Style Icon … MC Hammer?

Harem pants make a comeback

Long weekend filled with snow notwithstanding, retailers all want you to know: Spring is right around the corner. Seriously. They're discounting their winter stock and putting sunny Guatemalan prints and brightly-colored silks in the windows, and mostly, talking excitedly about the incredible spring trends on the horizon. Flapper fringe ('it's so crash-of-1929,' says Style.com)! Structured shapes! And ... harem pants?!

That's right, friends. Those flowy silk pants with the blousing leg and cinched elastic at the calf or ankle ... they're back. And they're everywhere. When they first hit the runways at the Spring 2009, MSNBC catalogued the trend as "unusual"—saying "the look was reportedly worn by a very chic French editor." Typical. Blame the French.

Alas, this one looks to be all our fault: The flowy look was on the New York runways by designers from Diane von Furstenberg to Max Azria. Style.com was classy enough to refer to the overall vibe of the look as "Marrakech Express" (that's why they pay them the big bucks), but then Who What Wear Daily—a fashion newsletter based out of LA&8212;had to go along and call it for what it was: MC Hammer-inspired.

In their recent, aptly-titled posting labeled "Currently Channeling: MC Hammer," the ladies of WWD were actually ballsy enough to recommend purchasing Sue Stemp's $495 shiny gold parachute pants, inspired by the gold foil-looking pair from Chloe's runway presentation. Ladies, you said it: You've outdone yourselves. You West Coasters are on your own here: At our bravest this season, we'll try a silk jumpsuit—we'll leave the over-priced rapper pants to you.

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