Harem Pants Get a Much-Needed Makeover

There are fashion do's and fashion don'ts. For years the harem or genie pant has been a major fashion don't. Girls thought they were cute when Barbara Eden wore them on "I Dream of Jeanie". MC Hammer tried to bring them back in fashion but we did not want to touch that. Now these fashion faux pas pants are trying to make another comeback and it just might work.

The Old Harem Pants

Those silky, often shiny, tapered at the waist, ballooned at the leg and tapered at the ankle pants were fashionable back when having concubines were still in vogue. A few people liked the look when MC Hammer sported these parachute pants. Maybe they thought the pants would enable them to dance like the Hammer. Whatever their reason for wearing these pants back in the 90s, the fascination was short-lived. Since then the harem pant would come back sporadically as a novelty item for fall, however they rarely ever made it to stores. It seemed for a while that the harem pant had seen its last days in mainstream fashion and would be forever relegated to Halloween and costume parties.

The Harem Pant Gets Reinvented

It seems the harem pant is making another comeback but with a twist. Those voluminous, silky, shiny pants of old had a major makeover. The new harem pant has slimmed down to a mere relaxed fit. The fabric is more of a matte, twill that is probably a cotton/polyester blend. These harem pants look nothing like their predecessor and the fashion world should leap for joy over this. If you don't believe us, take a look at the new harem pant from the following retailers:

- Woman Within: Chelsea Studios relaxed-fit harem pant with elastic drawstring waist comes in colors black and white. Made from woven polyester, this plus size harem pant comes in sizes 12W to 34W starting at $24.99.

- Athleta: harem yoga pant with a bandeau waist made from lightweight Viscose rayon and spandex. Comes in black and mercury (heathered grey) in sizes 1x and 2x for $69.00

- Metro Style: Denim Harem Jean for $34.99. This very slim harem pant made in denim really doesn't look like a harem pant at all. Unless you told someone these were harem pants, no one would know the difference. This pant is made from 100 percent cotton and comes in sizes 4 to 20.

As you can see, the harem pant has had an extreme makeover and is poised for a full fashion comeback. What do you think? Would you purchase the new harem pant? Let us know in the comments and let us know if you have spotted more fashionable styles of harem pant in stores.