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Pleats, in or out? Women's slacks
RMJ   Intermediate CA USA Member since 12/14/06 Posts: 422	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/11/13 9:42 PM Are pleated slacks in or out nowadays? I have a nice piece of gray Super 180's wool and am trying to decide which of my patterns to use. I tried on 10 pairs of pants that I've made, and the older ones with pleats fit the best (I think because they have enough ease to just hang nicely). I'm skinny so I don't mind if the pleats appear to add a little bulk. Thanks for your help, Ruth
nancy2001   Advanced AL USA Member since 12/3/05 Posts: 6117	Login to reply to this post In reply to RMJ << 1 member likes this. Date: 2/11/13 10:26 PM It's been a long time since pleated pants were highly popular, and the relative few pleated pants now on the Saks and Neiman's websites look nothing like the classic, tailored pleated pants almost everyone wore in the 1980s and 1990s. The closest pair I've found are these Armani trousers with inverted pleats. If you could freshen up the pattern, perhaps by changing the pleating a bit, you might be able to get the fullness you want without making the pants look like they're no longer in style. Of course, you'd want to sew a muslin before you cut into your good wool fabric. ------ The essence of life is statistical improbability on a colossal scale. Richard Dawkins
Elona   Advanced CA USA Member since 8/24/02 Posts: 7402	Login to reply to this post In reply to RMJ << Like this post Date: 2/11/13 10:45 PM They seem to be currently 'out.' However, styles rotate back in every couple of decades, and Katherine Hepburn didn't care.
RMJ   Intermediate CA USA Member since 12/14/06 Posts: 422	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/11/13 11:15 PM Oh well. I was hoping to avoid a muslin. Thanks for the advice, I know so little about fashion.
Fictionfan   Advanced VT USA Member since 5/19/06 Posts: 1168	Login to reply to this post 2 members like this. Date: 2/11/13 11:36 PM Actually, the Armani spring collection had several pleated pants, all very drapey and wide legged. Looking at just the Nieman Marcus website for pants, perhaps 10% or less had pleats, but they were there. All the jumpsuits seemed to be pleated in the pants section. Maybe pleats are coming back? Or maybe they never left. ------ Fictionfan
PattyE   Intermediate MI Member since 9/7/10 Posts: 652	Login to reply to this post 2 members like this. Date: 2/11/13 11:39 PM Pleated pants are all over the place. Love them.
PattiAnnJ   Advanced OH USA Member since 12/3/06 Posts: 4991	Login to reply to this post 2 members like this. Date: 2/11/13 11:42 PM Pleated slacks are always classy on the slender frame.
Elona   Advanced CA USA Member since 8/24/02 Posts: 7402	Login to reply to this post In reply to PattiAnnJ << 1 member likes this. Date: 2/11/13 11:53 PM They're good on the average frame, too, but the biggest tricks are to use drapy fabrics and to make the waist a little too big. If you snug things up at the waist, the tummy bulge is emphasized and the pants suddenly look both bulky and too small.
Lindy Ann   Advanced KS USA Member since 1/26/12 Posts: 53	Login to reply to this post In reply to RMJ << Like this post Date: 2/12/13 1:12 PM Check Burda 7191. I think it's a new pattern, with inverted pleats and a waistband that sits a little below the natural waist. Those two features keep it from looking dated. The lower waistline also helps prevent that bulge just below the waist that can happen. I always look better in pleated pants -- I'm very curvy, and they seem to de-emphasize the curves and give a smoother line. I also -- finally-- got the crotch curve right with this pattern. It comes with a jacket that I'll never use, but I think the pants pattern will become my standard.
Elona   Advanced CA USA Member since 8/24/02 Posts: 7402	Login to reply to this post In reply to Lindy Ann << Like this post Date: 2/12/13 7:46 PM And if you're visiting or traveling through a hot climate, those elegant pleated trousers are soooo comfortable in a high quality microfiber, with the drape of four-ply silk but the comfort of easy care, that you can hardly believe it.

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