Cargo pants have multiple large pockets with flaps that can be closed. They were inspired by military pants and work pants and became popular in the 1970s. Levis & Strauss created “jeans” with large pockets, a precursor to today’s cargo pants. They are named for their ability to carry “cargo” and have become a casual-wear staple.
Cargo pants are identified by several large pockets, most often with flaps that can be closed with buttons, snaps, or hooks. In addition to multiple front and back pockets, these pants will often have side pockets. They are most often khaki or beige and cotton, but can also come in other colors and fabrics.
Army pants, like those worn by paratroopers in the 1940s, inspired cargo pants, but only after the style was popularized by a grassroots movement that included an even less likely candidate for fashion: cargo pants. Workers.
In the 1970s, standard military pants, which are a form of cargo pants, were very popular with young adults who began buying them at Army surplus stores. A similar style also purchased in surplus stores at the time were carpenter pants or painter’s pants, commonly called work pants. These utility pants have many pockets, like modern, modern pants, but are less tailored to the leg and lack flaps on the back pockets. The utility pants also have a twisted loop on the side, used by painters to slide the handle of a paintbrush in or a hammer for construction workers.
Inspired by the grassroots popularity of these pants, Levis & Strauss created “jeans” in the 1970s, a precursor to today’s cargo pants. These were straight-legged denim jeans with large thigh-high side-entry pockets that had smaller, front-facing square pockets with drop-down flaps. The back pockets were also deep with drop-down flaps. The main difference between these pants and today’s versions is that the jeans were very slimming, while most cargo pants today have a loose fit.
Cargo pants are so named because of their ability to carry so much “cargo” in their pockets. The style became so popular that cargo shorts soon followed. The style’s popularity has endured in one form or another since the 1970s. Both comfortable and practical, they’ve become as much a casual-wear staple as traditional jeans, and are likely to be around for many years to come.
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