harem pants

plural noun

1. women's pants usually made of soft fabric and having full legs gathered at the ankle.

Word History and Origins

Origin of harem pants¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Early versions featured a more modestly scaled jacket that landed just below the derrière — like one worn by a teenage Malcolm X. Later examples, known as “extreme drapes,” had long coats that hit the knee and trousers so baggy they could be confused for harem pants.

From Los Angeles Times

Then it’s right back to knights in white satin and the realization that men’s gauze harem pants were once an instrument of liberation.

From New York Times

Paltrow — wearing a cream-colored knit sweater, tweed harem pants and aviator-style reading glasses — shielded her face from photographers using a blue “GP”-initialed notebook as she entered and exited the courtroom.

From Washington Times

Ingres and Matisse transformed the reclining body into an odalisque, dressing their women in sheer harem pants and silk turbans, decorating them with bejeweled peacock-feather fans.

From Los Angeles Times

The fruits of a violent imperial system lie behind the work’s bright, bouncy “Chinese” dance, with its pleated fans and parasols, and its slow, seductive “Arabian” scene, with ballerinas in gossamer harem pants.

From Washington Post