Dappered

Affordable Men's Style

Would you wear it? Slim cargo pants.

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GAP Slim Herringbone Cargos – $43.99 ($59.95) | Slim Fit Cargo Pants – $28.99 ($59.95)

Believe it or not, sizes are pretty much sold out on those two pairs up top.  Check your local brick and mortar GAP though.  They might have some hanging out on the clearance racks.

Man.  These things are like Rasputin.  They just… won’t… die.  They’re the boomerang of trousers.  And this time the cargo pant comet has come back around in a tapered, ultra slim form.

Which means those extra pockets have been rendered almost completely useless.  Hard to get any true “cargo” in there when they only have half an inch of travel between your thigh and the outside world.  But it’s not like we’re stuffing stuff in our lower blazer or sportcoat pockets.  Those are purely asthetic.

Maybe the key is to keep the pockets purely inside?  Maybe?  No ballooning, expanding patch/pleated pockets.  Keep em’ streamlined like the charcoal version up top and to the left.  Apologies to Sergent Friday, but perhaps the key to cargo pants is to see just the flaps… ma’am.

Or maybe they’re just a lost cause no matter what.  Would you wear them?  Leave your take below.

Dockers Slim Tapered Cargo – $70 | Converse – $80 | Guess – $32.79 w/code RED

Comments

  1. They’re a hell of a lot better than the cargos we all used to wear 10-15 years ago (come on, I wasn’t the only one) but please just make them go away.  Maybe after this iteration they will.  And if they take those dressed-up sweatpants with them I’ll be even happier, but that’s a long shot.

  5. Agree with posted comments. “Dressy” cargo pants are a fashion trend, not true men’s style, and will hopefully go away as quickly as any other fad.

  7. I wish designers would stop trying to make these things come back from the dead.

    The only things those extra pockets are good at holding are crushed hopes and broken dreams.

  9. I hope they die, but oh well. I can’t wear slim pants of any kind, which is silly because I’m a very slim guy. Maybe it’s my jealousy talking. No.

  17. You guys might like this… a frat in my hometown actually banned cargo shorts: http://bit.ly/xlfht4 — I wonder if they’d ban these as well.

  21. Ugh. So terrible. I would rather someone wear old baggy cargos because you can just chalk it up to them being clueless or not giving a flip. If someone is wearing these it means they actually think it’s looks good. 

  23. Absolutely not.  Cargo pants have their place, like in the army or maybe on a safari.  And even though I loved my corduroy cargo pants in high school, they looked kind of ridiculous.  They add unnecessary bulk and draw onlookers’ eyes down, making you look shorter.  And then if you use the cargo pockets to actually carry anything (in high school, I could stuff 3-4 beer cans in each), the the natural line of the pants is completely distorted, making you look even more ridiculous.  Just let this style rest in peace.

  25. Ditto. There’s real utility in a set of cargo pants, but I relegate them to work duty rather than for being out and about. As for the slims… Waste of money at pretty much any price.

    FWIW, I’m also the guy who’s done projects around the house and actually carried a hammer in his carpenter jeans loop.

  27. I’m a forest firefighter in the summers, and spend a lot of time in cargo pants. They’re naturally not slim fit (by design), but they’re extremely useful, and truth be told, comfortable. However, they’re strictly for work, and they’re not stylish. I can’t get on board with the slim cargoes trend. Both of these GAP examples would look so much better without any flaps on the sides IMHO, i.e. not as cargoes.

    Cheers,
    Ben

  28. I see nothing wrong with them if you actually have use for the pockets. Sometimes – especially if you use public transit- you might have enough small items on you that your two normal pockets would be stuffed, but no enough to justify carrying a messenger bag. In that case the cargo pockets would come in handy. Having cargo pockets doesn’t mean the have to be stuffed to capacity.

    If you’re wearing them as strictly casual, “bumming around town” pants, they are fine.

