Nicholas Daley Cargo Pant

Putting a tartan on a cargo trouser is either a mistake or the entire point, and it depends on whether the check is inherited or designed. Daley’s is designed. He draws his own setts rather than taking one off a register, so the pattern arrives without a clan attached to it and without the weight of somebody’s family history, which means it can be sent somewhere a traditional tartan could not go. Here it goes onto a military pattern in linen.

The result is a garment at war with itself in a productive way. The silhouette is combat: elasticated waist, exposed pullcord, cargo pockets, a trouser designed to be moved in and carried in. The cloth is a summer check in linen, which is about as far from military issue as cloth gets. Waxed cotton at the contrast pulls it back toward utility. Nothing here is accidental, and the tension between the three is what the trouser is for.

Why we selected it

We took this because it explains, better than anything else he makes, why Daley’s tartans are his own rather than borrowed. A traditional sett on this trouser would read as a joke. His does not, and that difference is worth a great deal.

Nicholas Daley designs his own checks rather than reproducing existing ones, which is what allows them onto garments no heritage tartan would survive.

Materials and construction

Body one hundred percent linen. Contrast one hundred percent waxed cotton. Made in England. Elasticated waistband with pullcord, cargo pockets. Colour: Summer Tartan.

Fit notes

Relaxed through the leg, with the waist controlled by elastic and a cord rather than by a closure, so the fit at the top is adjustable within a range. Linen relaxes across a day. This is a trouser to wear loose, and sizing down to make it fit closely will fight the cut.

Styling

With a plain tee or the Waffle Crew Neck in black, and nothing else patterned. It will pair with the 3 Pocket Collared Cardigan in the same summer tartan, though a head-to-toe check is a commitment.

Care

The waxed contrast is the constraint. Do not machine wash, tumble dry, or dry clean, because all three will strip the wax. Sponge the waxed areas with cold water only, dry away from heat, and tell any cleaner that the trouser has wax on it before you leave it. Our fabric care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The 3 Pocket Collared Cardigan is cut from the same summer tartan linen. The Cargo Pants are the waxed cotton version of the idea, and the Wide Leg Cargo Pant in green linen opens the leg. Everything we carry from Nicholas Daley is listed together.