FLORENCE, Italy — In the summer of 1934, the fabled Italian couturier Elsa Schiaparelli weighed in on women in trousers.

“Of course, we don’t want pants,” the straight-shooting designer said, “Men are already ugly enough in them without having women wear them.”
Schiaparelli was correct. Trousers are ugly. Anyone who has visited places where a wrapped garment is the preferred covering for the lower half of the male anatomy can tell you that. Kilts, dhotis, lungi, sarongs, tunics and even the toga have obvious advantages over the two-legged garment that forfeits aesthetics to practicality in almost every case.
Still, despite the best efforts of designers like Virgil Abloh and Dolce & Gabbana to dress men in skirts, we are stuck with trousers, a garment that, if you paid close attention, was a focus of interest among the nearly 40,000 attendants at Pitti Uomo, the twice-yearly men’s wear trade fair that came to a close Monday.