I received my new J.Crew catalog this week and happily sat down to read it magazine style, since I look at it for styling ideas more than individual pieces. I flipped the page and THERE THEY WERE. Again. The sequined harem pant. Really?? When I saw them many months back when Jenna Lyons wore them on Oprah AND in Elle Decor on the the same month I thought “Ok, I hate them, but they’ll be a flash in the pan”. But then they put them out again- the most unflattering pants on the planet- now with a drawstring waist! Next to giant shoulder pads, harem pants are my very least favorite “trend” and to add sequins to them is like, so visually offensive. I think my retinas would be burned if I saw someone wearing them in real life. YET, they are sold out! At an offensive $650 price tag too!! This is something that leaves me baffled- who bought them? Where are they wearing them? Can you imagine answering the door for a date in these? It would be all “Surprise! Did you not know you asked out MC Hammer?”
They are the perfect item for one of my new favorite blogs The Man Repeller, which features fashions that are so unflattering and weird that they clearly repel men but tickle fashionistas silly. Like the jumper/onesie. I remember being super duper against them and then I found a rather cute one that I wanted to wear to a fashion event and I was all proud of myself for being “on trend” and came out of the bedroom in all my onesie glory when Andrew looked at me and goes “you aren’t seriously wearing that are you?”. The man never criticizes my fashion sense because he knows I’d use my Tae Bo skills circa 1996 on him if he did, so that meant it had to be REALLY offensive. I was like, “but I’m so hip!” and he said “it looks like you have a diaper on”. That’s all it took, and I spun on my cute little heel and popped on a DVF number and kept it classic instead.
Footnote: If you own these pants I apologize….and hope you saved your receipt. :)
I so agree! I saw those pants and thought WTF. So unflattering and $650, I mean really. Those pants are tragic. I will definately have to check out the Man Repeller site, sounds hillarious!
ok it cut me off before I finished typing. But love your blog, its one of my daily reads:)
thank you thank you thank you for hating them too
I checked out The Man Repeller – hilarious! Thanks for the introduction.
As for those pants – I couldn’t even bring myself to buy a pair sequined shorts – I couldn’t decide if they were gorgeous or ridiculous. I was regretting my decision until now. You have steered me on the right path!
Thank you! These are completely hideous. I can’t believe they’ve already sold out (maybe they only made 5 pair or something – ha!)
I learned a long time ago (Victoria’s Secret catalogue, circa 2001), sequin pants = bad, very bad idea. Not only do they draw attention to all unwanted areas (look! look here where the light is hitting these shiny sequins! yes, that is the extra big mac and fries I had late last night after drinking too many Miller Genuine Drafts at the bar.) I appreciate the sentiment of trying to bring them back, especially in today’s age of skinny pants/jeans, but oh boy. If you aren’t a JCrew model at a photo shoot, don’t do it. Couldn’t agree more. Hello MC Hammer.
Good to speak up, Erin….. so the industry realizes that their customers will not foolishly follow every ridiculous trend just to stay current. More evidence that classic with a twist is always the right choice. Like most of us, I cannot go into a J Crew without seeing several pieces I could walk out with but sometimes their sales racks have pieces that make me wonder “who would wear this?”
The Man Repeller is hilarious, she proves that women dress for women.
Your ability to make fun of yourself is what makes your writing so refreshing. Your knack for keeping up with the constant change in fashion and design and your willingness to share it in an entertaining way makes your blog exciting to read. Keep on doing what you do. Have you finished your office/studio? Please share!
You had me at the MC Hammer comment, freaking hilarious! Have a fab weekend.
AGREED!!!!!!!!!! What in the hell??? These look like you pooped in your pants and let it sit there…and drawstring? Jenna Lyons, this is NOT okay. And the poor suckers that bought them..I pray I get to run into one.
I’m not buying J.Crew for the rest of the year unless its from the crazy Clearance Store in Asheville where everything is dirt cheap!
xoxo
Hilarious. This post made my day!
i think they’re kinda chic…i say kudos to anyone who goes “against the grain” and has the guts to wear something that you don’t see on every girl walking down Main Street.
i’m one of those people who worships at the house of Jenna.
