-Bruno

I also think they look better with a ballet flat, rather than a trend shoe. Just one full-on trend at a time please.

There are so many options — wide, flowy legs; narrower, drapy legs; tapering legs; gathered waist; band waist; dropped waist; no ankle cuffs; narrow ankle band; wide ankle bands; Cossack style with tall boots; harem style with pretty sandals; salwar style with dainty flats.

But like anything else that is off the dead-center mainstream, timidity is a look-killer.

I LOVE harem pants, many different varieties … and sparkly is best of all. I’m all about the sparkly: sequins, brocades, embroideries … LET IT SHINE! Ahem. I’m also good about the quieter, more day-to-day kind. And for the vertically-challenged ladies who would like to wear them but feel too short – goodness me, how tall do you think the ORIGINAL wearers of those pants are?? Have you SEEN the Indian ladies in their salwar kameez – many of them aren’t as TALL as five feet! Same goes for ladies of other Asian and Middle Eastern extraction – THEY’RE not model-tall, and the clothes were originally DESIGNED for them. Ditto for the apple shapes – do you think the ladies stopped wearing their various types of harem trousers when they were pregnant? What is more apple-shaped than that? It’s all a matter of proportion, cut, fit, and drape.

I have never understood why so many people think that a trouser which gathers at the ankle should induce hysterics or inspire revulsion. That’s just silly. (And there’s an added plus to a harem pant that’s tightly gathered at the ankle: no little creatures running up that pant leg, yikes!)

Quite often a harem pant is FAR more comfortable and flattering to the female shape than man-tailored trousers are, possibly because many women are not man-tailored.

And they are EXCELLENT to wear under skirts that are sheerish, or wrap dresses that may blow open! I have a fabulous pair of black-on-black sheer sparkling trousers that I wear under a tiered black lace skirt; it looks wonderful.

Now is the time to try some new and different layerings! And if you’re afraid you can’t find a pair large enough to fit, check out the sites that cater to belly dancers (especially the American Tribal style) – they frequently carry quite large sizes.

I’m delighted that harem pants are available!

And capri-length harem pants aren’t that unusual to me. Add a riding boot and they look like a pair of plus-fours. Then, the knee length ones look like pantaloons or the pants that men wore during the Elizabethan era. (That section of costume history gets fuzzy for me.)

P.S.– I saw the high-waisted, pleated mom jeans in Nylon last week. My only response was to grumble in disgust about hipsters as I put the mag back on the rack.

Veronica, I love men in capris, and in suits with slim trousers with the ankles just a bit short, too.

Cutselvage, I wouldn’t have believed it until I saw it. I still think the drop waist isn’t for me because anything that tapers THAT severely is going to turn me into a weeble wobble, but I love them on you. Have you tried wearing them with a big statement shoe?

ChristianeF, I’m with you. I want my harem pants to be full all the way through the leg, tapering only slightly –but still blousy– until the ankle, were I’d be happy with snaps or ties. Anything that grips my lower legs for more than 2 inches is too much.