Nigel Cabourn Army Cargo Pants

Two things on this trouser are worth separating out, because they do different work. The first is the weave: a herringbone twill reverses its diagonal at intervals, which balances the pull in the cloth and is why herringbone trousers hang straighter and twist less around the leg than a plain twill of the same weight. The second is the dye. A pigment dye sits on the surface of the fiber rather than penetrating it, which is the opposite of how most cloth is colored and has a specific consequence: the color wears off the high points first, so the seams, the pocket edges, and the knees lighten before anything else does. A garment dyed this way is designed to change, and if you want a color that stays exactly as it arrived, this is the wrong trouser. The pockets are cargo pockets on a military pattern, which is a functional decision rather than a styling one: a cargo pocket carries weight on the thigh where the leg can support it rather than at the waist where it drags. One hundred percent cotton, made in Japan.

Why we selected it

Cargo trousers are mostly made badly in cloth that has nothing to say. A pigment-dyed herringbone is a cloth with a life in front of it, and that is a different proposition from a garment that arrives at its best.

Military kit is the largest strand in Cabourn’s archive, and the cargo trouser is the most literal translation of it in the house’s work.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton in a nano-pigment herringbone twill. Cargo pockets on a military pattern. Made in Japan. Color: Dark Green.

Fit notes

Sizing runs 30, 32, and 36 on a waist scale. A pigment-dyed cotton feels drier and slightly stiffer than a piece-dyed one when new and softens noticeably faster, because the dye is on the surface rather than in the fiber. Expect the color to lift at the pocket edges and the knees first.

Styling

With the SS Baseball Shirt or the British Officer’s Shirt in white. Under the Jeep Coat. Dark green against gray is the version we would argue for over dark green against black.

Care

Wash it inside out, cool, and separately for the first several washes, because a pigment dye lifts and can transfer in a way a piece dye will not. Avoid a hot dryer, which accelerates the lift. Our care guidance covers cotton in more detail.

Related pieces

The Army Cargo Pant is a different trouser with a similar name, cotton in a wide and loose cut, and the British Army Pant is cotton at a military cut. Everything we carry from Nigel Cabourn is listed together.