It's Hammer Time!

Harem pants (also known as Hammer pants) are baggy pants that taper at the ankle, with side flaps on the hip that button at the waist area. The popularity of harem pants increased in the late 1980s with rapper MC Hammer. Harem pants, which originated in India, are a cross between a skirt and a pair of skinny jeans. The legs, from the knees down, are fitted while the crotch area is loose and baggy as if it were cut to be a skirt.Traditional harem pants can be extremely large and baggy, with a very wide and full fit, very roomy, loose fitting, oversized, puffy, spacious, with elastic in waist and at ankles, and with the crotch below the knee almost to the ground.Harem pants are commonly worn with a pleated skirt - a short skirt that covers the top portion of the harem pants. Both harem pants and pleated skirts are commonly used in belly dancing. Fall 2008 collections featured harem pants from big designers like Giorgio Armani, and fashionistas everywhere picked up on the trend.