Pleat depth question

[jdbenson]

I understand that pleats were more common in the past due to men actually wearing trousers at their natural waist. The waist is normally the slimmest point on a person, so if your trousers are sitting on your waist, they need to go out to fit over your hips before they go in. They need to expand from this slim point to get up and over the hip bones. Pleats enable this expansion neatly and elegantly, dovetailing back into the line of the trousers when width is no longer needed after the mid-thigh point.

My question is this: how deep were the pleats on vintage trousers? Were they merely 1/4 to 1/2 an inch, or something much deeper? [huh]

Today's pleated pants never look right to me. They just don't seem to have the appropriate drape, possibly because they are too fitted in the thigh, and they have too short a rise so will not sit at the natural waist. Anyone know of a good vintage inspired line of men's trousers, high waisted and pleated?

BTW, the vintage clothing stores around here focus more on the 70s & 80s (since when did my childhood become vintage?), so I can not find good vintage trousers anywhere. :rage:

 

[Nick D]

About a half inch, I'd say. On trousers with two pleats on either side, sometimes the outer pleat is a bit shallower than the main, inner pleats.