4S Designs James Cargo Pant

The cargo trouser is a shape that almost always comes cut loose, because it was designed to be worn over things and because loaded pockets need room around them. This one is cut high in the waist and slim through the leg, which is close to the opposite decision, and it changes what the pockets do: on a slim leg a flap pocket sits against the thigh and reads as a panel rather than as a bag, so the utility of the garment becomes a line rather than a volume. The high waist is what makes that work, because a slim cargo cut low would put the pockets at the widest part of the leg. The cloth is a checkered blend, forty-nine percent cotton with polyester, acrylic, a little virgin wool, polyamide, and a small remainder, in olive and black. A check on a slim leg is a lot of pattern in a narrow space, which is why the two colors are both muted.

Why we selected it

Almost every cargo trouser we are offered is the same wide shape in a different cloth. Cutting one slim and high is a genuinely different garment, and it is the version that goes with tailoring.

Taking a utility shape and cutting it on tailoring proportions is what this house does most consistently, and this trouser is the clearest case of it in the collection.

Materials and construction

Forty-nine percent cotton, twenty-two percent polyester, twenty percent acrylic, three percent virgin wool, three percent polyamide, and three percent other fibers, woven as a check. Made in Italy. High waist, slim leg, flap pockets. Color: Olive and black.

Fit notes

Sized 46, 48, and 50 on the Italian trouser scale. High waisted and slim means it sits at or above the natural waist and stays close from the hip down, so it should be chosen for the waist and the thigh rather than for the seat. Loading the pockets on a slim leg will show, which is worth knowing.

Styling

With the Knit BD Shirt Animal or the Long Sleeve Woven Polo tucked, since a high waist wants to be seen. Under the PL Bar Blazer or the 69 Flak O.Gusset Bomber. Not with the Tearaway Shorts‘ grid check or the P. Short‘s plaid, for the obvious reason.

Care

The acrylic at twenty percent sets the limit here: no hot iron, no tumble dryer, and no high heat of any kind, whatever the cotton would take on its own. The three percent of virgin wool is too little to change anything. Have it cleaned or wash it cool and gently, and dry flat. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Mil Pant is the plain military alternative, in cotton canvas, where this one is checked. Everything we carry from 4S Designs is listed together.