She (like Marc Jacobs, Muccia Prada, and Kate Moss to name a few) is someone who actually has the eye/power to “set a trend” in motion. I bet we’ll catch a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror in the coming months and see a little sequin on something that we’re wearing. It might not be a disco ball pant, but keep an eye out for a little “Jenna” in your upcoming outfits…i think you’ll all be surprised.
Thanks for getting us talkin’ Erin.
I’m with you on this one! Seriously, who is buying them?
so right! $650?? really!?!?! come on! and sold out? If I wore them my boyfriend would think im going crazy!! jenna lyons wearing them is all right I guess because she is what she is and does what she does but other than that… not really!
Great post!!
oh btw, in case someone likes them nmore than us :) They have them on Net a Porter UK here http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/100494
for a more reasonable price, which is strange!
hahaha! Thank you – (and please J.Crew or Jenna Lyons don’t take this seriously) – but seriously! They are not good, I was flipping through my very massive catalogue last night got to that page and thought, really? Then I passed it to a friend who got to that page and said “this is an interesting look”, I didn’t even have to ask what look she was speaking of.
oh, but I like them. I would never buy them, but I like them.
Sadly, I’ve seen worse. Pleather anything is worse to me. But the drawstring? The drawstring?!?!?!? Terrible.
LOL the MC hammer days!! ugh to the pants and shoulder pads (hope they’re not next in the trends lineup!)
Oh man, I hear ya. I actually think this pant is another in a long string of Jenna Lyons missteps. (I’m sure I just made some enemies…) Truth be told, I keep walking in to the store hoping I’m going to walk out with something that really translates to my life and fills me with that wonderful j crew high I used to love, but instead, crickets. It’s all so boring. When styled for the catalogues: beautiful, inspired. When shown in the light of my reality (meaning no wool bloomers or sequin minis to work) I can’t make it work. It kills me to say, but I’m actually really disliking their stuff. There it is, a (god willing) temporary j crew/Lyons cynic.
Horrible trend. And anyone over an ounce larger than the model will look even more ridiculous. Thank you for bringing up the jumper/onesie or as I call them rompers. Anyone over the age of 10 should not be wearing that childish look either. Ugh. Anyone with class or style would not be caught dead wearing either of these 2.
whew.
so relieved to know i’m not the only one hatin’ on those pants.
i saw the catalog yesterday and i was like “whahhhhhh??”
maybe the execs at j. cew ran into a huge shipment of mc hammer’s pants that he ordered for a tour inn 1987 and are trying to turn a quick profit at our expense.
*yikes.
the model is fashion.
you are hysterical. i thought pretty much the same when i saw them on jenna on oprah- ill fitting and unflattering.
Lets face it – they are sparkly sweat pants! Nothing more!
This is Jenna seeing how far she, fashions uber-it-girl-for-the-masses, can push it.
While I won’t be runnning out to buy them, I for one am thrilled to see something, ANYTHING other than skinny legged pants, sky high heels, and mini skirts. The reality is that the past few seasons have offered options SO unflattering and unforgiving that I’m relived to see things loosened up somewhat.
Haha I couldn’t believe these stupid things when flipping through my catalog this week. Honestly?! $650 to look like the off-brand Barbie I had circa 1991?
Bahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! LOVE this post! I am not on the harem-pant bandwagon either and sequinned harem pants? Oh no!!!!!
Love your blog! xoxo
The thing about J Crew is that every other retailer has become J Crew, embellished t’s, statement necklaces, ruffled blouses, smoky or bright colors, wool shorts etc. Even Talbots the classic and boring style retailer’s new catalog looks like J. Crew. I am so bored with it all.
As for those pants, thank you so much for putting it out there, they are just so unflatteringly ugly.
Re-vol-ting. I mean, really???????????? I’m with ya, Erin!
Wow – this is hilarious! Hadn’t seen the catalog yet. Love the Man Repeller blog too – will be tagging that one for my husband who constantly rants about ridiculous women’s fashion.
I love how everyone is reading J. Crew like a magazine.
And I can’t tell you how often my husband will see a VERY fashionably dressed woman on TV and say “What is she wearing?”. Guys seem to innately know which trends are ridiculous.
Thanks for the serious laugh…..well put.
