A problem with pleats.
Posted by Nathaniel.
So, hypothetical situation. You’re shopping and you find a beautiful suit. The jacket literally fits like a glove, like it was made for you. The fabric is a perfect navy with overlaid with a nice windowpane pattern. It’s designer, not a Tom Ford level designer, but Hickey Freeman. Originally it was up around $2K, but I got it for around a quarter of that. Oh, wait, this is hypothetical.
The only problem is that the pants are pleated. It doesn’t show when you have the jacket buttoned, but are pleats a problem?
Obviously, I’m trying to avoid my real work.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:58 pm Using
While plain-front is preferable, I think that pleats can be ok when part of a good suit… the real crime is purchasing pleated trousers on their own. Hickey Freeman is a pretty good suit, so I congratulate you either way. What kind of jacket is it? I think that influences the issue as well.
Oddly enough, I was looking at a nice navy windowpane jacket yesterday. It’s a good look.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:07 am Using
So, I was looking around and the rule is that you’re supposed to cuff pleated pants and leave flat-fronted ones uncuffed. It probably helps balance things out. The jacket is just a regular two-button jobby. I’ll have to take a picture when I’m home this weekend. I kind of like the jacket enough that I’d consider just using it as a sportcoat and ignoring the fact that there are pants.
Plus, I only have one suit and it’s black which is kind of severe for interviews and the like.
September 30th, 2009 at 1:04 am Using
Yes, definitely have pleated ones cuffed, that helps. I actually am a fan of the idea of cuffs on plain-fronted ones, but am not yet rich or eccentric enough to pull that off. Two buttons is good, as you say to balance the pleats maybe.
The not-black is a good idea… I recently got a dark olive windowpane that I would never have picked out for myself, but it’s almost grey and so that helps. Not Hickey Freeman, but we can’t all live up to the G-Money standard all the time.
October 4th, 2009 at 9:07 pm Using
From somewhere I got the impression that pleated pants are for people who are overweight…. I got a pair of pleated pants but it’s not that bad.
A little bit off topic, If you are going to visit HongKong some time, do put visiting a good tailor on the itinerary. The price is very OK comparing to in US ($600 or so you can get a very decent suit) and a tailor made suit is really nice. The whole process is nice too.