It takes time for the eye to adjust, both physically and figuratively. You know how if you turn on the bathroom light in the middle of the night, there's a few moments (which can feel like forever) where your retinas adapt to the sudden surge of brightness? Style works in a similar way. What seems, at first, as a violent offense to your sartorial sensibility eventually looks less strange, and then eventually, downright good.

Take pleated pants. For years, everyone in menswear laughed off pleats as business casual gone wrong. At the time, we only wanted to slim cut this and tailored that. But the pendulum swung and roomier and relaxed fits started taking hold and even as the early adopters around me started messing with them, I swore I wouldn't. Flat-front forever, son! "Honestly, a flat-front pant is just more flattering to the body," I'd say. But here's the thing. I was wrong. I finally zipped my stubborn ass into a pair and I gotta say, I like the way they look—cool, comfortable and, well, modern. But here's the real kicker: I really appreciate the way they feel. If you haven't tried a pair, let me put it this way: if you're down with wearing sweatpants, you'll love wearing a pair of pleated trousers.