OUTRAGEOUS! Its not as though the rest of the jcrew catalog is making up for it though. Theres also a $600 lace TANK TOP in that catalog. I don’t know whats going on with jcrew as of the past 2 years, but with all the muted color, over priced sequin pants and clothes that don’t even hint at the kind of preppy wear they used to sell, I haven’t purchased anything beyond a Jackie Cardigan! ugh. I just want the old tartan and classic jcrew back :(
Agree 100% ….what are they thinking? They look like sequin sweatpants, not cute like yoga pants, but unflattering like regulation gym class sweats.
Thank you!!! Well said…I will take my sequin trend in the form of an adorable mini skirt & that will be that! It’s like in Mean Girls when Rachel Mcadams wears the shirt with the boobs cut out and then everyone else does it…i hope when the haram pant finally goes out of style some designer will come out & say they were just playing a mean joke on the public.
Erin, You are hilarious!! I must admit I was slightly obsessing over these probably because I saw Jenna with them on for Oprah, but reality hit me: First with the $650 price tag, then with the “honestly where to I think I’m going in these?” Lastly — they look a bit crazy. Jenna looked chic getting in her black town car that picks her up in Brooklyn and takes her right to the office at Jcrew where she able to conduct fashion business in them all day. Me — On the bus and then to work — albeit in NYC, where anything goes with fashion, but still. Thanks for the reality & wallet check!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your blog!!
I think I’m the only one who likes them… with that said, could I wear them… no! I’m not 12 pounds but if I was, I’d be killin the look :)
LOL no kidding!
Sorry guys — I loved these on Jenna, and I love them still. They’re so over the top, it’s fantastic. What a blast they’d be to wear!
I agree with most of you, but I would go a step further and say that I think JCREW has really messed up big. I know everyone is worshiping Jenna Lyons and I just don’t get it AT ALL!!! I have literally stopped shopping at JCREW because their style has gotten so high end and they are NOTHING like the JCREW that I fell in love with in the early 90′s. But I am old school and I love the preppy look with bit of chic, but all this sheer stuff and tissue everything and short skirts and sequins and knee high socks and shoes and all the skater chic HAS GOT TO STOP. No one can wear this stuff in a normal manner and to be honest places like ANN TAYLOR LOFT are so much more reasonably priced for the same look. And I agree most places including target all have the jcrew look going on right now… Its getting hard to even buy clothes for business casual, because its all so “go out” clothes. And one more thing- THE PRICES… they used to be mid to upper priced, now its all boutique priced. Sorry for offending all the JCREW lovers out there, but I know I am not alone, all the girls in my family feel this way as well as most of my friends who don’t even shop there anymore..
GOOD POST ERIN.. and RIP Sequin MC HAMMERS … please…
I totally agree… !! there was not a whole lot in the new J. Crew catalog that I LOVED… just a very few pieces…. Gap and Old Navy have some pretty cute things coming out for fall at REASONABLE pricing! I still will be a fan of J. Crew… maybe just not with this collection!
Wow, those are unfortunate. But the price tag is even worse. Speaking of which did you see that cashmere cocoon bit they had in there for $1200! Insane, but of course all sold out. I love J. Crew because they are classic, pieces like this tend to undefine my love for them.
Count me in on this bandwagon! Will anyone besides Jenna Lyons look good in these pants?!!!
Agreed!! When I saw them on Jenna Lyons I thought, my gawd, those are the ugliest things I’ve seen in a long time. Even on her. They didn’t even fit her properly. Oh well, fashion, like art, is in the eye of he beholder I guess.
Happy Friday.
I laughed out loud when I read this…so hysterical, and I totally agree!!
You just cracked me up in a major way. Gracias.
Last summer I saw this style all over Spain! I was shocked when I saw the style creeping into US fashion. I owned a few pairs of Hammer pants back in the day, but I was in middle school and thought it was cool – kids can do that! I would die to be seen in them today! I actually like that JCrew is trying to glam up the staples I add to my wardrobe. The pricing… eh, another story!
I want to love J. Crew. But lately I just can’t. I saw those pants in the catalog and did a big “WTF?” J.Crew has had the same stuff (in just different colors) for the past two years!
That trend is not nearly as offensive as this: http://www.fashiontoast.com/2010/08/off-chain.html and I respect Erin Wasson a lot
So bad. The crotch in most shots looks so saggy. Even the 9 foot tall models look bad in them. I can’t believe they are sold out. Thank goodness everyone isn’t drinking the kool aid!