Fashion 88 : Everything in Formal Finery--Sequins, Satin, Chiffon and Lace Evening Pants

Just when you thought you’d seen them all--weekend pants, office pants, patio pants, restaurant pants--you’ll find yet another kind of pants to consider for fall. Evening pants. They’re the hothouse members of the trouser clan, made of luxurious, fragile fabrics and shaped for varying degrees of formality.

Designers on both coasts and in Europe have fashioned such pants from chiffon, silk, velvet and even lace. Less-expensive look-alikes will surface too. Some versions float softly around the legs, lending a long-stemmed look to outfits topped by fluttery blouses or T-shirts of sequined chiffon.

Other evening pants, made of taffeta, brocade or silk, are indistinguishable from ball-gown skirts. They billow dramatically from waistline to ankle, rustle as the wearer walks and are meant to be worn for formal events.

Oscar de la Renta showed loads of these formal-looking pant-skirts in his fall collection. One of them is worn with a jeweled belt and a totally sequined blouse; another has a sheer chiffon T-shirt with stripes made of sequins.

Louis Dell’Olio for Anne Klein took a slightly more casual tack with his floppy, silk-velvet trousers and brilliantly colored satin jacket.

And Bill Blass shaped evening pants of vibrant silk paisley to match a fur-trimmed paisley wrap. These were worn with a jewel-neck cashmere sweater and leather belt.