Not all harem pants are created equal. While some current incarnations of the harem pants are being shown with dropped crotches and causing some panic among fashionistas, there are comfortable and tasteful harem pants available. These contemporary harem pants in black are gathered at the ankle, and have a flattering silhouette. Other harem pants look like a combination of a skirt plus leggings, mimicking the once popular look of a pair of jeans underneath a skirt, which is very modelesque.

Harem pants came on the fashion scene near the beginning of the 20th century, as created by French designer Paul Poiret. The loose pants were in direct opposition to corsets and other binding clothing for women. Poiret was also fond of draping. It's not surprising that draping and harem pants have increased in popularity simultaneously. Today the appearance of harem pants can be attributed to a desire for exoticism in our everyday lives, and by an interest in fashions of the 1980s.

In the 1980s, harem pants, the draped style with the tapered ankles were popular. They could be worn with ankle slouch boots which were popular at the time. MC Hammer, in heavy rotation on MTV wore his extreme version of harem pants.

I Dream of Harem Pants
Barbara Eden wore them well in I Dream of Jeanie, although she longed more for the appearance of Doris Day and Jackie O., matching pastel suits complete with hats and gloves. Jeanie's harem pants were sheer, made in a classic full style and not made for leaving the bottle.

Runway: On and Off
Harem pants have been populating the fashion runways, and off the runway Jennifer Lopez, Debra Messing and Rachel Stevens have been photographed wearing harem pants.

Modern harem pants may also be three-quarter length, similar to Capris, tapered below the knee, and made to fit closer to the body than 1980s harem pants. Some will balk at the resurgence of harem pants, but for converts, enjoy them during dance class, yoga, or for a night-time walk on the beach.

Sources
Harem Pants, http://www.shira.net/cg/harempants.htm
http://www.fashion-era.com/orientalism_in_dress.htm

Taylor Swift

Sweet singer Taylor Swift exudes femininity with her pink and champagne outfits, delicate country florals and cowgirl boots. Her look is adorable, and in addition to her angelic looks and voice, is part of the reason she is a popular pop star and fashion icon. Taylor Swift rocked a 1940s-inspired belted trench coat at her MTV Video Music Awards performance, and took it off to reveal a girlish red dress.

She was a stunning young lady in red, and the spectrum of reds and pinks suits her well. She does not shy away from cranberry reds, deep pomegranates, bubble gum pinks and barely-there blushing pinks. These colors complement her underlying wardrobe of all shades of white. Swift also works greens, bright blues and the occasional lilac or black formal wear.

We could edge her out slightly with a pair of floral-looking lace heels, with a metallic polish. They would work with any floral dress, a fuchsia tank dress, or with leggings and and over-sized sweatshirt gray, belted cardigan.

Beyonce Knowles

Where Taylor Swift's style is subdued and subtle, Beyonce Knowles is downright eye-popping. A pair of lattice black heels studded with gold could easily become a major component in Beyonce's wardrobe, if we ever saw her wear anything twice. A pair of shoes which exude her personal flair could be worn with a designer gown, a sexy sheath dress, or leather leggings with a matching, belted coat.

Knowles' wardrobe color palette ranges from deep, eggplant purples to sunshine yellow, and every color in between. Similar to Swift, Knowles knows when to work a mostly white or off-white ensemble, from neckline to shoe choice. Beyonce also knows the power of red, and wore a hot red number to the VMAs.

Both super stars performed at the 2009 MTV VMA show, and both women went home with awards.

MTV is handing out spin-off shows like candy to the cast of the popular reality show, The Hills. We first heard that Whitney Port would be getting her own "Hills"-type show, but now playboy Brody Jenner is going to be getting a "Tila Tequila"-type show, called Bromance, where guys will compete to be part of Brody's entourage. You know what would be hilarious - if Spencer Pratt, Brody's former BFF, was among the contestants!

You'll be happy to hear that the world is safe from the spawn of Paris Hilton... for this month anyway. Although there had been rumors that the heiress might be pregnant because of what appeared to be a baby bump, Paris was recently spotted partying at a club for the filming of her upcoming reality show and indulging in some drinking and smoking. So either she's not pregnant or just really dumb. Of course, this is Paris Hilton we're talking about, so it could go either way.

Jennifer Garner recently had a bit of a scare while on out with the Jennifer Garner mini-me, daughter Violet. She accidentally locked the keys in the car along with her daughter. Luckily, she was able to give directions to Violet through the window and the smart tot was out quicker than she could say "Jennifer Lopez is my almost-mommy".

And *Jessica Simpson*'s country album hasn't even been released but that hasn't stopped the tabloids from creating drama between her and another blonde bombshell country star. Jessica Simpson was recently spotted wearing a t-shirt that read, "Real Girls Eat Meat". Seems like a pretty innocent t-shirt until you consider the fact that Tony Romo dated Carrie Underwood not too long ago and Carrie is known to be very open about being a vegetarian. Hmm, this could get interesting.

Sources: DListed - http://dlisted.com, Hollywood Reporter - http://hollywoodreporter.com, Pop Bytes - http://popbytes.com, People - http://people.com, Daily Mail - http://dailymail.co.uk

The MTV Awards are always full of unique fashions. You can expect people wearing tennis shoes, mini-dresses, jeans and even jogging pants. The MTV Movie Awards aired on Sunday, June 1, 2008, and there were plenty of unique and interesting outfits.

Here are some of my favorite looks from the red carpet. Sarah Jessica Parker actually got it right this time. No funny hat was in sight. She wore a black metallic mini-dress made by L'Wren Scott with a pair of white ankle boots. She looked like she fit in perfect with the MTV crowd.

Another one of my favorites was Liv Tyler. The color of her dress, was the perfect shade pink for her complexion. She looked wonderful in her pink strapless dress.

Although, she is not my favorite celebrity (if you want to call her that), but Paris Hilton actually looked good at the awards. She wore a white strapless dress that had black lace over the top and then going down the bottom of it. The dress was by Betsey Johnson. She looked well put together and more mature than in the past.

For some of my favorite men, I choose Will Smith. I loved his yellow sweater with the button-up striped shirt underneath it, along with the brown jacket over it. He kept it casual in jeans, but still well styled. Another man who looked great (it's not that hard for him to do) was Johnny Depp. He kept it simple in a pair of jeans with a black button short-sleeve shirt and a brown belt, but it definitely worked for him.

Now, let's talk about some of the celebrities that I thought definitely missed the fashion bus. *Jennifer Hudson*'s dress was way to tight and when you are wearing a white dress and it is that tight, it does not flatter her at all. Not to mention, that you saw half of her pink bra sticking out at the top and half of cleavage sticking out of her bra.

Another dress that I was not crazy about was Lindsay Lohan 's purple Dolce & Gabbana mini-dress with the black belt. It just looked a little sloppy and did nothing for her. I thought that *Anne Hathaway*'s leather mini-dress just did not suit her. To me it looked like a wrinkled up garbage bag that had been made into a dress. Although, I loved her hair!

Lastly, thank goodness that Megan Fox changed her dress once she got inside the awards, because the pink Zac Posen dress that she wore on the red carpet was not a good choice. It almost looked like she was going to a high school dance. I did like the white mini-dress that she sported inside the awards.... much better Megan, much better.

Although, I did not particularly like her outfit, Ellen Page did keep it real for the awards. She wore a black leather jacket with a white shirt and black skinny jeans tucked into Nike tennis shoes. The Nike shoes were actually pretty cute with black plaid on the sides. If this is her style, then I am glad she went for it. Why try to be something you are not, right? As least not yet.

You can see pictures of the celebrities from the red carpet on MTV.com.