Wide-leg pants are in, but are you opting in?

In the dressing rooms at the Penny Lane Boutique in Huntington, there are some very strong opinions about the season’s ubiquitous wide-leg pants.

"They generate every kind of emotion," says store owner Gabrielle Sunshine. "Some customers say, ‘I love those or I’ve been wanting to try those.’ Others literally say, ‘This is a nightmare. I hate them. I can’t wait for skinnies to be back in style.’ "

Such is the polarization when it comes to the style — swooping, often dramatically wide pants and jeans that are both statement-making and to some a signal of being fashionable while others find them unappealing.

Bottom line, no pun intended, pants are having a moment. "We’re definitely starting our wardrobes with pants now," says Sunshine, who offers more than a dozen different silhouettes ranging from voluminous balloons to open-legged flares.

Over at Gallery Couture in Manhasset, owner Afshin Haghani agrees. "For the past two seasons, I have not focused on pants and now our clients are coming in asking for them. I’m inundated. Pants are the ‘it’ item of the season."

Haghani believes that the trend has been propelled by “influencers styling that has taken hold in the mainstream market." Here the variations on the theme also run rampant and include pleats, barrels, flat fronts and genie styles. The wider widths, he explains, "Are much more street-inspired. This is a cool-girl look. It feels newer and women are definitely moving toward volume."

Try going wider

Fashion stylist Evan Elkowitz, of Old Westbury, encourages her clients to give the wider varieties a try. She recalls doing that recently while working with a 20-something model. "I showed her a pair, and she said, ‘I can’t wear those.’ And I was like, ‘girl, if you can’t wear them who can?’ " The model ended up loving them.

Elkowitz’s guide to donning the new look is simple: "You have to be smart about them. Inevitably, you have to be aware of what looks good on you. And hemming them depending on your height is important." She has adopted the style for herself and has purchased wide-leg khakis, jeans and leather pants that she pairs with a fitted top. "Tuck something in, throw on a boxy blazer or an army jacket, it’s superchic," she says.

Some are wary of going large. Allison Vulpis, 55, of Port Washington, has a few minimally wider looks, but says, "I get lost in the big ones. I like more figure-flattering ones."

Her purchases didn’t happen in a day. "I had to slowly get there. It’s wild how the market can change your opinion on what you thought you could never wear. The pants do kind of accentuate your waist and that’s why people are jumping on the bandwagon."

Just say no

Still, there are those who are a hard no when it comes to wide pants. Julia Bonn, 66, of Manhasset is one, though she has been tempted. "I saw a pair on Instagram and almost bought them and then I was like, ‘I’m just never going to wear them.’ ” Her go-to? A pair of straight-leg vintage Gap jeans that she says looks good with heels and sandals.

On the fence for a variety of reasons is Bianca Weintraub, 40, of Oceanside, the content creator of what she calls "a relatable millennial mom" blog on Instagram and at anewleaf.life. "I’m not against any style," she says. "What I’m against is pigeonholing women into having to wear a certain trend. Why can’t women wear what they feel good in? I hate that the industry tries to tell you what you have to wear."

Weintraub calls herself "an avid skinny jean wearer," though she has purchased a couple of pairs of not-too-wide barrel-style pants. "I get made fun of by my friends for wearing skinnies. They say I look so dated but for me it’s less about what’s in and what’s out, but about what makes me feel good in my skin."

Her take on the new volume? "I can take it or leave it."