Many trends have made an unexpected comeback, and like a bad sequel to a bad movie, many of them are just as bad as they were the first time. But pleated pants are not such a trend. Though they’ve ...

After more than a decade of flat-front, slimmer-is-better propaganda, this news may come as an unexpected—and unwelcome—surprise to even the most enterprising men of style: Pleated pants are back.

Pleats have been around in some form or another since men’s pants were popularized in the Western world, and have traditionally been seen as a practical design feature to increase mobility and comfort ...