How to Wear Cargo Pants

When I wore cargo pants in middle school, I certainly didn’t look cool. When they cropped up on the runways, I held my breath and thought, HERE WE GO AGAIN. Maybe Jenna Lyons could show me the way. I think I saw her styling cargo pants with a sequined blazer once, and remember thinking: I want that whole outfit. Jennifer Aniston also had a memorable run in cargo pants circa 2001. Brad Pitt may have had a matching pair, but I digress. The point is, how the heck are we supposed to wear these right now?

The short answer is that Jenna Lyons and Jennifer Aniston were on to something. They transformed the utilitarian-looking pants with slim-fit t-shirts and fashion-forward frills (read: sequins and heels). If, like me, you’ve resisted the trend, we’ve tapped into the street-style set to deliver on all the outfit ideas. Ahead is a veritable buffet of looks to choose from, because cargos are back and they don’t have to look anything like the outfits you put together in seventh grade. Unless, of course, you want them to (and in which case, you’re far cooler than I ever was).