Fashionpedia: Harem Pant

Harem Pant (parachute pant)

Harem pants or harem trousers, also known as parachute pants, are women's baggy long pants tapered at the ankle, with side flaps on the hip that button at the waist area.

Harem pants, which originated in India, are like a cross between a skirt and a pair of skinny jeans. The legs, from the knees down, are fitted. The crotch area is loose and baggy as if it were cut to be a skirt.^[1] 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. There are resources that show various forms of pleated skirts and explain how they are created.

They've also emerged as a "modern" version of harem pants made popular in the late 1980s by MC Hammer^[2] and thus known as hammer pants (below). They are intended to be made more fashionable and require less fabric.

For all the fashion flak harem pants endure, at least they have a story to tell.

Fashion journalist and blogger Patty Huntington says the tulip-shaped trousers, also known as dhotis, were first worn by men in the deserts of northern Africa.

They originated with the Zouaves, military recruits to the French Army in the 19th Century, says Huntington. They were a desert pant, loose and comfortable.

The shape was championed by the suffragette movement as a release from the strictures of corsets and petticoats in the late 1800s.

Its main proponent, American Amelia Bloomer, became the trouser's namesake, despite failing to convince the women of her era they were better off wearing the pants.

Designer Paul Poiret embraced the shape in 1920s France, producing an orientalist collection of head dresses, kaftans, harem pants and lampshade silhouettes.

Paul Poiret Harem pant

Huntington says the blowsy bottoms returned to popular culture in the 1960s and 70s. Talitha Getty was photographed in a pair of white harem pants on a rooftop in Morocco.

But it was American rap singer MC Hammer that gave the pant its most memorable outing, in a Mondrian palette of red, yellow, black and white.

Major fashion houses refer to the Harem pant in seasonal collections. A staple piece used in or around many fashion trends.

Fall 09 Balmain

References

1. ^ http://cyberstylist4u.com/hot-fashion-trend-harem-pants
2. ^ In The 80s — Clothes of the Eighties, Harem Pants
3. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/harem-pants-a-liberating-history-20090820-ermb.html#ixzz24A3e2VAX
4. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/poir/hd_poir.htm

Fashionpedia: Jodhpurs

Jodhpur: Horse riding pant

Origin

The Jodhpurs originate from India and are a long ankle length pant stretching down to a snug fit from the calf to ankle. The trouser is a descendant of  the ancient Indian trouser called the Churidar ( this pant is tight around the calf and baggy at the hip and thigh), today still worn in traditional Jodhpury weddings.

The Jodhpurs was popularised in the late 19th Century during Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The English Polo team were sporting these pants all custom made for them in India.

Purpose of the Jodhpurs

Special adaptations for riding include a pattern cut with the leg seams on the outside of the leg; a patch on the inside of the knee, sometimes of a hard-wearing material such as leather; and in some cases similar leather or leather-like panel on the seat that helps the rider stay still in the saddle. Classic jodhpurs are beige or white, but for working purposes come in a variety of colours.They are particularly well-suited for fast-growing children as shorter paddock boots cost less than tall boots to replace as a child's feet grow.

Jodhpurs as a fashion icon

Ladies began wearing jodhpurs during the 1920s, as they shifted away from riding horses sidesaddle. One of the first high-profile women to adopt the wearing of jodhpurs was Coco Chanel. She was inspired to copy the breeches as worn by a friend's groom.

As part of the 20th century trend of crossover fashions moving from sportswear to streetwear, various designers have incorporated equestrian styles into their clothing, including jodhpurs. Ralph Lauren is the most well-known of these designers, as equestrian styles and motifs are the basis of the Ralph Lauren Polo line. (Polo/Ralph Lauren presented "Man and the Horse", an exhibit of riding clothing and accoutrements from three centuries at the Metropolitan Museum of New York Costume Institute in 1984, curated by Diana Vreeland.)

