Red pants are having a moment: Celebs such as Alexa Chung, Demi Moore and Hayden Panettiere have all been seen wearing the bold-hued bottoms recently. On the spring/summer 2011 runways, Balmain, Isabel Marant and other designers embraced the trend. And last Friday, The New York Times reported that J. Brand has sold approximately 100,000 pairs of colored jeans since March.

Evocative of Nantucket summers and preppy culture (see Chuck Bass rocking a pair with an ascot), red pants have long been a hallmark of New England style.

But for us, red pants have another association: Loverboy's hit 1981 album, Get Lucky. Though the wearer of the leather pants seen on the album cover is actually the photographer's 14-year-old daughter according to Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean, lead singer Mike Reno also donned a tight red pair for the band's classic "Working for the Weekend" video.

Loverboy wasn't the only musical act of the era to make red pants look rock-chic, or the first. New Wavers The Romantics sported dapper red suits on the cover of their 1980 self-titled debut record. Rod Stewart's 1983 effort Body Wishes was critically panned, but we applauded his jaunty cover getup. And of course we have to mention Michael Jackson's unforgettable red leather ensemble in the video for "Thriller."

We still associate the hue with some of favorite current musical stars. Kanye West's red suit and matching kicks was one of the fiercest getups at last year's VMAs, and always-edgy Rihanna has been known to step out in cherry-hued skinny jeans.

Are you planning on wearing red pants this season, and if so how will you style them: preppy or punk?