Not the Houlihan, that's for sure

Cathy Horyn has an article in The New York Times about Houlihan, the latest fashion trend:

It's probably not surprising that Frank Doroff knows what is selling at any second at Bloomingdale’s, since he is the store’s vice chairman for ready-to-wear and bloomingdales.com. Still, on a recent evening with friends he was impressively prepared when someone mentioned that she had just bought a pair of cargo pants.
“Was it the Houlihan?” Mr. Doroff said, lighting up. “That’s our best-selling pant.”
From his tone, it seemed that even he was surprised and tickled to be saying Houlihan. But out of the hundreds of contemporary and designer pants, of the cargoes and leggings and boyfriend khakis stretching across the country in a blur, the Houlihan is certainly worth noting.
Since the end of January, its manufacturer, J Brand, has sold more than 75,000 pairs of the style and has 40,000 pairs on back order. “In 33 years, I’ve never shipped anything like this,” Jeff Rudes, the founder and chief executive of J Brand, said this week, noting that some customers have offered to prepay for the $230 style. Bloomingdale’s has sold thousands, according to Mr. Doroff, who wants more. Barneys New York has 1,000 pairs of Houlihans on reorder, with waiting lists at its stores. The Intermix chain said it has sold 2,000 pairs.
J Brand, a 5-year-old company based in California, is widely distributed, and this particular cargo style has apparently done well everywhere, though the hard-to-get factor may be exaggerated. On Monday, I counted five pairs at Bergdorf Goodman, and a number of websites indicated that they had them.
Still, there is no denying their hot-item status. Although Mr. Rudes might sell more jeans and leggings, the demand for the pricey Houlihan, which J Brand considers a novelty style, has been exceptionally intense. Fashion blogs have been discussing the style since February— the fit seems to be the main draw— and you can find scads of pictures of Houlihan-supportive celebrities, including Rihanna and Jessica Alba.
The military-style pants were aptly named, too, after Hot Lips Houlihan of the movie and television series M*A*S*H.
Mr. Doroff said that the response to the pants was immediate and persuasive. In early February, a Bloomingdale’s manager on the West Coast alerted him that an order had sold out in a matter of days. Then Mr. Doroff’s twelve-year-old daughter told him she wanted a pair of Houlihans. By that time, however, they were sold out at Bloomingdale’s in New York.
In Mr. Doroff’s view, the Houlihan has been successful because of the lightweight yet rugged fabric, the faded olive color, and the popularity this spring of cargo pants and other military looks. “The jeans business has been a little tough,” he said. “We needed some newness in the market.” He added, referring to Mr. Rudes, “He was the newness.”
The Houlihan is made of a Japanese cotton twill that contains two percent Lycra. In addition to a vintage wash, it has smooth cargo pockets and a tapering fit that ends with zippers on the outside of the legs. Mr. Rudes said, “It’s all about the fit.”
Anyone who has tried on the Houlihans would likely agree. Although their skinny line appears unforgiving, they are very flattering. They work as well with sandals and sneakers as stilettos.
The similarity to Balmain’s cargo pants doesn’t go unnoticed, either, though the Balmains are about $2,000 and have, as if it could make that big a difference, top-stitching on the thighs to enhance the worn look. Mr. Rudes said his pants were in the pipeline before Balmain showed the style in Paris last October. “Let’s face it,” he added. “We’re not Balmain.”

Rico says you will note the difference between the model wearing the Houlihan and Major Houlihan wearing hers. (She's the one with tits.)