Cargo pants. Let’s try to talk about these without mentioning the Nineties girl band All Saints, whose everyday uniform was khaki or camouflage cargos, teamed with a skimpy vest or midriff-baring top.
Cargo pants have come a long way since then. Over the past 18 months, they’ve begun to establish themselves as the new really useful trousers: more casual than regular tailored trousers, smarter than jeans, cooler than your stripe-legged athleisure pants, they work in most fabrics — and situations.
In Spring 2020 cargo pants no longer have to have bulky thigh pockets, knee seams and enough room for another pair of legs (although they will have pockets of some sort).
Cargo pants were traditionally worn with trainers, and that still works, but this time around the look is more chic and polished (pictured, Eva Longoria wears cargo pants with perspex heels)
They could be cotton or they could be satin; they might be khaki, but they’re just as likely to be cream or pink; sometimes they’re ultra-baggy, but most are on the slimmer side.
What we’re talking about now is an evolved cargo pant, designed to be more accessible and grown-up.
Generally, they’re neater and roughly 70 per cent more elegant.
Cargo pants were traditionally worn with trainers, and that still works, but this time around the look is more chic and polished.
The pants with the most glamour appeal are tapered and cropped with cuffed bottoms, revealing a few inches of bare ankle, and are worn with heels and a neat tucked-in top. The baggier the pants, the higher the heel.
Reiss does a lean-cut, cropped khaki or cream pair (£150, reiss.com) with buckle hems and a discreet, long-line pocket on the outside of the thigh (note: having the pockets on the side adds a utilitarian twist, rather than inches to your thighs).
These ones are surprisingly flattering — they stand away from the leg just enough. It’s hard to find cream trousers that are this easy to wear.
The pants with the most glamour appeal are tapered and cropped with cuffed bottoms. The baggier the pants, the higher the heel (Kourtney Kardashian pictured in West Hollywood)
Still on the cream theme, Topshop does a bone-coloured pair (£42, topshop.com), also cropped and gathered at the ankle, with flush side pockets. These are equally smart.
Worn with a matching high-necked blouse or sweater and black ankle boots, this look has ‘new office chic’ written all over it. Mango does a black pair that would do the job equally well (£15.99, mango.com).
Cargos don’t have to be cotton or canvas any more and might even be pleather. Mango does a black, high-waisted, belted version (£49.99) which scores ten out of ten for proportions: tapered but not too slim in the leg and cropped.
The point of cargo pants is to be just the right degree of slouchy. Never wear them tight — then they become the most unflattering trousers on the market.
A lot fancier and pricier are Whistles real leather cargo pants (£495, whistles.com) with ring-buckled hems.
No thigh pockets here, and this ‘just cargo enough’ look is guaranteed to suit most women.
That said, Me+Em’s black satin full-on cargo trouser (full on, as in it has elasticated cuffs adjustable with press studs, zip pockets, knee seams and a detachable leg strap) is already almost out of stock (£179, meandem.com).
Buy these to wear smart-casually with a silk T-shirt or halterneck top; smart because they’re made of satin, casual because it’s cargo. Perfect.
Me+Em also does a straight cargo with adjustable cuffs and a tie belt in cotton camouflage print (£175).
They could be cotton or they could be satin; they might be khaki, but they’re just as likely to be cream (pictured) or pink; sometimes they’re ultra-baggy, but most are on the slimmer side
Camouflage is another trend for Spring. But the two together may be (almost certainly are) too much. You don’t want to look like you lost a bet and have joined the Marines.
If you don’t warm to the idea of a cuffed hem, then the good old-fashioned rolled-up ankle is the way to go.
And Other Stories does a desert khaki cargo (£69, stories.com), while Anthropologie does a soft roll-up style in dusty pink (£80, anthropologie.com).
Alternatively, if you want less cargo and more of a straight ‘khaki’, Whistles has a plain pair of almost khakis with just one thigh pocket (£39, whistles.com).
