Noun: "(fandom slang) any fanon interpretation of the character Draco Malfoy that portrays him as a romantic 'bad boy' or otherwise downplays his unfavorable qualities"
2013, Antero Garcia, Critical Foundations in Young Adult Literature: Challenging Genres, page 127:
To describe the Draco Trilogy is to locate this particular fan fiction as “het” with “harry/ draco” undertones and is the origin of the “Draco in Leather Pants” trope.
2014, Lucie Cupalová, "Slash Factor: Characteristics and Varieties of Slash Fan Fiction", thesis submitted to Charles University, page 28:
One of the most common ones is the notion of Draco as an elegant young man with long silky hair, the ideal aristocrat, with only a streak of mischief, which is often represented as “Draco in leather pants”.
2015, Kali DeDominicis, "Imagining Virtual Community: Online Media Fandom and the Construction of Virtual Collectivity", thesis submitted to the University of Edinburgh, page 202:
For example, the Draco in Leather Pants trope (see below) refers to a particular fannish reinterpretation of that character and to the general set of practices by which fans downplay the flaws and emphasise the desirability and/or victimhood of certain characters.
2016, Alexander Garner, "The Erotics of Fanfiction: Queering Fans, Works, and Communities in Modern Internet Fandom", thesis submitted to Bowling Green State University, page 80:
Nonetheless, fanon from such fandoms as Harry Potter becomes well known, such as Ginny’s full name being Virginia, Draco embodying the “Draco in leather pants” trope, Dumbledore and Grindelwald being romantically involved, etc.
2017, Shayla Olsen, "Playgrounds for Publishing: Writers in Established Story Universes", thesis submitted to the University of Southern Queensland, page 16:
‘Within the Harry Potter fanfic community, there’s a bit of a stigma against stories that redeem Draco. We have Cassandra Clair (sic) to blame for that: The trilogy takes Draco’s flaws and either glosses over them or tries to pass them off as charming, and… gave us the term “Draco in Leather Pants,” meaning any story that takes an unlikable villain character and glosses over their flaws, portraying their arrogance and dismissiveness as charming traits.’
2018, Elise Payne, "Inferior Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Shrinking of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws to Fit Gendered Space", in Harry Potter and Convergence Culture: Essays on Fandom and the Expanding Potterverse (eds. Amanda Firestone, Leisa A. Clark), page 90:
TV Tropes, a wiki that codifies media and audience practices, considers Malfoy the iconic example of a general fanon phenomenon dubbed “Draco in Leather Pants.”
Noun: "(fandom slang, by extension) any fictional character written or reinterpreted by fans as appealingly rogueish or evil"
Despite everything, I appreciated how well Sonic Forces deconstructed the charismatic villain-archetype by making Infinite heartless AND pathetic, ensuring that fandom would see him as the asshole he is and not a Draco in leather pants. But alas, I underestimated my own fandom...
So I feel you liking a villain is rough, either they become a draco in leather pants or a murderous psychopath there’s no inbetween i swear keep fighting the good fight!
Tamsyn Muir stated that Ianthe Tridentarius was written as a "Draco in Leather Pants", but this is, in fact, an insult to Ianthe. Draco Malfoy never consumed a man's immortal soul in order to gain immortality and ultimate power, nor is he anywhere near as competent and sexy.
