Cargo pants or cargo trousers, also sometimes called combat pants or combat trousers after their original purpose as military workwear, are loosely cut pants originally designed for rough work environments and outdoor activities, distinguished by numerous large utility pockets for carrying

tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

s. Cargo shorts are a shorts version of the cargo pants, with the legs usually extending down to near-

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

lengths. Both cargo pants and shorts have since become popular as urban casual wear, since they are loose-fitting and quite convenient for carrying extra items during everyday foot trips or while

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

Description

A cargo pocket is a form of a patch pocket, often with accordion folds for increased capacity closed with a flap secured by snap,

button A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, or ...

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

, or

Velcro Velcro IP Holdings LLC, trading as Velcro Companies and commonly referred to as Velcro (pronounced ), is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of ho ...

common on battledress and hunting clothing. In some designs, cargo pockets may be hidden within the legs. Cargo Shorts 2018

Cargo pants are made of hard-wearing fabric and ruggedly stitched. Increasingly they are made of quick-drying synthetic or cotton-synthetic blends, and often feature oversized belt loops to accommodate wide webbing belts. The garments are characteristically designed to allow bending at the knee and hip, and are sewn with

felled seam A felled seam, or flat-fell seam, is a seam (sewing), seam made by placing one edge inside a folded edge of fabric, then stitching the fold down. The fold encases the raw edges, which protects them from fraying. The fold may be secured with a tops ...

s for strength and durability.

History

Battle dress was first worn by members of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

in 1938, and was introduced to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the mid-1940s during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The large pockets characteristic of cargo pants were originally designed for British forces to hold field dressings, maps, and other items. The concept was copied in the U.S.

Paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

uniform to allow more room to hold K rations and extra

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

. Cargo pants were a popular fashion trend in the early 2000s. They have enjoyed renewed popularity in the 2020s as part of the 'Y2K' fashion trend, where 2000s fashion trends have been brought back into fashion.

Variations

Cargo shorts

Cargo shorts are cargo pants shortened at the knee. Some cargo pants are made with removable lower legs allowing conversion into shorts. In 1980, cargo shorts were marketed as ideal for the sportsman or fisherman, with the pocket flaps ensuring that pocket contents were secure and unlikely to fall out. By the mid-to-late 1990s, cargo shorts found popularity among mainstream men's fashion. In 2012, Tim Gunn observed that while the pockets were undeniably useful for carrying things for work or other everyday tools, cargo shorts were more practical than elegant.

EMT pants

EMT pants are cargo pants with six-way cargo/scissor pockets on one or both legs, each with a hidden zippered pocket on top of cargo pocket, a bellowed flap pocket with increased carrying capacity, besom pockets on calves for glove storage, and three slots for scissors (two fitted with snap closures).

References