[jonsterling]

A fair point. I suggest only that whether or not you can pull off pleats has a lot less to do with your build or any other personal characteristic and a lot more to do with the kind of pants you're wearing (and whether you are wearing them properly). (To be fair, if you have massive thighs, you basically have to have pleats; this is not an issue for most people though). And so as regards fashion, it's not a matter of whether pleats are in fashion, but how high a rise is fashionable.

If you wear your pants anywhere near your hips, you will look like a clown if you have pleats. Likewise, pants which were made to be worn near the hips are clown-pants if they have pleats.

If your pants, however, have a high rise, and you are man enough to wear them at your natural waist, then pleats will make it possible to sit _and_ stand in your pants and not look like a total fool.