Introducing the Pants Trend I Never Thought I'd Say Was Chic (I Was Wrong)

I won't make you wait, prolonging your ability to find out what mysterious pants trend made you click on this story. It's "genie pants." Well, that or harem pants, or peplum pants, or bubble pants. Fashion and the internet haven't quite decided what they want to call this sartorial phenomenon, but even if it's technically nameless, that doesn't change the fact that it's here.

Over the last two weeks, I've been busy saving Instagram photos of the platform's best dressers debuting their best billowy bottoms, skipping capris, cigarette pants, barrel trousers, linen pants, Bermuda shorts, and, yes, skinny jeans, in the process. People clearly want comfortable bottoms that also make a statement, and genie pants check off both boxes, making them primed for a comeback this summer.

On the runway:

Image 1 of 3

Though social media is where the genie pants trend took off, it got its start on the runways back in September of last year, when Pieter Mulier sent models (including Kendall Jenner) down the runway (the spiral pathway inside of the Upper East Side's Guggenheim Museum) at Alaïa's S/S 25 show wearing the formerly outdated bottoms in a mix of pastel shades and neutrals made of jersey, taffeta, and more with bandeau tops and thong sandals. Later that season, in Paris, Loewe and Chloé too displayed genie pants in their runway shows, Loewe in leather and floral silk, and Chloé in see-through lace.

Now, months later, those pieces we saw on the catwalk are arriving in stores, and elite dressers and stylists like Hanna MW and Oumayma Elboumeshouli are wearing them.

How to wear genie pants:

But designer pairs aren't the only bubble-shaped bottoms going viral right now on fashion's internet. A very specific pair from Zara that costs $129—hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars less than those aforementioned luxury options—is making the rounds, too. They're made of cotton yarn and are white with drawstring bottoms. Plus, they're from the ZW Collection, which real Zara experts will tell you is the brand's highest-quality line, meaning that when these pants arrive on your doorstep, you know they'll be good.

Shop the $129 Zara version everyone's buying:

Convinced yet? I know I am. For proof, just see the five different pairs of genie pants that are currently calling my shopping carts home. Scroll down to shop them all and more.

Shop genie pants: