‘Harem Pants’: Hot Or Not?

From left: Harem styles by Topshop, Mango, and Yves Saint Laurent for Netaporter.com.

Fashion designers often times come up with trends that are just utterly ridiculous.  The latest cockeyed concoction in women’s fashion to hit the boutiques are pants with a droopy crotch and tapered leg called harem pants.  The style comes in various lengths and crotch droopiness.  The shorts example shown here just looks like an adult diaper to me.

What’s wrong with this trend?  First of all, I take issue with the name.  The word harem conjures up images of female servants and concubines being held captive by Arab men back in the day. This, of course, does nothing but further the negative stereotype of Arabs.  Maybe I’m over analyzing it, but I think it’s wrong nonetheless.

Besides taking issue with the name, these pants immediately take me back and remind me of Ghawar, the character portrayed by Syrian actor Duraid Laham in movies I saw when I was a kid. For those who don’t know, this style of pant, called a shirwal, is a traditional piece of men’s clothing worn in the Bilad al-Sham region of the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan).  Even if  you’re not Arab, these pants will regrettably remind you of the MC Hammer days.  Who’d want to relive that?  I still can’t believe some people actually thought those pants were cool.

I don’t know if women everywhere will start wearing these but I certainly hope not.  I’m totally down with traditional Arab styles becoming prevalent but certain things should just be left alone.  This style is definitely not hot!