Pleated or Flat Front Chinos

[jgilbert]

I have found that i like the flat fronts for work around the house.
Then pleats for work / dress.

i did try on a set of Bill's. They are cut big. However after seeing their site, did see where they did have another style.

 

[griffer]

I have bill's- two pair flat front and one pair with forward pleats. big fan. But hey are all the M2 version. M2 is there more 'modern' cut- less full than the M1.

I think I will order my vintage M1 flat front button fly today.

For those of you in the Reading area, you can find some STEALS in their factory second/returns room at their factory- $20 a pair.

 

[Dutch McCoy]

I usually prefer pleats but am having a dickens of a time finding them around here. It seems everyone is tired of pleats. I have not special reason for liking them, I think they look good on me and no one has told me otherwise, yet, so I guess they look fine.

 

[avoice]

Accidents of history

Before WWII formal trousers were almost all pleated. When WWII began for the USA, the Office of Price Control restricted most manufactures of products needed for the war effort and one restriction was on pleats in pants, which used up more cloth. American military uniforms also did not have pleated pants unless custom made, and so that style became prevalent for a time after the war. Uniforms were not as uniform as today, and officers purchased their own uniforms or had them made by private tailors if they could afford to, as long as the end product comported with the written regulations. The end results varried.

 

[Jovan]

I have bill's- two pair flat front and one pair with forward pleats. big fan. But hey are all the M2 version. M2 is there more 'modern' cut- less full than the M1.

I think I will order my vintage M1 flat front button fly today.

For those of you in the Reading area, you can find some STEALS in their factory second/returns room at their factory- $20 a pair.

I thought the M2 only came in reversed pleats?

 

[griffer]

I thought the M2 only came in reversed pleats?

They come both pleated and flat front.

Sorry, Jova, I missed your question months ago...

 

[Kishtu]

Have to say that as a lady I prefer pleat fronts on men.

That horrible too tight across the seat, pockets a-gape look that some flat fronts get... *shudder*

There is at least a bit of grace in a pleat front!

 

[Alan Eardley]

Have to say that as a lady I prefer pleat fronts on men.

That horrible too tight across the seat, pockets a-gape look that some flat fronts get... *shudder*

There is at least a bit of grace in a pleat front!

Kishtu

May I resepectfully venture that you are looking at the wrong areas of the wrong men?

Alan

 

[Alan Eardley]

Pleats

We could expand the discussion to include the types of pleat. British pleats usually point in the opposite direction to US pleats. It may just me what I'm used to, but I prefer the former.

And the number of pleats should perhaps be considered. Is two enough or is four too many? I have seen trousers with six!

Alan

 

[Kishtu]

Indeed, I am thinking of the wrong men right now, and my old physics teacher springs to mind - a man who used to stand with his hands in his pockets and a foot on the desk, posing provocatively to an unappreciative audience.... it's scarred me for life. Tainted flat-fronted trousers for me, forever.

That, and there's nothing worse than being able to see, like Gollum in Lord of the Rings, "what has it got in its pocket-ses?"

Not I'm sure that any gentlemen of the lounge would go about with their trouser pockets stuffed with keys and small change - but if they feel the need to, pleats (in my aesthetic opinion) cover the lumps and bumps better.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Indeed, I am thinking of the wrong men right now, and my old physics teacher springs to mind - a man who used to stand with his hands in his pockets and a foot on the desk, posing provocatively to an unappreciative audience.... it's scarred me for life. Tainted flat-fronted trousers for me, forever.

That, and there's nothing worse than being able to see, like Gollum in Lord of the Rings, "what has it got in its pocket-ses?"

Not I'm sure that any gentlemen of the lounge would go about with their trouser pockets stuffed with keys and small change - but if they feel the need to, pleats (in my aesthetic opinion) cover the lumps and bumps better.

Kishtu,

You poor lady! What an unedifying experience for a young girl. I hope you don't mean 'tainted flat fronted trousers' too literally...

I agree completely. I advocate the use of the old type of long and flat (i.e. non-folding) wallet with space for stamps and a small pouch for the change. Often available NOS from charity shops.

Alan

 

[RetroRich]

Always English forward facing pleats for me..+ a nice high & wide cut.

 

[Kishtu]

Yep, I think whichever one wears should retain its purity of line by not stuffing a ton of gubbins into the pockets.

Speaking of purity of line, wouldn't six pleats in a waistband make the gentleman look slightly....cluttered in the waist area? Two is sufficient surely to take in the excess fabric!

(would be interested to see pics if you have them, Alan, as I can't imagine how that could work - four at a push I could see, but six strikes me as done for the sake of doing it...)

 

[Alan Eardley]

Yep, I think whichever one wears should retain its purity of line by not stuffing a ton of gubbins into the pockets.

Speaking of purity of line, wouldn't six pleats in a waistband make the gentleman look slightly....cluttered in the waist area? Two is sufficient surely to take in the excess fabric!

(would be interested to see pics if you have them, Alan, as I can't imagine how that could work - four at a push I could see, but six strikes me as done for the sake of doing it...)

Kishtu,

What the Italians call 'Bella Figura'. I don't have photos of the six pleated ones. As I recall, your comments are correct. They were 'busy', although the pleats dimished in size towards the outside. The third pair were vestigial. Four is common and IMO four medium or small ones works better than two large ones.

Alan

 

[dhermann1]

I think the key issue here is waist height. Low waist with pleats, combined with a little extra tummy, can make for a very unattractive silhouette. If we all had flat guts (another reason to find you young whippersnappers really annoying!), it would all be simply a matter of taste. I have a couple of new pairs of linen slacks with double front pleats, and if they'd stay above my waist I'd sure as heck look better in them. I'm thinking about getting suspender buttons added. But when I wear chinos or khakis, mostly hanging around the house, I wear non pleated, and let the guts fall where they may. I often as not will wear a Hawaiian shirt with them, so it doesn't really matter so much.

 

[carter]

Originally posted by Jovan
Quigley: Everyone recommends Bill's Khakis to me. They have a style just like the WWII originals, but with forward pleats.

Thanks for the tip! I've always wanted to know where British Khaki with forward-facing pleats could be purchased. I just ordered a pair!

 

[Matt Deckard]

It's true... the issue is waist height. Nothing worse than a pair of trousers with pleats and a low waist, it gives off that wearing a diaper affect.

Forward pleats are my favorite yet they can't be carried off unless the pockets are empty as it takes awayt from the line of the front pants crease when objects bulge. Outward facing pleats are different as they don't since objects placed in the pockets don't send the crease bowing outward. they may cause the pleat to open yet they don't make the line bow outward causing that diaper effect.

Flat fronts aren't flattering on everyone. You should be slim if you want to wear them low though if you have any belly whatsoever, I empore you to wear them high... belly button or above.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

When men gain weight, they usually don't get wide hips as much as a beer belly. The mainstream answer seems to be to wear trousers that simply start below the belly and so have a considerably smaller circumference. And you look so young with lower-hip trousers anyway, don't you, because that's what the young people are wearing these days. I never understood whom the wearers intend to fool.

To get back to the thread's topic, the additional grand trick is not to have pleats, because flat front trousers suggest there's no need to hide anything.

 

[Jovan]

Kishtu: Bespoke (custom tailored) flat fronts make a huge difference. I have that "pockets agape" problem with many flat front RTW trousers, but imagine the fuller cut khakis from Bill's would be a little more forgiving.

 

[Kishtu]

Jovan, you may have made someone very happy in a couple of months.

Other than that my lips are sealed, but HURRAH!! they take PayPal and ship outside the US....