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The definitive poll: Pleats vs. Flat Front

binge

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Some of both.
 

Eccentric

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I like both in their own ways. As a skinny guy with hips that can look slightly large, I find that pleats can have a balancing effect. The trick is, pleated pants cannot be worn ultra low on the waist.
 

rocks

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Originally Posted by TC (Houston)
Come to think of it, I don't own a single pair of pleated pants.

Ditto! I avoid pleats like the plague.
 

Maximillion

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Have both. Always choose pleats (and cuffs) for suitings since the silhouette of my trousers looks better with pleats (and a higher waistline). Max
 

nordicstyle

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I have pleated pants on all my suits, but that's mainly because it's not really possible to find unpleated suit pants in stores where I live. It's sort of a defacto standard: suits have pleated pants. If I ever were to order a MTM or bespoke suit I would probably get flat fronts.
 

rdawson808

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Pleats and cuffs. I'm slowly weeding out all of my flat-front trousers.

b
 

NukeMeSlowly

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I need pleats to camouflage my gunt.
laugh.gif
 

voxsartoria

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Apparel Arts showed many examples of pleated flat fronts.


- B
 

Infrasonic

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I have pleated on the left leg flat front on the right...
 

x26

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I'm in the process of burning my pleated pants...
smile.gif
 

nordicstyle

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Originally Posted by Prince of Paisley
Flat fronts. Sure they can be less comfortable if you get them too tight, but if they fit you properly they are just as cosy as pleats if you're sitting down, walking, rockclimbing etc. etc...

Do the pleats actually have a function other than aesthetics? I never noticed any difference between wearing flat front and pleated pants, except how they look, of course.
 

voxsartoria

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Originally Posted by nordicstyle
Do the pleats actually have a function other than aesthetics? I never noticed any difference between wearing flat front and pleated pants, except how they look, of course.

The Great Fluffernutter:

"Trousers have always been cut in two styles: plain front and pleated front. Traditionally, pleated-front trousers have been the choice of the well-dressed man. Again, there is a functional basis underlying the use of pleats. It was a device created to combine comfort and function. When one sits, the hips naturally widen. The pleat enables the trousers to respond. Additionally, the pleats help to break up the width of the front of the trousers and allow a graceful draping of the cloth, which is particularly evident when a man is walking.

"In fitting pleated trousers, the key is to have enough fullness in the thigh that the pleat does not pull open when one is standing. If one is not prepared to wear trousers with a wider thigh, one is better advised to stick to the plain-front style. "

- in Chico and the Man
 

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