What I'm Wearing: Harem Pants
They’re back from the 80’s. They’re super comfy. They look good on pretty much everyone. They’re the perfect balance between dressy and causal.
They’re harem pants!
If you know me, you know that this past month I have been obsessing over harem pants. At first I wasn’t really a big fan of them, but after trying them on — oh my gosh! It made me realize the excitement of pants. When I put them on, I felt like I just became a part of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Anyway, right now I have three pairs of harem pants; a white and pastel-striped pair, a navy and cream pair, and a black pair. Since it is still relatively chilly in Chicago, I’ve just been wearing them with a fitted long sleeve shirt and heeled booties. But, when it gets warmer I’ll be wearing them with bralettes and crop tops, with wedges or pumps.
Question of controversy: Are harem pants acceptable to wear to work?
Yes. Harem pants can look really professional and classy if you style them correctly. Personally, if I was working in an office, I would wear the more trouser-like harem pants. I would only wear neutral colors to work too — even some patterns if they weren’t too crazy. For the office, just pair the pants with some pumps and a blouse with an open blazer and you should be appropriate — and absolutely stylish!
Question of history: Where did harem pants come from?
Well, according to my brief Google search that I thought I’d do for you girls — or guys I guess — harem pants were popular in the 1980’s. Okay, technically they go back about 2,000 years ago when they were worn as traditional garments, but for time’s sake, I’m going to just tell you about the 1980’s.
So they were commonly referred to as “hammer pants” because of M.C. Hammer. He used to wear them a lot in his music videos and concerts. You can see him wearing them in a video here.
Dancers have been wearing them for a long time too. They’re perfect to dance in because they keep you warm and you don’t have to worry about stepping on the hem of your pants while you’re moving around. I used to take hip-hop dance classes and a lot of the students used to knit harem pants to practice.
So now we’re back to 2014 where these pants are making a come-back. If you don’t have a pair, I recommend finding some. You can get them pretty much anywhere; I even got a pair of mine from Forever 21. Harem pants are stylish, fun, and give you the same comfort as sweatpants. They’re pretty much the best kind of pants since leggings — and yes, I am one of those girls who wear leggings as pants.
