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.
Still skeptical? We don't blame you. “It took us designers years and years to get men into slim-fit pants in the past decade,” says Lucas Ossendrijver, menswear designer for the French luxury house Lanvin, which makes the look you see here. “And now it's the other way around: It will take some time again to get men to wear larger pleated pants.”
When you're ready, be advised that pleats look better the taller you are. A belt is essential. And this is not an excuse to dust off vintage Dockers from the Reagan era. Get a new pair. I did, and they're a revelation—they relax any jacketed look, class up a tee and sneakers, and draw double-takes from strangers who haven't seen pleats in decades (or ever). They feel roomy. They feel lavish. They make plain-front pants look just that: plain.
