Thankfully, the time when men used to wear spray-on jeans even in the warmest of weather feels like a fever dream. However, living in the era of a more relaxed fit of trousers presents its own problems – most notably, how do you embrace a looser style without looking like you’re wearing your dad’s clothes. The answer is by embracing pleats.
A feature of tailored trousers dating back to the Forties and Fifties, you will currently find pleats making their way back onto slacks in both single and double iterations at many a menswear label. And while you might see them more regularly on formal trousers, such as those you’ll find here on site from Kit Blake, this accent is also appearing increasingly on more relaxed downtime trousers too.
Before you get hung up on the idea of taking a style cue from your great-grandfather, let’s talk about the advantages of the pleat. Whether you are looking for something smart for the office or something to kick around in more casually, the addition of this extra fold (or two) of fabric is not only an eye-catching design detail, but crucially gives your thighs that little extra room. Combine that with an elegant taper down to the ankle and you’ve got a fit that not only perfectly treads the line between relaxed and refined, but also helps to keep your legs that little bit cooler as the temperature rises.