  30. Sorry GAP, you make incredibly comfortable and affordable slacks, but these miss the mark style-wise. 

  32.  Whoa there. Yes, the slim cargo is an easy target, an affront to the sartorial sensibilities of style conscious Dappered readers everywhere, an abomination dredged from the dankest pit of fashion’s recylematronic, depraved, fad-fattened retail bowels. I get it. They suck. But allow me, if you will, the opportunity to come to the defense of these much maligned little trousers that could by sharing a tale of their inherent nobility and poise under circumstances that would see lesser trousers unravel in a heap of their own tailored finery.

    So, there I am, minding my own business on the internet, perusing the hallowed pages of Gap, when a pair of slim khaki cargo pants sidle their way into my basket on sale. Several days later, and I’m standing before my full-length mirror, admiring the clown-like quality of the fit and sheer stupidity of the concept and my own gullibility when, all of a sudden, I realize today is moving day. Disassembled and strewn everywhere about me are shelves and furniture and the various knicknacks, bric-a-brac and ephemera that make up my little slice of domesticity. But waht shall I do with all the screws and bolts and nuts and washers that hold all my shit together, I think to myslef. As if by providence, at that very moment my cargo’s pocket flaps rustle in the breeze, revealing twin storage pouches with the capacity to accomodate every item with room to spare. Never one to ignore fortune’s song, I instantly loaded those pockets and set about my work. And what work it was…

    While wrestling with an unruly armchair on the steps of my new home, I spotted a trio of lovely young women happening by. But I must look wretched, I thought to myself. Whatever will they think of their new neighbor, adorned so slovenly and festooned with so much sweat and grime? But as chance would have it, the wind carried their hushed whispers to where I labored. And what I heard surprised and elated my weary senses. “Who’s that totalitarian yet suave, unassuming yet striking, causual and easy-going yet sleek and put-together working man over there with the fine mist of exertion upon his firrowed brow and the tell-tale bulging thigh pockets of a hardware laden gentleman mid move,’ they asked each other. Jubilant and with renewed vigor, I smiled earnestly in their direction, adjusted my grip on the chair, and mounted the remaining steps two at a time.

    Two things have never happened since that fateful day. I have not since caught sight of those fleeting visions of feminine beauty, and nor have I once donned those cargo pants. Because, let’s face it, they’re silly and look ridiculous. They’re also covered in muck, grease and assorted moving detritus, so I can’t even return the bastards. They sit now in my closet, mocking me with the irreverent glee of the purely useless and the flatulent arrogance of the pointedly moronic. Oh yeah, so I suppose I’m with the consus on this one. 

  35. No way in hell.  Cargo pockets are way too 1998 for my taste.  And those Dockers are skinny, not slim.

  36. Newbie to the whole men’s styling and asthetics and I guess somewhat of the lone wolf here. I actually picked up a pair of the Gap herringbone cargos for a stupid cheap price during the holidays ($15 final sale local store). They fit nice and I’ve received compliments from office colleagues and friends on them. Would I get another pair and continue the trend? Probably not.

  38. ah you mean those baggy cargo pants with caterpillar and  2″ thick cell phones…yeah those were the days 😉

  39. I’m gonna go against the grain here and say that a pair of cargos is not only stylish if the fit is right. Its also pretty essential if you work in the casual office business setting. I don’t understand where all the hate is coming from. Of course I’m not talking about all the cargo pants above. But a nice pair of soft cotton cargo has looked better than most regular fitting gap/dockers khaki out there. Maybe it’s because I’m a big fan of the Japanese style. And they’ve pretty much mastered the tailored cargo pants look to perfection. But everyone keeps swearing they’re Satan’s pants but they don’t give a solid argument as of why they’re so terrible.

    Everyone has different tastes and I know they come and go with the times, but why does everyone think they’re so terrible?

  41. You, sir, must have a lot of free time.  However, I’m glad you chose to write this post.  Well done.

  43. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but…essential in the casual office business setting? How?

    (I’m not sure what a “casual office business setting” is, do you just mean a “casual office”? Or do you mean a “business casual office setting”? Because my workplace is business casual, and I wouldn’t be caught dead in those pants. What are you using the extra pockets for that makes them so essential, carrying a crapload of Post-Its?)

