The best replacement for pleats is no pleats.

The best alternatives to pleats are rated as following:
★★★★★  no pleats
★★★★★  flat front
★  plain front
★  darts
★  reverse pleats
  hospital corners
  flat-front
  flat fronts
  knife pleats
  double pleats
  not pleats

Your alternative for pleats is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about pleats, one probably shouldn't forget about no cuffs.

Other search terms related to pleats and their ratings are:
★★★★★ no cuffs
★★★ cuffs
★ drapery pins
You have in mind a companion for pleats and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of pleats in all years. Click on graph for more.
pleats
no pleats
flat front