Harem pants. Before you write these baggy bottoms off as a passing trend, know this: they outdate MC Hammer by hundreds of years. They're basically as old as pants themselves, and haven't gone out of style since.
The Ottoman Empire: So Trendsetter
The style first won widespread popularity during the Ottoman Empire, when Turkey took over much of North Africa, Southeast Europe, and Western Asia during the 16th and 17th centuries. While the Empire spread across continents, so did the şalvar, which is Turkish for most comfortable, best pants ever.
Easy breezy beautiful: a Christian woman (center) and a Greek monk (right) model the timeless, unisex style of the şalvar during the Ottoman Empire.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Over the years, the style of the salvar was tailored to suit the culture that adopted it:
Algeria
Modest, yet tres chic: this lady shows off the height of Algerian women's street fashion in 1892.
India
The Salwar Kameez is a traditional Indian clothing style still popular today that we all wish we could pull off, but probably can't.
United States
An illustration for Puck Magazine in 1911 shows the "harem pant," a style brought over by a Paris designer with the mind-blowing idea that women could wear pants. Le gasp!
US Men's Fashion
The New York Knicks: you might as well call them the New York Harem Pants. Knickerbockers are really just male harem pants popular in the early 20th century.
Justin may not know what you mean but he knows his way around a pair of harem pants.
Women's Modern Harem Pants
We've found it can still be hard to find a good pair of harem pants in the US. That's why we import these from Thailand. These 100% cotton, one size fits all pants are available in 4 different colors and 3 different prints. They're mid-weight, elastic at the waist and angle, and break in soft like denim. You're gonna love them.
This chick is more comfortable than you. It doesn't have to be that way.
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