleat because that's what seems to fit (and I like the look).

Nothing wrong. Pleats are fine. Don't sweat it.

Originally Posted by Manystyles

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So. Is a single pleat really that bad for someone moderately young?


I'd argue that the appropriateness of pleats has nothing to do with age.


b

Originally Posted by grimslade

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Nothing wrong. Pleats are fine. Don't sweat it.
+1

Flat fronts aren't for everyone, and they shouldn't be.

As everyone else has indicated, FF pants don't work for everyone, and are not some holy f***ing grail, no matter what Cosmo is telling girls to tell their boyfriends these days.