The Proper Way To Wear Pleated Pants

When fashion nerds say all trends are cyclical, they’re mostly right—some trends just take longer than others to return. While every new generation seems to discover Chelsea boots and tracksuits, we won’t see boot-cut jeans or Zubaz back in style until at least 2103. Pleated pants are somewhere in the middle: We last took ours off in the spring of ’93, and we’ve never regretted it. But after a quarter-century hiatus when they were harder to find than four-inch-wide ties, pleats look fresh all over again—which is why menswear heavyweights (Hermès, Ralph Lauren) and upstarts (Ami, Lemaire) are all rolling them out for spring. Fresh off the runway, they have crazy variety: You can get them shallow or deep, forward or reverse, single or double (or even triple!). You can find them on slouchy drop-crotch trousers and tailored suit pants alike—though if you see them on jeans or sweatpants, go ahead and set them on fire and send us the bill. The new pleated pants are subtler than the waist-spreaders you may remember, the taupe slacks that made your lap look like a giant geisha fan. They’re slimmer now, but definitely not skinny. They fit elegantly, riding high on your hips and falling to your shoe with a gentle taper. Read more at GQ.