It shouldn't be hard to kill skinny jeans. After all, women love and loathe them in equal measure.

Three years ago, clothing merchants tried to snuff out the trend with flares. Now, chains — from mass market Gap Inc. to luxury-leaning Bloomingdale's — are trying again with looser styles. Gap's answer: dressy sweat pants.

The goal is to get women to buy new wardrobes and jolt anemic apparel sales. This time, the industry may pull it off, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at New York-based market research company NPD Group Inc.