Ralph Lauren Jodhpurs

Today, Jodhpurs are developed and redesigned for new markets. The dropped waist and baggy thigh is proving popular in Youth Fashion and emerging as a constant trend. Many denim manufacturers particularly from Japan are reinventing denim jeans in the styling of the Jodhpurs.

References

1. ^ ^a b c d Price, Steven D. (ed.) The Whole Horse Catalog: Revised and Updated New York:Fireside 1998 ISBN 0-684-83995-4 p. 215
2. ^ http://www.fashiontrendsindia.com
3. ^ http://www.rathore.com/JodhpurPants.htm
4. ^ Photographs exist of Sir Pratap Singh mounted on a horse, apparently in England, wearing his tight-calfed riding trousers with traditional Indian riding footwear rather than tall boots, dated 1917 & 1918. [1][2] Images, Hulton Archives: 7 March 1917, Sir Pratap Singh on Horseback, Editorial Image #3096959; & gettyimages.co.uk image # 104416011, 1 Jan 1918
5. ^ http://rajasthantravelguide.com/activities/polo.html
6. ^ Goodman, Wendy (26 November 1984). "New York Magazine". p. 72.
7. ^ Goodman, Wendy (26 November 1984). "New York Magazine". p. 67.
8. ^ Crabtree, Helen K. Saddle Seat Equitation: The Definitive Guide Revised Edition New York:Doubleday 1982 ISBN 0-385-17217-6 p. 92-100

Fashionpedia: Smoking Jacket

The Smoking Jacket:

Roosevelt Lounging or Smoking Jacket: Circa 1901-1909

There are many variations of the smoking jacket, key features of this garment are:

• Constructed our of silk, velvet or both
• Shawl collar
• Turned up cuffs

Historically, the smoking jacket was fastened with a toggle, as this icon evolved it nowadays is fastened with a large variety of fastenings. 

In the 1850s, the Gentlemen's Magazine of London defined the smoking jacket as a 

"kind of short robe de chambre, of velvet, cashmere, plush, merino or printed flannel, lined with bright colours, ornamented with brandenbourgs, olives or large buttons."[1]

The Origin of the Smoking Jacket

In 17th Century, Europe began to import spices, coffee, silks and tobacco from exotic regions of the world.  In this period it became classical to be depicted wearing a silk robe de chambre or typically referred to as a dressing gown.

Map of Europe 17th Century

Birth of the Smoking Jacket

A simple equation can explain how the Smoking Jacket was invented.  The formula behind the equation (illustrated below) involves:

• a dressing gown;
• silk;
• cigars; and
• a man.

The combination of all four ingredients were used to create this fashion icon.

Use throughout the 20th Century

Historically the Smoking Jacket was developed to form functional needs. 

these needs included:

• Social Needs  
• Environmental Needs 

The short smoking jacket soon evolved from these silk garments.  According to menswear historian G. Bruce Boyer, the Crimean War (1853-1856) made Turkish tobacco abundant in England. The popularity of smoking spiked. After dining, gentlemen would retire to a den or smoking room and don a smoking jacket. The jacket absorbed the odors of pipes or cigars and protected a man's suits and shirts from ash.

In more recent times, due to the rise of Playboy tycoon  Hugh Hefner during the late 1960's the smoking jacket became more of a sex icon than ever before.

Until 1966 the famous smoking jacket was only seen as a men's garment. Until Yves Saint Laurent,created the Le Smoking tuxedo suit for women was the first of its kind to earn attention in the fashion world and in popular culture. It pioneered long, minimalist, androgynous styles for women, as well as the use of power suits and the pantsuit in modern-day society. Yves Saint-Laurent was seen by many as having empowered women by giving them the option to wear clothes that were normally worn by men with influence and power.

YSL Le Smoking Tuxedo Photograph Helmut Newtown

The smoking jacket is now a signature essential in many designers'runway collections. Design houses such as

Tom Ford, Gucci and many others include the smoking jacket each season.