By: Mary Fran Bontempo

harem pantsWe’ve all seen them–women who wear sloppy, baggy sweat pants because they’re “comfortable.” Not only have we seen them; sometimes, they are us. (No need to raise hands. You know who you are.)

As if sweats weren’t bad enough, now we’ve got the resurgence of the MC Hammer harem pant. Ladies, they were ugly then and they’re ugly now, unless, of course, you look like my 24 year old daughter, Megan, who can pretty much wear anything and look fabulous. And no, that was never me, even at my best. My best would have been the preppy khakis with the button down, which made me look like Jake from State Farm, although I didn’t know it at the time.

But I digress.

Too many of us give into the quicksand of “comfortable,” telling ourselves we’ve earned it (we have), and thus rationalizing that it’s okay to go out in public looking as if you’ve just scrubbed the toilet (it isn’t).

There are alternatives, and O Magazine’s Adam Glassman gives us some options in the clip below. Don’t be afraid of the skinny sweat pant, gals. Too many of us believe that large and shapeless covers our flaws when all it really does is make us look, well, large and shapeless. Give these pants, or a fitted yoga pant a try. And feel free to skip the sky-high heels. A nice ballet flat works just as well and won’t have you breaking an ankle.

Happy spring shopping!