Pleat

A pleat is a type of fold used to either taper, or to decorate a piece of clothing. To read more on the use of pleats in fashion please click the link on the left.

In mens fashion, pleats are most commonly used on trousers and dress shirts. The benefits of using pleats on trousers is to create looser fitting pant legs while still creating a fit on the waistline. For dress shirts pleats are usually found on the back to help taper the shirt on the waist. In addition tuxedo dress shirts worn for black tie events commonly have decorative pleats (see picture on the right) at the front.