  44. Dammit NO! Cargo pants have their place in camping or working outside where their terribly baggy pockets that hang off your legs serve a purpose. That’s it. But if you disagree, and you are going to wear cargo pants, then just wear cargo pants! What are you going to fit in those tiny pockets that you can’t fit in the pockets of a pair of chinos or jeans? Those slim fit cargos are bad. The slim fit herringbone need to be killed with fire. Awful. 

  45. As I was reading it, I thought, “7/10, grammar and spelling mistakes and I think a misuse of ‘totalitarian’,” but then I got to the end. Bravo, as the other guy said.

  46. “I see nothing wrong with them if you actually have use for the pockets. Sometimes – especially if you use public transit- you might have enough small items on you that your two normal pockets would be stuffed, but no enough to justify carrying a messenger bag. In that case the cargo pockets would come in handy.”

    Regular pants have four pockets, not two (at least mine). And there’s always the option of a jacket pocket!

  51. I meant to say business casual setting, it was a mistype. I worked at a casual workplace for a while. And although it was very casual, it was still an office. That’s mainly what I’m talking about. The guys out there who are IT or things of the sort that can’t bring themselves to wear something else other than jeans and a t-shirt to the workplace. And are just now trying things like khakis and cords. But won’t ever try wool trousers or sportcoats or suits. That’s the guys who I’m talking about.

    And like I said before, other than the Dockers slim fit, neither one of them would qualify. The one’s that the style blogger has as Dolina pointed out, are cool too. With a chambray shirt and a navy sportcoat (preferably unstructured) would look great.

  53. I used to carry whatever book I was currently working on in my cargo pockets in high school.  I remember when the cargoes then got ridiculously detailed and had all sorts of silly straps and whatnot. (Edit – not that I ever wore those punk-esque cargoes… I kept to simpler ones.)

  54.  Well you’re right about the four pockets. But I personally try to store the minimal amount of stuff in my back pockets because it can prove uncomfortable to sit with a lot in them. In addition packing front pockets makes everything look lumpy. Displacing some small items into the cargo pockets looks better and is a lot more practical for me.

    And I live in a tropical climate, for most of the year Jacket = heatstroke once your outside. So yeah, still practical for me.

  59. If there’s “slim” in the name, it’s always “no” for me.  It’s the body I have, girly man, and your girlfriend cargos aren’t gonna make it.

  60. Yeah, I have to wear “tactical” pants for my job sometimes as well, which are basically glorified cargo pants taken to the next level with even more pockets. But they really are useful, and they really are comfortable. Interestingly, I tend to wear a brand that looks slightly more trim, or at least not quite as baggy as usual.

    Now, I am under no illusion that they look “good”, by any means, and I certainly don’t wear them for fashion. But without fail, every time I wear them I tend to get at least one a compliment on them from female friends, girls who certainly know that cargoes for fashion are best left in the past. So hey, maybe the makers above know something we don’t? (Though even while the ones I wear are slightly more cited, they look nothing like the examples here)

  61. It’s a nitpicky issue, but if you can wear jeans, it’s not business casual, it’s just casual. Business casual = slacks, leather shoes, but polos are acceptable. No t-shirts.

  62. I bought a pair from Levi’s on a whim for $15 @ Winners (similar to TJ Maxx). Regular price was $130. I use the pocket to carry my phone, since I live in Canada this is a lot easier than unwrapping the multiple layers I am swaddled in to try and get it out of my jacket before it stops ringing.

  64. Yeah, man, I’m with you. I lived in the tropics for 2.5 years, btw, and the only thing that was remotely comfortable to wear was floppy cargo shorts.

    And even apart from that, yeah, I won’t put stuff in my back pockets. It’s always uncomfortable to sit down to me.

  65. Well, to the defense of the slim or skinny fit cargos: I am a registered nurse and have been shopping for pants that basically make my ass look better (it’s skinny) and fit my chicken legs without flopping in the breeze, yet hold pens, a stethescope, scissors, bandages, etc. And you know what, critical people? These skinny fit GAP cargos were THE perfect answer. I am on the job, dressed to work, but want to try to at least look a little more fashionable than flimsy scrubs draped over my skinny frame. So guess you might reconsider.