They're pushing pleats─again.

It took years, numerous tries and sometimes, coaxing from girlfriends and wives, to get many men to part from their pleated pants and squeeze into flat-front pants.

Now, just as men have finally gotten comfortable wearing the style, many menswear designers are bringing back pleated pants.

Burberry Prorsum, Calvin Klein, Dries Van Noten, and Gucci are among the labels that made pleated pants a feature of their recent runway shows. Even Prada, generally known for severely slim, flat-front pants, showed fuller pants for its Fall 2012 collection, now in stores. Rather than pleats, Prada used deep, exaggerated darts─stitched seams that give shape and add fullness, giving pants the appearance of pleats.

It's a big 'if' as to whether men will want to go back to pleats. Pleats can conjure cringe-inducing style moments. Remember the '80s, when suits were boxy, shoulders were wide and pants were baggy and generously pleated? Rather than flatter, those pleats often made some men look fatter than they were.

Some retailers say they're monitoring the creep of pleats back on the runways, but not jumping to make room for them just yet. Barneys New York is carrying a relatively small amount of pleated pants in its designer area, about nine brands, aimed at 'a real fashion guy,' said Tom Kalenderian, general merchandise manager of men's. Otherwise, 'we're 100% flat front. Pleats haven't really translated to the regular guy. The guys who don't go on the Web to look at fashion shows, those guys are not going to ever try pleated trousers.'

Retailers' attachment to flat-front pants says a lot about how the menswear retailing industry thinks. When retailers see a new take on an old classic catching on with shoppers─such as retooled plaid shirts─they run with the look to the point of oversaturation on the belief that men don't like things to change drastically, as they tend to in womenswear.

On the flip side, if pleats take off, men with closets full of flat-fronts may feel the need to do a lot of shopping for the new styles, benefiting retailers. Though getting shoppers to invest in a whole new silhouette is one of fashion's biggest challenges.

Julie Rath, founder of Rath & Co., a men's style consulting service in New York, said when choosing pleats to make sure the pants are sitting at a man's true waist so the pleats hang correctly. 'When pleated pants are worn below the belly, this can emphasize a round shape.' Ms. Rath also recommends choosing a slim-fit pleated pant which will reflect some of the new looks on the runway while sticking safely close to 'the overall trim menswear silhouette.'

About 60% of Brooks Brothers' dress pants, either sold with suits or sold separately as slacks, are flat front, compared with 45% two years ago, said Guy Voglino, divisional merchandise manager. In its modern-fit Regent suit line, 90% of the pants are flat front, compared with 70% two years ago. The Regent suits that do have pleats have single 'reverse' pleats, meaning the pleat faces away from the fly rather than toward, creating a leaner look. Flat-front styles represent about 70% of Brooks Brothers' casual pants compared with 50% two years ago.