ALLISON KAPLAN
St. Paul Pioneer Press
This week marked a new low in my experiences with reader rage. A man hung up on me over pleated pants.
Like most reporters, I've grown accustomed to the occasional (OK, frequent) critique — the defiant voicemails, the angry e-mails. But I do not believe my written words ever have evoked such indignation over something as seemingly banal as pleats. Perhaps I've underestimated man's passion for his pants.
The conversation started cordially enough, with the caller, who did not identify himself, telling me he read my Oct. 24 article about the new NBA dress code. He took issue with one of the style tips offered at the end of the story, which read: "Flat-front pants, men. Pleats will only accentuate your hips." The tone was meant to suggest a certain lightheartedness, but I do stand by the advice. It's a common misperception that pleats hide bulges when, actually, they add bulk.
Every fashion expert — yes, male fashion expert — I've interviewed in recent years has pleaded with men, and women, to lose the pleats.
My caller wasn't convinced. "I think you forgot that men don't have issues with their hips. I'm slender, and I wear pleated pants," he said.
Perhaps the reference to hips confused the message, so I attempted to clarify. Body type is really not the issue. Skinny or rotund, pleats are just not flattering. And flat-front styles are not only for Jude Law types — they now come in relaxed cuts, too.
"You're trying to do to men what you do to women!" the caller exclaimed, and I suddenly felt a tinge of sympathy. Guys aren't used to the body image insecurities that nag at women daily. Somebody needs to get this man a pair of "fat day" jeans and a slimming black sweater!
But that wasn't his issue. "Do you really expect me to go out and buy new pants? What do you think the haberdashers were telling us 10 years ago? They were selling pleated pants! I wear pleated pants!"
Click.
So this is why Dockers continues to manufacture the classic pleated cut.
I can't blame men for being resistant to change. They are routinely ignored in fashion stories that highlight ever-changing trends for women. They get less space at department stores. They have fewer stores to shop, period. Their options are more limited, and so they've concluded that khakis and a navy blazer are all a guy really needs to get by … year after year.
But men's fashions evolve just like women's — the cut of a jacket, the width of pants, the number of buttons on a blazer. Nothing says a guy has to update any more than a woman has to wear jeans slung below her navel just because that's what all the models are showing.
But when we do devote ink to men's fashion, we attempt to address the latest looks — the fashion "news." Disappointing as it may be, pleats are out. They're way out. They've been out for so long, it's almost silly to discuss.
And yet, this debate never seems to go away. Marshall Field's says the days of three-pleat pants are over. But 98 percent of the dress pants sold at traditional men's store Heimie's Haberdashery in downtown St. Paul are pleated. "It's considered a finish on fine men's clothing, like a cuff," says shop owner Anthony Andler.
Look, some men like their pleats, just like some women want their elastic. Some of us choose to ride the fashion train; others prefer to watch it pass by. Either way, it's OK. Fashion is all about personal expression and showing off the confidence you feel on the inside. So, power to the pleats. Wear your pants with pride.
And caller, if you're reading, do lighten up. Fashion is meant to be fun.
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