The runway on the business page

Rachel Dodes looks at the unexpected return of harem pants for a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. The pants, made famous by rapper M.C. Hammer, have garnered mixed reviews.  She writes:

“These are the ugliest things I have ever seen,” Cameron Silver, a Los Angeles boutique owner, says he thought when he first spotted them. On fashion blogs, the bloomers are being likened to “a potato bag,” a “saggy diaper” and “a tablecloth knotted between the legs.”

By Photobucket user akk4zd

But, Rachel notes, harem pants have been gaining ground this year. Right now, they are selling at retailers such as Zara, H&M, Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue with a price tag that could hit as high as $800 for a black sequined pair.

Today’s Tip: Sometimes a fashion fad can become a business story.

Rachel’s story has great anecdotes of people doing the Hammer dance in art galleries, falling off bikes and vehemently defending their style choice.  With the addition of  sales data, the story would have been more enriched and offered readers a  deeper business angle.

Mixed with economic data, fashion and toy fads – think Cabbage Patch Kids, Crocs – can add life to the usual “sales up/down” story.