Tips: How to choose and wear cargo pants?

Cover credit: @blueowlworkshop

A few decades ago, cargo pants were just military pants , equipped with pockets and drawstrings for paratroopers. But in 1990, things changed. Cargo pants have established themselves in our everyday wardrobes, making them one of the most popular pants today.

At BonneGueule, we particularly like this piece. Our editor Jordan has also dedicated an entire video to how to wear these pants:

Practical, cargo pants are a real alternative to chinos and jeans . By playing with a few twists, we can also place them in outfits that are very different from the initial style of the piece. In short, these are pants with great potential as long as you choose them well.

Moreover, we offer our own cargo ships with our little touch of originality!

Granted, we say it for almost all pieces, but it's important: the cut is really essential here.

A cargo ship is characterized by its two pockets placed on the side. In other words, these are pants to which volume is added on each leg. If the piece is cut incorrectly at the start, the result will not be satisfactory.

All this brings us to fit.

Here, it would be futile to look for the same result as on jeans. Most of the time, you will find a little more comfort in the thighs than in chinos, for example. If possible, don't hesitate to try: there is a certain balance that can sometimes be difficult to find.

That said, depending on how you want to wear it, you can imagine a more or less loose leg width. This is especially the case for “traditional” workwear looks; we will come back to this below.

Over the years of contact with him, we were able to realize that this piece carried certain preconceptions.

So, should we reserve its port for the finest among us? Fortunately, no!

Friends with muscular thighs, here is the solution: pay attention to the position of the pockets. Poorly placed on the piece, they will poorly distribute the volumes on the silhouette.

In addition to their placement, also look at the shape of the pockets : are they baggy? Do they look full even though they are empty ?

We find cargo ships in several different materials . Wool flannel, cotton twill, canvas, ripstop or denim, there is something for everyone. Please note, however, that most models are made of cotton.

For winter cargo, we would advise you to choose a wool flannel with a “velvety” texture. This material will contrast nicely in your looks.

If you want to have a durable cargo bag, the ripstop one will be perfect. This material is truly all-terrain, notably thanks to its stretch side.

For all-season cargo, a medium-weight cotton gabardine material will do the job very well.

Small point that is important: favor natural materials as much as possible. They will be more durable and more aesthetic.

Given its military origins, there are many variations of the cargo in earth, sand or khaki shades .

It's purely a matter of taste, do as you please.

It's obviously a very good alternative to chinos, but also to dress pants.

Thanks to its structure, it is a stronger piece than pants without pockets . It easily brings character and contrast to our outfits... and is more versatile than you might think!

Come on, let's go for a little overview.

It is an association well known to our friends at Pitti. For once, you are sure to hit the mark in terms of style contrasts!

This is also the whole point of this idea: to offset formal pieces with much more raw clothing , taken from another universe.

With flannel cargo, this works too. The effect is even taken a little further, in the sense that the material of the pants echoes that of the jacket.

Moreover, the outfit is not based on a 100% formal basis. It is important to maintain this balance, at the risk of seeing contrasts that are too marked otherwise.

Our advice:

• play on the shirt - denim, chambray, oxford, Japanese weave... -
• but also on shoes : brogues, boots, even small white sneakers

The main thing is to keep your proportions between dressy and casual right . So no more Richelieus and immaculate poplins!

One of the most popular combinations is to pair cargo with a structured jacket . Perhaps this is due to his military origins. The cargo/leather jacket combo almost always works. Both pieces belong to this very workwear imagination, they both refer to “raw” influences.

Either way, you have a choice. Here, treat your cargo like chinos: in casual looks, the two are often interchangeable . It is therefore a large field of experimentation that presents itself to you.

As I told you, in a casual context, cargo can easily replace chinos or even jeans. Give it a try and you will see that the chances of making a mistake are low.

It can then be interesting to try new things, in particular by relying on volumes as streetwear likes to do so much.

Cap, sneakers, bag... no doubt, it's streetwear. In this drawing, we see a significant volume in the pants, which is not annoying for two reasons. Firstly, the top of the outfit remains quite fitted, we are far from the bibendum effect. In addition, the hem finishes the leg finely, avoiding a build-up of material on the shoe.

While it's not the most obvious of looks, it's a lot less complicated than it seems. Otherwise, on days when you want to be comfortable above all else, a sweatshirt will do the trick!

It's impossible to talk about cargo without focusing on workwear! Obviously, the original style of the piece blends perfectly into this type of outfit.

Until then, we are in a relatively “obvious” reading of the play. That said, nothing stops us from mixing different workwear influences within one and the same look .

Small non-exhaustive list of brands to browse!

• Maharishi : super resistant models in organic cotton with a historical side (M65 strap at the knee). The material is naturally aged to give it a vintage patina.
• wing+horns: a sophisticated cut and 100% thick, quality cotton. The brand is manufactured in Canada.
• Stone Island : specialized in technical clothing with a beautiful DA. Their cargo ships have a beautiful design although the brand has a little hype side.
• OrSlow: Japanese brand that produces clothes with a good workwear DNA and quality, but which is still a little expensive.
• Informal : The beautiful Australian brand of cargos with a rather straight cut, without excess.
• Arpenteur : This beautiful brand offers some cargo pants, which you will find at distributors like Elevation Store, Graduation Store, Kafka Mercantile, Rendez-vous Store for example.

For those with a sweet tooth, here is a small list of additional brands:

• 18 east
• Monitaly
• 1st PAT-RN
• Sage of Cret
• Soundman
• Nanamica
• RRL
• Japan Blue

You will find other brands in this article: