I never thought in a million years that pleated pants would come back….ever. I remember sorting through all my work pants in the early 2000’s and getting rid of any evidence that I ever wore pleated pants. Fitted, flat front pants are all that I have worn for more than a decade. If I am being honest, I rarely wear pants because fitted pants make me feel self conscious. However, I should have known that fashion always comes back to bite those decisions, where we discard something so lovely.
Pleated, soft fitting pants that brush against, instead of hug your curves? They can actually look pretty nice. Before sewing a pair, I bought a cheap pair on clearance for $9 to see how I liked them on me. I loved them! They didn’t make me look fat as I expected they would, they felt like joggers but looked classy. They have become a favorite in my ‘working from home’ Covid wardrobe, ever since.
I went through my vintage patterns to see if I had a pattern to suit my ambition. At first I looked at this DKNY pattern but when I did a paper fit, the pattern was a bit tight. For my first pair of pants, I did not want to modify the pattern so this pattern was not the right one for me.
Luckily, I found this lovely McCalls pattern, I had set aside a while back. I even wrote ‘great pleated pant’ on the front of it, so my past self was looking out for me.
Back in 1994, I owned an almost identical pair of pants. I had saved up my babysitting money and bought a pair of navy wool pleated pants from Club Monaco. I wore these pants everywhere. This was at a time when most teenagers were wearing rips jeans and plaid shirts….so I was a bit ahead of my peers. I even wore them on dates….that poor 16 year boy was expecting a short dress….I covered myself from head to toe in 1990’s office wear.
When sewing a new type of garment, I always use cheap fabric and baste. I used to skip basting but that little step really helps you get a better fitting garment. When I say cheap fabric, I usually mean whatever I can find at the thrift store which could be Italian wool to polyester suiting. If you can get a few meters for under $5, you don’t feel so bad if you make mistakes. I was going to make these pants in a wool I bought from a Paris shop that sold offcuts for Chanel…but my friend strongly suggested I use the cheap fabric first. She was right, not because I was going to mess up but because it made it worry free to sew them. The fabric I used was a light weight almost tweed suiting, not wool but it had the weight of a gabardine….and it was under $5. I found all sorts of goodies for these pants in my thrift store sewing bins….total cost of all supplies and pattern was $10.
This pattern is so easy to sew, once you realize the zipper is in the back. I didn’t read the instructions so I was very confused when I got to the zipper. I felt pretty foolish when I realized my mistake. They turned out really well and even though they are not fitted or flat front, I think they are kind of sexy. What do you think?
I hope I have inspired you to make a pair of pleated pants this year. If you are looking for great vintage pattern to make your own, check out my shop on Etsy. I have patterns for all sizes and tastes, see link below:
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/StyleSewciety?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=884887947
Style Sewciety 