True or false: pleats are only found on the front of pants and darts is just a game you play in a bar? If you answered “true”, unfortunately you would be wrong. But don’t worry, because you’d also be in good company since most men labor under the exact same misconception. Pleats and darts are actually folds of fabric found on the back of many men’s shirts, tailored or not.
Pleats are short folds, a few inches in length, found right below the yoke of the shirt, either at (side pleats) or between (center, or box, pleats) the shoulder blades. Darts are longer, crescent shaped folds located closer to the kidneys, on either side of the small of the back.
You’ve probably seen them before and just not known what to call them, but now that you know where they are, the next question you should be asking is: why are they there?
Good question.
Pleats are designed to give the shirt wearer a greater range of motion in the arms and shoulders when reaching, lifting or performing other physical tasks. If you’ve ever worn a dress shirt and picked up a heavy box, you’ve probably noticed some resistance in the fabric around your shoulders – pleats are meant to reduce this tension by allowing otherwise folded fabric to stretch out, keeping you from bursting through your shirt like the Incredible Hulk.
Darts on the other hand are meant to give your shirt a more fitted, hourglass-shaped look. By gathering and concealing excess fabric under a seam, your shirt will have a snugger, more fitted appearance around the back and the waist. For guys with broad shoulders or bad posture, shirt fabric might look too loose or billowy if not cinched in with darts and allowed to droop down.
So now that you know what these two handy folds can do, should you grab all your non-darted and non-pleated shirts and rush to the tailor immediately? Before you make any rash decisions, you should know that the stylistic value of pleats and darts is still a topic of heated discussion.
A lot of people in the shirt world are quick to attack darts as too feminine – remember that women’s shirts are often heavily darted, and the hourglass figure so often associated with women might not work for every guy. Opponents of this view say that darts look fine on men up to a point, but most caution against going too far with multiple darts or (horror of horrors) adding darts to the front of a shirt.
As for pleats, many are quick to dismiss them as only functional add-ons at best and not very stylish. Center pleats are intended to give a shirt a more sporty look, but because they’re featured on so many off-the-rack dress shirts a lot of men assume they should be included on every shirt. Side pleats are typically thought of as being more up-scale, however if you get them for formal events your efforts might be for naught if they are hidden inside a jacket or tuxedo.
Whether or not pleats and darts are right for you, based on your body shape and lifestyle, is ultimately for you to decide, however now that you understand the deal behind these two common tailoring tricks hopefully it will be easier for you to get a better fit on your next shirt.
Tags: Advice, Details, What's The Deal
